Bar food is rarely as good as it is at the Relief Pitcher, a roadhouse in south Seaside. I’d been hearing about the food for years, but had somehow never been.

Oyster shooters got things off to a great start.

The small oysters are extremely fresh, and the house cocktail sauce boldly spiced with more horseradish than I usually encounter is among the best I’ve come across. At $1.25 each or three for $3, the price is right. Most places charge at least $1.50, but I’ve actually seen $2 shooters before.

Crab cakes are also of great value. Just $6.75 for a pair. A dollop of chipotle mayonnaise is there for dipping, but I found the cakes great on their own, possessing enough spice to make the sauce a redundancy.

The main draws for the Relief Pitcher are the sandwiches and burgers. They don’t have any pastas, salads or steaks on their menu because they don’t need them.

I’ve been urged to visit the R.P. for their prized mainstays the tuna reuben and the pastrami burger by quite a few loyal customers, and can proudly report that these did live up to the hype.

The Albacore tuna reuben ($9) features a slab of tuna more than one-half inch thick. The cooks are happy to do the fish however you like. My first reuben came well done, and I found the sandwich too filling, the fish too dense and dry. After being informed I could go as rare as I dared, the sandwich on my next visit was much more to my liking, but still hard to finish. The reuben formula (sauerkraut, thousand island-style dressing, grilled marble rye, and melted Swiss cheese) works surprisingly well with tuna, making this sandwich so popular.

As I mentioned, the pastrami cheeseburger ($8.50) is another of the R.P.’s signature items, and it’s not any more complicated than it sounds. Pastrami is merely added to a cheeseburger. It’s a good flavor combination not too far from the bacon cheeseburger. The burgers come with far more lettuce, tomato and onion than you’ll likely want, giving them kind of a novelty look, but this is bigger, better presentation, and works well for such a place.

The BBQ chicken supreme sandwich ($8.50) is another hard-to-finish affair. A hamburger bun barely contains barbecue sauce-glazed fried chicken strips, ham, melted provolone and all of that lettuce, tomato and onion.

Deli-style sandwiches ($7.50) are also available with roast beef, pastrami, ham or turkey, and can be served hot or cold. The French dip ($7.50) is a solid rendition of the classic, and the French roll is just right.

I didn’t care for either of the available sides. The coleslaw was far too sweet for my taste, containing dried cranberries. I’m a fresh slaw with vinaigrette type of person, so the classic, sweet mayo versions will never suit me. One of my guests, however, absolutely loved it. The French fries also failed to impress me, as this type always does. The fries are fresh- cut and fried to order, which is good for flavor, but doesn’t produce any lasting crispness. Fries must be blanched first in low temperature oil, then cooled and refried at a high temp. This makes them 100 percent better. It’s more work, but it’s certainly worth it. As so many places fry the fries just once as the Relief Pitcher does, there must be people who prefer them that way for some reason. I must say though, even with both sides failing, I’ll still return for the great sandwiches.

Another dish I’ll be back for is the pan-fried oysters. At just $9.50, you get more than a dozen of the floured, golden brown, perfectly cooked bivalves. And that great cocktail sauce too.

The Pitcher also does fresh-squeezed orange and grapefruit juices for $3 each. These make greyhound and screwdriver cocktails much better, and people gladly pay the upcharge.

Besides the food and full bar, there is a pool table, lotto, TVs, and occasionally live music. So there’s certainly plenty to do besides eat, but the food alone is worth the trip.

The Mouth

mouth@coastweekend.com