“The Sage of Shellfish & Ocean Languages, Specializing in Oyster Tongues.” That’s how Rodney Clark, owner of Rodney’s OysterHouse, signs his emails. In case you haven’t guessed, this man is passionate about oysters, something he attributes, in part, to his upbringing in the Maritimes.
Rodney was born in Prince Edward Island, where his father ran a building-supply company. After attending art college in the United States, Rodney moved to Toronto to work as a commercial artist. While there, some Torontonians who were suppliers for Rodney's father's business would ask the Clarks to send them boxes of Maritime oysters. "That's how I got my name ‘The Oyster Man.’ It just grew and grew. I was interested in getting a good oyster into a good home, and they'd keep asking for more," Rodney recalls. And so, the first Rodney’s Oyster House was born in Toronto in 1986. Another restaurant followed in Vancouver in 1998 and then in Calgary in 2015.
"At Rodney’s, we’re notorious for good oysters,” says Rodney, adding that his restaurants are “all about bringing people together to have fun.”
Rodney's provides a casual dining atmosphere that reflects fishing and ocean culture. In Rodney's Calgary location, for example, weathered wood, fish nets and floats hang from the high ceiling, and a decorative rock "island" anchoring the central bar imparts a real seacoast flavour to the space. Rodney's has an extensive seafood menu – with a focus on shellfish – and is open for both lunch and dinner. Oysters are king here, but entrees range from good old fish and chips to lobster, Dungeness crab, pasta with clams and an array of cold and smoked seafood plates.
