Overview
Today, oysters are synonymous with elite dining, but this wasn't always the case. They were once a common feed for the lowly masses, easily plucked and shucked from riverbanks and craggy shores. In Sydney, oysters have been harvested for thousands of years, long before the arrival of European settlers and longer still before the advent of fine diners and shallot mignonettes.
So it's fitting that during this current moment of soaring interest rates and cost-of-living concerns, oyster happy hours are popping up all over Sydney, once again making this seafood treat accessible to all. From fancy cellar doors to come-as-you-are boozers, here are some of the best spots to find bargain bivalves in the Harbour City right now.
Pier One X East 33 Oyster Deals
Pier One's PIER Bar will be celebrating oysters during sunset hour with $2 oysters from 5–6pm, Mondays to Fridays. Keeping with the fresh, summer atmosphere, you'll be able to chase your oysters with new PIER Bar signature Mini Margarita Oyster Shooter Flights. For the cherry on top, the hotel will open the Oyster Hotline in homage to its namesake's aphrodisiac qualities. Overnight hotel guests will be able to order a half-dozen ($39) or a dozen ($79) oysters to be delivered to their room within thirty minutes, complete with a bottle of champagne.
Bottomless Bubbles and Oysters at The Hook
Kicking off on October 26, this deal delivers the ultimate opportunity to elevate your weekend plans with a cozzie-livs-defying night of bargain bivalves and free-flowing fizz. For $99 per head, punters can enjoy two hours of unlimited Chandon Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine, a dozen oysters per head plus olives and beer nuts. Those who really want to make a night of it should opt for the premium package. For $149 per head, you can up the ante with two hours of bottomless French champagne, a dozen oysters per head and a selection of top-quality cheeses, curated by the legendary Penny's Cheese Shop.
Handpicked Wines Oyster Flight
At Handpicked Wines' Chippendale cellar door, visitors can enjoy freshly shucked oysters paired with curated wine flights, complete with a range of regionally expressive drops, edible floral garnishes and an array of condiments. A $3 oyster special, allowing diners to explore a variety of wine and oyster combinations, is available every Sunday between 3-5 pm until the end of the year.
1$ Oysters at Bat & Ball Hotel
Steven Woodburn
After receiving a renovation and a whole new vibe courtesy of a gaggle of ten hospitality veterans, Redfern's Batt & Ball Hotel reopened to the public in late August. Aside from a magnificent schnitty, the uber-cool boozer is also offering a buck-a-shuck deal every Saturday. That's right, you can get your fill of oysters for just $1 a slurp but we suggest you get in early — at such a bargain price, they sell out quick.
Oyster Happy Hour at The Rover
This former Surry Hills speakeasy is far easier to find these days, and that's a very good thing. Not only is the whisky bar serving up the best burger in Australia (and the ninth best in the world), it's also offering $2 oysters every night from 4–6pm. While you might be more accustomed to washing down your slurps with a glass of bubbles, we recommend a peaty scotch as your chaser — the smoke and soil offers the perfect foil for the briny trickle of a freshly shucked oyster.
Pier One Sunset Hour
Today, Walsh Bay is the epicentre of Sydney's arts scene, home to Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney Dance Company, Bell Shakespeare and The Australian Chamber Orchestra to name only a handful of the organisations that now call this waterfront home. Turn back time a century or so however, and it would be fisherman and dockworkers busying themselves around these wharfs, rather than dancers and actors. The historic wharf at Pier One, now one of Central Sydney's smartest hotels, was once renowned for its bounty of seafood, with crab cookers, fish mongers, and oysters shuckers trading off fresh, local delicacies for pennies. In that spirit, the hotel's weekday happy hour, running Monday–Friday, 5–6pm, is offering cheap oysters, just like the tradies of yore enjoyed, for $2 a shuck. Unlike those old-timey dock workers, however, you can wash down your oysters with $12 cocktails too.