phonz & tungsten's review of Clark's Oyster Bar - Austin
Old West Austin, Austin
lukeJan 27
●8.9
mannyJan 24
●9.3
Lists with Clark's Oyster Bar - Austin
quite a meal at clark’s. me and manny enjoyed a rare weekday happy hour.
started with oysters: tasty! I really enjoy oysters but I don’t think they are worth the price point so I try and stick to single digit consumption per year. I had one today and it was great but yeah idk for $3.
also tried an oyster shooter which was a bloody mary with an oyster in it… woke me up quick. tasted unique and was a fun think to try. idk if I would get it again though; hard to savor the oyster.
then, the burger. $12 deal for happy hour. thick cut and perfectly cooked. bun was nice and soft. truly enjoyable.
the fries it came with were an interesting rendition on the starch. super thin. like insanely so. and they pile it on; the person next to us got even more. personally, I think they are too thin and taste almost like potato chips since the whole volume is close to the surface. not a huge fan of them but it was cool to try.
clark’s is a great happy hour spot and I would def return if I end up free on a weekday.
Clark’s Oyster Bar on MLK Day 🦪🍔😮💨
Clark’s happy hour is weekday-only, 3–5 pm, so having Monday off finally let Luke and me make it happen. We went during lunch and it was popping, but somehow still grabbed great bar seats. Huge win.
They start you with free bread, butter, and flaky sea salt 🍞🧈 — even just sitting at the bar for happy hour. Luke only took one tiny piece because he thought they’d charge us. I knew better. This is that kind of place. High-quality bread, great butter, big chunky salt. Amazing start.
Got the burger 🍔🔥 (the happy hour classic). Ordered it rare and they nailed it. I’ve been eating a lot of smashburgers lately, but sometimes you just want a thick burger, and this one delivered. Juicy, cooked perfectly, great bite. Only thing I’d change is it could’ve used a little more salt. I should’ve saved some of that bread salt — that’s on me.
Now the fries 🍟
I’m torn. They give you a ton, but that’s kind of because they’re paper-thin. Like, comically thin. All edge, no potato. It almost feels like they can just pile them on because there’s no real potato inside — it’s basically fried oil and surface area. Less “fries,” more like potato chips shaped like fries. I personally like a fry with some substance, and these didn’t really have it.
We also got oyster shooters 🦪 — I still don’t know the correct way to eat those. I shot the liquid, then chewed the oyster, and moved on. The oysters themselves were fantastic. I love raw oysters but don’t get them often because they’re usually expensive. These were around $3.50 during happy hour, which still isn’t cheap, but totally worth it.
Had a Kölsch 🍺 and yeah… I think it might be my new go-to beer. Clean, easy, perfect for this kind of meal.
Would I come back for happy hour? Probably, it’s just hard when there are so many other happy hours to try.
Would I bring out-of-towners here on a sunny Austin lunch to impress them? 100%.
Hot take: I still slightly prefer Five Napkin Burger in NYC — bigger, saltier, more aggressive. But next time at Clark’s, I’m just asking for extra flaky sea salt and calling it a day.
Overall: great vibes, great burger, excellent oysters, fries are… not for me.
