There’s a new place to slurp oysters and drink Old Bay-rimmed cocktails in National Harbor. The Walrus Oyster & Ale House opened last week with a seafood-heavy menu designed by Ancora and Campono chef Bob Kinkead, the restaurant’s culinary advisor.

The menu (see below) includes New England and Eastern Shore chowders (the former with clams, the latter with crab and corn) as well as a number of salads and small plates, like peel-and-eat shrimp, fried oysters, and spicy curried mussels. For something more substantial, there’s a crab cake sandwich, lobster roll, fish and chips, and seafood basket (Ipswich clams, oysters, scallops, or jumbo shrimp) with fries. The few non-seafood offerings range from a burger to beef brisket to a pork chop.

The raw bar is also a main attraction, with at least eight varies of east coast oysters and seven from the west coast. Platters are coming soon. Guests can also throw back two kinds of oyster shooters, including one with tequila, pineapple, mint, cilantro, serrano pepper, and sea salt. The bar serves 14 beers on tap (plus cans and bottles), a small selection of wine, frozen cocktails, punches, beer cocktails, and something called the “Baltimore crush,” which is basically a fancy orange crush.

The spot from Star Restaurant Group, headed by restaurateur Michael Sternberg, has about 190 seats and large garage doors that open up to a deck with a view of the Potomac River. The Walrus Oyster & Ale House gets its name from a Lewis Carroll poem entitled “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” That, however, is already the name of a seafood-centric restaurant in Seattle.

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The Walrus Oyster & Ale House, 152 Waterfront St., National Harbor; (301) 567-6100; walrusoysterandale.com

Photo via The Walrus Oyster & Ale House