We love oysters. A lot. But they’re expensive. The key is to get them when they won’t break the bank, so knowing about good oyster deals is important. We scoped out some of the best oyster happy hours around town so you didn’t accidentally spend too much money trying to figure it out. A few are early happy hours, while others are special late-night deals.
Here are our favorite places to grab cheap oysters in Chicago.
the spots
The Deal: All Oysters $1
When: Every day, 3-6pm
Leave it to one of the best and most classic seafood restaurants in town to have a great oyster deal. Hugo’s daily special is a steal, and one you should be taking advantage of. Fair warning: you’ll be tempted to end up ordering a full-blown meal, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sit in the bar for a more informal setting than the dining room.
The Deal: 1/2 off oysters, limit of 12 per person
When: Monday-Friday 3-6pm
So GT isn’t going to let you steal all of their oysters, but we can still get down with a dozen half-off oysters to ourselves. That’s a good deal for this somewhat sceney River North restaurant.
Paramount Room
The Deal: $1 oysters
When: Every day, 3-6:30pm and 9pm-kitchen close (changes depending on day of the week)
Paramount room is a bar we like for their burgers more than anything else, but $1 oysters every day can’t be beat. The beauty of Paramount’s deal is you can go early or go late and still cash-in on the cheap oysters. Get a couple of drinks and even one of those burgers for an all-around solid meal.
The Deal: $1 oysters
When: Monday-Thursday 9-11pm
If you’re going to eat a late dinner anyway, you might as well do it at Fish Bar to take advantage of their $1 oysters. We always think of Fish Bar as the Midwest version of a lobster or clam shack - it’s super casual, and mostly bar seating. Between the $1 oysters and the other seafood shared plates you can get yourself a nice spread.
Hubbard Inn
The Deal: $1 oysters, $1 clams, $2 shrimp cocktail, $2 scallop crudo, $2 king crab leg
When: Monday-Friday 3-6pm
We normally treat Hubbard Inn as a bar, but there’s also a happy hour seafood party you should get in on. You, shrimp, oysters, crabs, scallops, and even king crab can get down together for relatively cheap. This is a great Friday move as you transition into the weekend.
The Deal: 1/2 off oysters ($18/dozen)
When: Monday-Thursday 5-6pm, Friday-Sunday 3-6pm
Having good oysters is imperative if you’re going to call a restaurant Oyster Bah. Luckily, the oysters are the best part of this place, especially during the week when they break down to $1.50 a pop.
Devon Seafood Grill
The Deal: Monday-Friday 4-7 and 9-10 is $1 oysters $2.50 jumbo shrimp
Don’t forget about Devon seafood near Michigan Avenue. The bar area is casual and they have great shellfish offers all week. If you live or work in the Gold Coast, Wednesdays are a great move for $1 oysters, or stop by any day of the workweek for the cheap shrimp and lobster claws.
The Deal: $1 raw oysters, $2 grilled oysters, half off Mezcal Copita drinks
When: $1 raw oysters all night Monday, $2 grilled oysters from 7-9pm Monday
We usually think about Frontier for their meat offerings, but Monday nights are all about the oysters. It’s a large, casual space with a great outdoor area, which makes Frontier the perfect spot to do something entertaining but not too expensive on a Monday night.
The Bedford
The Deal: $1 oysters and half off champagne
When: Thursdays
By the time Thursday rolls around you’re looking to get out of your cubicle hole and do something fun. Head to Bedford, where you can hang in the posh bar in a building that used to be a bank, and enjoy $1 oysters and half off champagne. You deserve it.
The Deal: $1 oysters at the bar
When: Thursdays
Our favorite French brasserie in Bucktown also wants you to come eat all of the oysters on Thursdays. The bar is small, with only a handful of seats, but it’s well worth it to go with one another person or even solo. Throw in another dish or two with a glass of wine or three and you’re looking at an excellent dinner.
Benny’s Chop House
The Deal: Dozen oysters for $17.99, half dozen for $8.99
When: Wednesdays
Formal steakhouses usually sell you a dozen oysters for $1,000,000, but Benny’s wants to cut you some slack on Wednesdays. Sit at the bar for a happy hour situation and get a drink to go along with it. You can dive into the menu if you want, but there will be no special half-off deals there.
Chop Shop
The Deal: $1 Oysters
When: 5-7pm on Wednesdays
Chop Shop is a casual spot in Wicker Park with a bar area, dining room, and an excellent rooftop. Their Wednesday oyster special is ideal because it runs until 7pm, so you don’t have to rush there. Plus, oysters are always better if you can eat them outside.
Kinmont
The Deal: $1 oysters
When: Wednesdays
An underrated spot for not only oysters, but seafood in general. Kinmont is on the quieter west side of River North, but they have a great selection of $1 oysters on Wednesdays and will bring you a dozen at a time, as many times as you want. The rest of the food will surprise you too, including a whole branzino for $34 that’s big enough to share.
The Deal: $1 Oysters
When: 5-8pm on Tuesdays
A great spot in the West Loop to bring a date or catch up with a few friends. Although, if you’re going to bring a date, make sure it’s the kind of date who’s cool with the fact you’re coming for a $1 oyster deal. Don’t make a first date think he/she is only worth discounted $1 oysters without disclosing that info beforehand.
Smack Shack
The Deal: $1.50 Bluepoint Oysters
When: 3-6pm, Tuesday-Friday in the bar only
Smack Shack is at the base of the new Google building in Fulton Market, and it’s a massive restaurant. That means you shouldn’t have any issue finding some space in the bar for the special oyster deals. There are also a number of happy hour food specials like fries for $1 and wings for $6, so you can have quite the happy hour feast here without spending too much. Invite everyone you know because there’s plenty of space.
The Deal: 1/2 off oysters ($18/dozen)
When: 4-6pm every day
Shaw’s is a fancy seafood restaurant in River North where we like to get extravagant with mass quantities of oysters and crab legs, particularly when somebody else is paying the bill. If you’re stuck with your own bill, then the oyster bar at Shaw’s, which is size of most other restaurants, is a good move. Happy hour is an even better move for the special 1/2 off deal.
