The Mermaid Inn

You can’t talk about oyster Happy Hours without mentioning the Mermaid Inn. The reliable seafood spot has several locations in the city, and this one is conveniently located right by the High Line and several Hudson Yards high-rises. Whether you’ve spent the day on shopping or on spreadsheets, Mermaid Inn has the $10 cocktails and $1.50 oysters you need to transition into the evening.

On a sunny day, the dining room up front opens out onto the street, becoming increasingly louder as people fill up on hot sauce martinis before Happy Hour ends at 6:30pm. After that, it’s sort of a carriage-into-pumpkin situation. Though the food is fairly decent—especially their famous, buttery lobster roll —this location isn’t as romantic as the one in Greenwich Village , despite using the same upscale clam shack decor for their Cape Cod cosplay.