Clyde’s Restaurant Group will celebrate National Oyster Day on Wednesday, Aug. 5, with an all-day oyster happy hour at nine of its Washington, D.C.-area locations that feature raw bar programs.
The daylong event pairs fresh oysters at reduced prices with a mission to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Diners can order a half dozen oysters for $15.99 and a dozen for $27.99 at most participating restaurants. Two locations — Cordelia Fishbar in Northeast Washington and Rye Street Tavern in Baltimore — will offer half-price oysters instead.
Guests can also expect discounts on raw bar platters throughout the group. Old Ebbitt Grill and Clyde’s of Georgetown will take $10 off caviar, while Old Ebbitt Grill will also offer $5 off conservas. Cordelia Fishbar and Rye Street Tavern round out the offerings with discounts on their shellfish and raw bar towers.
A Focus on Sustainability
The promotion is about more than a good deal on bivalves. Clyde’s Restaurant Group partners with the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring wild oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay.
Through the partnership, the group’s restaurants recycle hundreds of bushels of oyster shells each year. Those shells return to the Bay, where they become habitat for future oysters and help support cleaner water and a healthier ecosystem. Oysters play a key role in filtering the Bay’s waters, making restoration efforts vital to the region’s environmental health.
Since its founding in 1994, the Oyster Recovery Partnership has planted more than 13.1 billion oysters across 3,000 acres of reef and recycled over 350,000 bushels of shell.
Participating Locations
The all-day oyster happy hour on Aug. 5 will be available at the following restaurants:
- Old Ebbitt Grill — 675 15th St. NW, Washington
- Cordelia Fishbar — 550 Morse St. NE, Washington
- Clyde’s of Georgetown — 3236 M St. NW, Washington
- Clyde’s of Gallery Place — 707 7th St. NW, Washington
- Clyde’s of Chevy Chase — 5441 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Maryland
- Clyde’s at Mark Center — 1700 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, Virginia
- Clyde’s Tower Oaks Lodge — 2 Preserve Parkway, Rockville, Maryland
- Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm — 42920 Broadlands Blvd., Broadlands, Virginia
- Rye Street Tavern — 225 E. Cromwell St., Baltimore
Looking Ahead to the Oyster Riot
For many local oyster lovers, National Oyster Day serves as a warm-up for Old Ebbitt Grill’s marquee event: the annual Oyster Riot.
Old Ebbitt Grill is one of the highest-volume sellers of raw oysters in the country, serving thousands of fresh oysters daily — and each fall, it takes that commitment a step further with the Oyster Riot. Held in the grand atrium of the historic downtown restaurant on the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Oyster Riot is an all-inclusive food, wine and music party that has grown into one of Washington’s most anticipated culinary events since its founding in 1995. Each year, hundreds of guests gather to sample dozens of oyster varieties from across the country alongside the gold medal winners of the International Wines for Oysters Competition — a blind tasting that draws entries from wineries around the world.
Much like the National Oyster Day happy hour, the Oyster Riot showcases Clyde’s Restaurant Group’s dedication to the environment. Part of the proceeds goes to the Oyster Recovery Partnership, and every shell from the event is donated to help restore Bay populations. Old Ebbitt Grill holds the #5 spot on the Partnership’s list of Top 10 Shell Recyclers.
This year’s Oyster Riot is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21. Tickets will go on sale after Labor day and often sell out in minutes. Customers are encourage to sign up for email updates.
