According to USA Today's 2025 Restaurants of the Year list, the restaurant is one of the top 44 places to eat in America.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — The beloved Matunuck Oyster Bar, which was heavily damaged in a fire this week, had no sprinkler system — nor was one required to by law.

The oyster bar has operated a seven-acre aquaculture operation on a local salt pond since 2002, and later opened the restaurant on the waterfront in 2009 where it quickly became a “pond-to-table” destination for diners. The restaurant regularly offers oyster farm tours for the public.

A fire severely damaged the Matunuck Oyster Bar in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, just days before Memorial Day. The Rhode Island Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Perry Raso, the owner of Matunuck Oyster Bar issued a statement on the fire, “I would like to sincerely thank the Union Fire District of South Kingstown and neighboring fire fighters who were on site heroically fighting the Matunuck Oyster Bar fire when I arrived in the early morning of .

A fire tore through a popular New England seafood restaurant on Tuesday morning, prompting a large emergency response.