Upstate is the neighborhood restaurant everybody needs, but only East Village residents are lucky enough to call their own.

It’s a tiny oyster, seafood, and craft beer establishment that doesn’t have a freezer in the building – everything is brought in or made fresh the day that it’s served.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better selection of oysters in Manhattan, and you certainly won’t find anyone better to educate you on them than Upstate owner Shane Covey. Shane remembers every face, talks to every patron, and treats everyone like a regular. Hang out long enough, and he will pull up a chair and introduce you to his dog, BuckShowalter.