Food

Your Guide to Great Oyster Happy Hours Around DC

Local, delicious, and discounted.

One of our favorite shellfish spots: the Rappahannock Oyster Bar. Photograph by Scott Suchman

We love oysters, but here’s the catch—raw bars can get expensive. That’s where oyster happy hour comes in. Check out these spots around DC offering delicious discounts on local and regional bivalves. 

Brine
2985 District Ave., Fairfax
Head to this Mosaic District seafood restaurant for $1.25 Rappahannock Oyster Co. bivalves served every weekday from 4 to 7 PM.

Clyde’s Gallery Place
707 7th St., NW
The Chinatown location of this local American chain offers an extensive oyster (and all raw bar) happy hour every day from 3 to 6 PM, and then again from 10 PM to 1 AM (2 AM on Friday and Saturday).

Denson Liquor Bar
600 F St. NW
Chinatown’s subterranean cocktail bar offers daily happy hour, pricing all oysters at $11 for a half-dozen and $22 for a full dozen from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM (including local “Sweet Jesus” oysters from Hollywood, Maryland).

Whaley’s oyster bar. Photograph by Scott Suchman

Dyllan’s Raw Bar
1054 31st St.
During “happiness hours” (4 to 6 PM, Monday through Friday) the Georgetown bar and grill offers discounted prices on all of their West Coast and East Coast oysters, which rotate daily. 

Hank’s Oyster Bar
Dupont Circle, Alexandria, the Wharf, Capitol Hill
All of chef Jamie Leeds’ New England-inspired seafood joints offer oyster happy hours—not once but twice. On weekdays, catch half-price oysters from 3 to 7 PM.  Night owls can order them any night of the week from 10 PM to midnight. 

Legal Sea Foods 
704 7th St. NW
DC’s own Legal Sea Foods, located downtown right across from Capital One Arena, features a happy hour Monday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m where oysters are half-off, along with other small plates and drinks.

Ocean Prime
1341 G St. NW
The downtown DC location of this Midwestern steakhouse chain is running a summer special: half-dozen oysters are half-off every Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 PM in the lounge.

Old Ebbitt Grill 
675 15th St. NW
The Ebbitt may catch plenty of tourists with its location by the White House, but it’s also a favorite among locals (and industry folks) for its generous raw bar happy hours. Oysters and shellfish platters are all half-price Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 PM, and then again from 11 PM to 1 AM (until 2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays). Do like us and splurge on the Orca Platter.

Pearl Dive/Black Jack
1612 14th St., NW
Monday means “oyster mania” at Pearl Dive’s bar, where the bivalves are half-off from 5 PM to close. You’ll also find deals on seafood at the Black Jack bar above, including two-for-one oysters all day on Sundays alongside drink specials (and fried chicken).

Rappahannock Oyster Bar
Union Market and The Wharf
Rappahannock typically carries some of the freshest bivalves in town thanks to direct access from its own oyster aquaculture farms. Both the Union Market bar and new Wharf restaurant offer $1.50 oysters during happy hour (Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 PM) and discounts on shellfish-friendly wines and beers.

Urbana
2121 P St. NW
This Palomar hotel restaurant near Dupont Circle features a daily happy hour from 3 to 7 PM where oysters go for $1 each that you can match with drink deals like $6 Prosecco, $5 Port City, or $7 mules.

Whaley’s
301 Water St. SE
Daily happy hour from 5 to 7 PM means half-off Riverkeeper Oysters from Topping, Virginia—plus you’re doing good, partial proceeds go to the non-profit Anacostia Riverkeeper organization. Wash them down with $9 martinis or $8 wines. 

Kalina Newman
Editorial Fellow

Kalina Newman is an editorial fellow for Washingtonian. Previously, she covered metro news for the Boston Globe. Her work has appeared in ARLnow, DCist, and the Washington City Paper. Kalina graduated from Boston University in 2019 with a degree in journalism.