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When Modernist poet T.S. Eliot wrote ruefully of "sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells," he probably couldn’t have imagined the scene at Bongo, where the Chelsea gallery cliques gather round for swanky cocktails and briny blobs of raw oysters. Arrive early, settle into an Eames chair, and suck down a half-dozen varieties of these tiny treasures from the sea, in an atmosphere that feels more 1950s den than seaside clam shack. From the slightly spicy Belon to the juicy Wellfleet, four to six varieties are served fresh nightly. — Sandra Nygaard

Various oysters (half-dozen minimum), $2.50-$3.50 each; lobster roll, $22; smoked trout salad, $12.50; deluxe plateau (6 clams, 6 oysters, 6 jumbo shrimp), $40; cod cakes with black-eyed pea salad, $13.50