While traveling to Philadelphia, we went to get some $1 oysters at Oyster House during their Happy Hour. It seemed like this is a well-known and popular spot. It was Friday evening, and happy hour started at 5pm. We got there close to 5:30pm, and it was quite busy with the happy hour crowd.

The front area closest to the entrance was occupied by high bar tables and chairs. Then, a pretty large oyster shucking counter with marble counter top. Customers who want to have happy hour items need to be in these areas.

The back behind the counter was a nice large dining area. Open and spacious, but since this area does not allow happy hour orders, it was empty for a while. As it got closer to 7pm, these tables started to fill up, as the happy hour ends at 7pm on Friday.

We started off with happy hour drinks. We ordered Oyster Shooter ($3) and Kelly’s Punch cocktail ($5). The cocktail was a good size, as you can see next to a shot glass. It was strong, sweet, pretty tasty. I say a great deal for $5!

Then the oyster shooter… It was made with gin, well, basically, a raw oyster in gin. It tasted…not-so-good… It is very powerful since it is like taking a shot of gin, but with raw oyster, it had kind of funky flavor. Not a fan… My hubby said that when he swallowed the oyster at the end, it felt like some kind of alien was going into his body…!!! X Files fan, you know what I mean, right? This was a drink that we never need to repeat.

Let’s move on to the oysters, not in a drink but on a bed of ice. The happy hour oyster of the day was James River oysters ($1/each). They offer only one kind of oyster for happy hour. We got a dozen of oysters to start. Even though there were three staffs shucking oysters and clams constantly, it seems that the demand is much higher than the supply. It took a while for the dozen oysters to get to us.

The oysters were pretty good, very fresh and tasty. We got some different topping and enjoyed them all. The shucker was friendly, and hard at work the entire time we were there.

I wanted to get some oyster crackers, and then I found out they serve that in a round shape in a big glass containers, placed on a counter to share among customers. The crackers were very hard, I don’t know if that is the way it was supposed to be, or it got hardened by sitting out in an open without cover? I found a one that looked like a cat. I prefer a soft cracker…

Instead of put in for more oyster order, we switched up and ordered a half-dozen clams. The happy hour clam of the day was Cherrystone clams ($1/each). Also just one kind of clam for happy hour. I don’t think I have ever had raw clam, so I was curious. My hubby loves clams, but he wasn’t sure if he ever had raw clams either.

When they arrived, we were surprised how big they were! I tried one clam, and that was all that I wanted. It was much more meaty than oyster, but then, it was so fishy. Not a fan. My hubby felt really sick shortly after eating the rest of five clams. We think it might’ve been the clams that made him sick…

So, what do they do with all the shells? They turn them into art! They had all the walls decorated with artworks empty shells, very cute! I actually don’t know if these were purchased or made in-house, but either way, a perfect decoration for this restaurant.

The service was good and helpful, but as the happy hour crowd gets to the peak, it was not always easy to find our server. The host/hostesses were very friendly and welcoming when we first walked in, which was a really nice first impression. We do like oysters and happy hours, but we do need to be careful with the risks that comes with consuming raw ingredients… It takes one bad raw oyster or clam to get people sick!

 

Oyster House – 1516 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA 19102