Doro Dines: Hydra Estiatorio Happy Hour (Buck a Shuck Oysters)
I woke up yesterday with the oddest craving at 7AM: freshly shucked raw oysters. With the knowledge that it would be an office day and the beautiful fact that I didn’t have evening plans with anyone but myself (I try to keep Wednesday nights as #DOROTIME), I promptly decided that I would get a half-dozen (or full dozen) oysters at the end of the workday.
In this economy, buck-a-shuck oysters are hard to come by. Upon a not-so-quick market scan of happy hour oysters in Vancouver, we can see that oysters range from $0.99 to $4.50 each.
Ebisu - $0.99 per oyster (limit of 12 per person, minimum order of 6 at a time)
Hydra - $1 per oyster
Chewie’s - $1.75 per beach oyster, $2.50 per premium oyster
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar - $2 each (limit of 12 per person, minimum order of 6)
Coast - $2 per oyster
Harbour Oyster + Bar - $2 per oyster (killer happy hour from 11a-5p)
Joe Fortes - $2 per oyster
Tableau Bar Bistro - $2.50 per oyster
Homer St Cafe & Bar - $2.50 per oyster
Rodney’s Oyster House - $2.95 per oyster
LIFT Bar and Grill - $4.50 each, minimum of 6
I called up a friend who also happened to be Downtown and we decided that Hydra was the move based on proximity to our offices (#corporategirlies), buck-a-shuck, and the beautiful space. Hydra is a chic, two-level Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of Downtown Vancouver dishing up some of this city’s freshest raw and cooked seafood. Their happy hour runs from 3-6pm and is perfect for anyone who works a typical 9-5(ish). I’m of the opinion that 2-5p happy hours are just too short and I can’t always sneak out at 4pm without having to work the evening or nightshift once I get back home!
What we ordered:
2 dozen freshly shucked oysters (buck-a-shuck - $24)
Kalamari ($12)
Hydra spread ($12)
2 dozen freshly shucked oysters is exactly what it sounds like. We ordered 1 dozen but think our server misheard us because 2 dozen showed up at our table… there are far worse things in life than 12 extra oysters so we took it as a sign from the universe to throw back 1 dozen each and called it a happy mistake. I once attended a work social with an open oyster bar and singlehandedly ate two dozen oysters in the span of 3 hours - how I escaped without norovirus, we’ll never know… more on that another day.
The hydra spread consisted of pita bread and 3 samplers of their famous spreads: tzatziki (yogurt, cucumber, dill), hummus (chickpea, lemon, tahini), and melitzana (smoked eggplant, paprika, scallions). Hydra’s pita bread is perfectly warm with just the right amount of pillowy goodness.
Finally, the kalamari! The humboldt squid was perfectly flash fried - crispy on the outside with a delightful bite to the squid (no rubbery squid here). This was served with oregano, chili, lemon, and tzatziki.
Beautiful interior of Hydra’s second floor and the iconic fish chandelier!
A delightful happy hour spread… peep the oysters.
This was my second time at Hydra and I must say, it did not disappoint. Our server was extremely attentive but did not hover and all of our staff interactions were top notch. The manager even came by on two occasions to check up on us as well. Furthermore, we didn’t feel pressured to order alcohol and did not feel like we were treated differently because we were not spending as much as someone dining on an expense account. During my one and only visit to Oca Pastaficio, we ordered 2 pastas a la carte and observed a noticeable difference in service because we did not order the tasting menu, like almost every other patron. I love Italian food and would love to try the tasting menu as folks have raved about it, but cannot bring myself to go back based on that first experience.
If you haven’t been to Hydra yet, please do yourself a favour and add it to your list. And if you see a 5’2” corporate girl eating a dozen oysters like it’s nobody’s business, it’s probably my doppleganger…
