The Ten Bells: A Candlelit Lower East Side Wine Bar With $1.50 Oysters Until 7pm
The Ten Bells has been doing the same thing on Broome Street since 2008, and it still works: a dark, narrow room, a list of natural wine nobody is going to lecture you about, and $1.50 oysters every single day from the moment the doors open until 7pm. No weekday-only asterisk. No bar-only catch. Seven days a week, including Sunday, which almost nothing else in this city can say.
It is not a comfortable bar in the conventional sense. You will stand, you will share a high-top, you will take an elbow somewhere around 6:30 on a Friday. What you get back is a wine program with actual taste behind it, Basque-leaning tapas that are better than a wine bar needs to bother with, and oyster math that still beats the block seventeen years in. Worth it — just go early or go Sunday.
The Happy Hour
Happy hour runs every day from opening until 7pm. In practice that is 5–7pm Monday through Friday and 3–7pm Saturday and Sunday, because the bar opens two hours earlier on weekends — the weekend window is the longer one, which is the opposite of how most of this city works. The deal is $1.50 oysters and a $20 carafe of wine, 50cl, which is about two-thirds of a bottle. The honest caveat: a lot of listings around town still quote $1 oysters and a $22 carafe here, and so does one of the bar’s own pages. Its menu — the page they keep current — says $1.50 and $20. Still the best oyster-to-dollar ratio between Orchard and Essex, but confirm at the door if the difference matters to you.
The Room
247 Broome, between Ludlow and Orchard, behind a frontage you can walk past twice without registering it. Inside it is one long candlelit room — a wraparound bar, a handful of high-tops, communal seating that is communal whether you planned on it or not, and a back room with a mural that gets booked out for parties. The crowd skews regulars and neighborhood rather than scene, and the staff will pour you a taste before you commit, which is the tell of a bar that actually cares whether you like the wine rather than whether you finish it. The food is Spanish and Basque and unfussy: chorizo empanadas, gulas, pan cristal with jamón bellota, and, yes, mac and cheese. Nearest train is Delancey St–Essex St (F, J, M, Z), three blocks northeast.
Who The Ten Bells Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| A cheap early dinner that isn’t sad | Get there at 5pm, order a dozen oysters and a $20 carafe, and you are two people fed and drinking for under $40 before the room turns. |
| A first date | Candlelight, small plates, and a staff that hands you tastes gives you something to talk about when you run out of things to talk about. |
| Sunday, when everywhere else is closed or full price | The happy hour runs Sunday 3–7pm at the same prices. Almost no NYC oyster deal does. |
| Drinking natural wine without the sermon | The list is deep and genuinely low-intervention, and nobody here will make you feel stupid for not knowing a producer. |
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The Ten Bells FAQ
Does The Ten Bells have a happy hour?
Yes — every day, from opening until 7pm. That is 5–7pm Monday through Friday and 3–7pm Saturday and Sunday. The deal is $1.50 oysters and a $20 carafe of wine (50cl).
How much are the oysters at The Ten Bells?
$1.50 each during happy hour, which runs from opening until 7pm daily. Older listings around the city still say $1; the bar’s own menu now lists $1.50.
Does The Ten Bells take reservations?
It does take reservations, and the back mural room can be booked for private groups. The happy hour itself is walk-in friendly — but the room is small and fills fast after 6pm, so early is the move.
What kind of food does The Ten Bells serve?
Spanish and Basque small plates built to go with the wine — chorizo empanadas, croquettes, boquerones, tortilla, pan cristal with jamón bellota, and a mac and cheese that has no business being there but is.
Happy hour times and deals last verified September 2026. Details can change — confirm with The Ten Bells before visiting for a specific deal.