The Room
Clark's opened in 2012 as McGuire Moorman Hospitality's Clarksville flagship — Larry McGuire and Tom Moorman building the most-photographed oyster bar in Texas, with the goal of bringing East-Coast oyster-bar tradition to Austin in a room that registered as serious without becoming a costume. The result is a small, white-tiled, brass-trimmed dining room with a marble oyster counter at the front, twenty seats at the bar, sixty in the dining room, and a wraparound patio that is the seat to request when the weather permits.
The McGuire Moorman group — also operators of Mattie's, Perla's, June's All Day, Pecan Square Cafe and Lou's — has built Clark's into the West Sixth flagship the group's growing portfolio is judged against. The booking window has tightened, but the bar is walk-in friendly until about six on most nights.
The Food
The oyster programme runs six to eight rotating East-Coast and West-Coast varieties, served on the half-shell at roughly $3.25 to $3.50 each with house mignonette and a horseradish cocktail sauce that is the working version of the form. The Plateau de Fruits de Mer — the seafood tower of oysters, shrimp, lobster, crab, ceviche and scallop crudo, around $100 for a table of two to four — is the order the room is best known for. The lobster roll, served warm with butter on a split-top brioche, is the second-most-ordered.
The cocktail programme runs the McGuire Moorman house book — a working dirty Martini, a properly stirred Manhattan, a Champagne cocktail with a small lemon twist that is the right opener for an oyster meal. Wine programme tilts toward Champagne, Muscadet, Albariño and Sancerre — the four whites the seafood programme demands. Service is the McGuire Moorman standard: warm and informed without being scripted.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date: Clark's is the most reliable West-Sixth first-date seat for the diner who wants the night to register as polished without becoming theatrical. The marble oyster counter forces the shoulder-to-shoulder seating that a working first date can grow inside; the Champagne-cocktail programme is the natural opener; the lobster roll shares well at the second course.
Birthday: Birthdays at Clark's are oyster-led, Champagne-soaked, tower-of-seafood-friendly affairs that the room handles with the McGuire Moorman group's practiced warmth. The corner banquette is the seat to request. The patio in good weather is the alternative.
Solo Dining: The marble oyster counter at Clark's is one of the most reliable Austin solo-dining seats. The shucker will run the daily six varieties one at a time, the bartender will handle the Champagne pairing, and the kitchen runs at a tempo that allows the diner to settle the meal at the right pace.
