And so, presented in no specific order, Business Insider's list of the best oyster happy hours in New York.
We tried to get a range of spots for connoisseurs and neophyte fans alike. Shoot us an email if we missed any of your favorites.
Upstate Beer & Oyster Bar
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Deal: Six oysters and a beer for $12Hours: 5-7 p.m. dailyAddress:
Maison Premiere
Deal: Oysters starting at $1.25Hours: Monday to Friday 4-7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.Address:
The Mermaid Inn
Deal: $1 oysters, $5 beersHours: All night Monday; Tues-Fri 5-7 p.m.; Sat-Sun 4-7 p.m. Address: 96 Second Ave. and 568 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY
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The nautical theme can look really kitschy really fast, but Mermaid Inn manages to get the ambiance just right. Seafood-wise, Mermaid Inn's secret sauce is consistency: everything's always pretty good. The oysters were smaller relative to other happy hours, but, hey, they were clean.
Deal: $1 oystersHours: 5-6:30 p.m. dailyAddress: 688 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY
This Crown Heights favorite serves dollar oysters every day, including the weekend. As a nice bonus, Mayfield doesn’t serve Blue Points, the most common dollar oyster in New York — instead, they usually have a selection of both east coast and west coast oysters available. The cosy restaurant has a warm interior featuring seating pews recovered from an old church in the south.
Cull & Pistol
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Deal: $1 oystersHours: Mon-Fri, 4-6 p.m.Address: 75 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY (Inside Chelsea Market)
This hidden, tiny joint in Chelsea Market specializes in seafood, so everything it serves is fresh. You can pair delicious custom cocktails with a variety of raw oysters — they usually have a selection from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and the west coast, and during happy hour, all of the selections are $1. If you’d like to try a different bivalve, Cull & Pistol also serves clams and scallops on the half-shell. Grab a seat by the bar.
The Ten Bells
Deal: $1 oysters, $15 carafes of wineHours: Opening to 7 p.m.Address:
Desnuda Williamsburg
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Deal: $1 east coat oysters (and clams)Hours: Sunday and Monday all night, Tuesday-Saturday 6-8 p.m.Address: 221 South 1st Street, Brooklyn, NY
Come for the oyster happy hour. Stay for the ceviche.
The oysters come with an original trio of sauces — tosazu jelly, ginger shallot relish, and chipotle mignonette — which is a cool detour from the standard shallot-vinegar slash cocktail sauce combo. Desnuda also serves tea smoked oysters, which aren't part of the deal, but are worth a taste.
Deal: $1.50 oystersHours: Monday-Friday 6-8 p.m.; weekends 5-7 p.m.Address:
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The oysters — and the food — are really sort of an afterthought. But when it comes to ambience, St. Mazie goes all in on the Hemingway novel thing. Sultry lighting; not-trying-too-hard speakeasy feel; simple but done-right cocktails.
Pro-Tip: Alright, this has nothing to do with oysters, but St. Mazie also has live music later in the evenings, which is worth sticking around for.
Deal: $1 oysters and half-priced drinksHours: Monday-Friday: 5-8 p.m.; Thursday: 5 p.m.-12 a.m.; Sunday: 6 p.m.-10 p.m.Address:
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Deal: $1 oystersHours: 4-7 p.m., dailyAddress:
At first glance this looks like yet another snooze dollar-oysters-and-cocktails spot, but don't judge too quickly. Unlike most of Manhattan's oyster happy hours, Sel Rrose doesn't do just Blue Points. There's a wide selection that all go for a buck, and they were fresh, meaty, and shucked well.
Pro-Tip: Shout out to the Lavender Piscine, which features lavender ice that melts into the champagne as you sip.
(And no, the double-R in the name is not a typo.)
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Deal: $1 oystersHours: 4 p.m.-12 a.m.Address: 28 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY
Virgola is a West Village wine bar that looks like a 19th century alleyway — more or less what you'd imagine as the setting of an English murder mystery. It seats just about 20 people max, but somehow doesn't feel claustrophobic.
The oysters were nicely shucked, although they were a bit small.
BONUS: The Wayland
Deal: $1 oystersHours: 4-7 p.m., Monday to FridayAddress: 700 E 9th St.,
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Oh, what the heck. We'll throw in a bonus to round out the dozen. The Wayland makes for a good mid-week stopover, especially for a group of friends. The small-ish oysters were on the briny side, albeit nothing a pseudo-Bloody Mary couldn't neutralize.
Pro-Tip: While the bivalves were a fair choice, the real star of the show was the BLT, featuring double smoked pork belly.
And now for something a bit different...
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