On Saturday, oyster season officially began.
"I’ve told the suppliers to fire off orders as often as possible because we’ve ordered 40 dozen and by the end of the night they’ll be gone," Best Cafe manager Ash Manley said.
Fifteen minutes after the shipment arrived, three of the 40 dozen had been sold.
Every year, Best Cafe becomes one of the first in the city to get its hands on fresh Bluff oysters, usually facilitated by one of the owners driving to Bluff to hand-deliver them to their chefs.
However, this year it needed to rely on the courier.
Ms Manley said she was not too sure about the texture of oysters herself but would be willing to give one a taste.
But for now, her focus was getting the employees through the oyster rush unscathed.
"It tends to pop off a little bit, like our revenue doubles. We usually need more hands than I can find," she said.
The cafe was selling the oysters for $75 a dozen or $39 for a half dozen, either cooked or natural with a side of hand-cut chips and bread.
Barnes Wild Bluff Oysters general manager Graeme Wright said nine commercial boats went out on Saturday.
He believed they each returned with 800-1000 dozen oysters, and there was a similar haul on Sunday.
The season runs until August 31.
