Where to find the best oyster happy hours in the D.C. area
Oyster happy hours are popular, but not all are created equal. Our favorites deliver plump, well-shucked bivalves as well as killer beer and cocktail specials.
Chesapeake Bay oysters are two for $2.25 at Jeff Black's Bethesda bar between 3 and 7 p.m. on weeknights and noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Wash them down with $4.75 Maryland craft beers, $5 wines and $6 Cosmos, Apple Martinis and other cocktails. 7750 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda. blacksbarandkitchen.com.
The Mosaic District's hottest happy hour includes $1 oysters every day from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Drink specials, including $5 beers and $7 punch, run from 3 to 7 p.m. 2985 District Ave., Suite 120, Fairfax. brinerestaurants.com.
Derek Brown's bar unveiled a new "Brine Time" happy hour in July, which features $1 Rappahannock River Oysters. The oysters go beautifully with a new menu of $9 salty cocktails: Think Green Hat with celery bitters or cucumber dill syrups, or briny Pisco Sours. The $6 Oyster Back starts with an oyster before moving to a shot of rye whiskey and a chaser of Gordy's Pickle Jars's Fine Brine. Deals are offered from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 5 p.m. to close on Sunday. 1839 Seventh St. NW. etrbar.com.
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Happy hours vary by location. In Dupont Circle, where deals run from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, the $1.25 oysters are paired with $5 select beers, wines, punch and sangria. On Capitol Hill, specials start at 3 p.m. daily and run until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and all night on Sundays, and include $1.25 oysters, $4 beers and $5 wines and daily punch. All raw bar items are half-price from 10 p.m. until close every night on the Hill, and until midnight in Dupont. Capitol Hill: 633 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Dupont Circle: 1624 Q St. NW. hanksoysterbar.com.
Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab
All oysters, house cocktails, draft beers and wines by the glass are half price from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. daily as part of Joe's "Cocktail Hour," which means oysters cost $16.95 per dozen. Cocktails are $6; draft beers are $3.50. It's a little more expensive than some happy hours, but it's worth it. 750 15th St. NW. joes.net.
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The raw bar specials at Old Ebbitt include half-price oysters from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. A dozen costs $16.95 from 3 to 6 p.m. daily, and then from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. 675 15th St. NW. ebbitt.com. (Note: Some Clyde's Restaurants, which have the same parent company as Old Ebbitt, offer similar raw bar specials, including Clyde's of Gallery Place.)
The clubby power-dining spot offers $1 oysters and $5 oyster shooters from 4 to 7 p.m. on weeknights. 1350 I St. NW. pennsylvania6dc.com.
The weekday happy hour, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Adams Morgan seafood shack, includes $1 oysters, $2 Natty Bohs and $5 crushes. The late-night happy hour on Friday and Saturday nights offers $1 oysters and $2 Natty Bohs from midnight until close. Oysters also feature in some of the nightly specials: Pair a half-dozen oysters and a glass of cava for $14 on Treat Yo-Self Thursdays. 1817 Columbia Rd. NW. popsseabar.com.
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Head to Union Market between 4 and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and you'll get a dozen oysters for $12 and select wines and draft beers for $4. 1309 Fifth St. NE. rroysters.com.
A sister restaurant to Black's, Republic has $1 Chesapeake Bay oysters from 3 to 7 p.m. on weeknights and from 10 p.m. to close every day. Also included in the deal: $5 draft beers from such local, self-distributed breweries as Denizens and Right Proper, and $7 cocktails. 6939 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park. republictakoma.com.
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