A review of the oysters from Get Shucked! from a visit in August 2025. I discuss the price and the quality, as well as points to note when visiting Bruny Island and Tasmania in general.

We visited Tasmania in August of 2025. We didn’t spend too much time in the cities, instead we thoroughly enjoyed the abundant and easily accessible nature of the island: Penguin spotting at Low Head, hiking the Dove Lake Circuit, visiting the Tasmanian Devil sanctuary at Cradle Mountain, and wombat spotting at Ronnie Creek.

One of the highlights of the trip was our day trip to Bruny Island, a picturesque island about 20 minutes away from the mainland by ferry. It’s a place filled with natural sights, curious little shops, and an excellent oyster bar.

Tasmania in August

Because Australia is in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are inverted. August is well into the winter, so the nights are long and the days are short. Begin the southern most part of Australia, this is especially so in Tasmania.

Many shops have shorter opening hours in the winter, and some shops don’t open at all. It’s well worth checking when your intended destinations close up – a lot of places only stay open until 4 or 5pm.

For that reason, you want to arrive nice and early when you visit Bruny Island. There’s a queue to get on the ferry from the mainland to the island, and you don’t want to miss out on the precious daylight hours. Even if you arrive before the shops open, you can make the most of your time by visiting the signature lookout at the Neck nice and early to beat the crowds – which is exactly what we did.

It is also essential o have your own private vehicle to drive around in, or at least be part of a tour group that takes you around in a car. Bruny island is easily an hour’s drive from north to south, and you won’t be getting anywhere on foot or by bike. The same ferry that takes people across also takes cars.

There’s basically no traffic on the entirety of Tasmania outside of the busiest couple of blocks in Hobart and Launceston, and the roads are well maintained. Driving on the island itself is very pleasant, and you can enjoy breathtaking views all around.

Even with a car, the shops are pretty spread out. You may still have to prioritise which places you want to go, especially with the short opening hours in the winter. In my opinion, it’s better to spend a good long while at several places that you really enjoy, than to rush your way through things while trying to hit everything on a checklist. It’s well worth considering spending a night on the island to enjoy the sights and experiences at a more leisurely place.

We spent most of the morning on a 3 hour cruise that showed us geological formations, seal colonies, and a surprise sighting of dolphins. That left us with just enough time to enjoy plenty of free samples at Bruny Island Honey, do a quick pit stop at the Bruny Island Cheese Company, and have plenty of oysters.

That’s not nearly half the things to do on the island, though. We had to skip the Bruny Island Chocolate Company entirely, as well as giving the House of Whisky a miss. There are also a variety of forest trails and beaches at the fringes of the island that are probably worth exploring.

The Oysters

Get Shucked! gets their oysters fresh from the farm right on the island. They open from 09:30 to 16:30 – although the kitchen closes from 15:45, and only fresh oysters are available from then on. Which, as I will go into later, is the most important part of the menu.

I looked forward to Bruny island, and Get Shucked in particular, ever since I planned the trip. The clever wordplay might have something to do with it. They were the very first shop we visited on the island, because nothing screams vacation like farm-fresh oysters for breakfast!

We got a Signature Mixed Dozen for AUD$39, which gives us 4 each of natural oysters, panko breaded and fried, and Kilpatrick oysters. You can also get a dozen natural oysters for AUD$32, which is insane value compared to what good oysters cost back home.

Natural 

These were decently sized. The taste was pleasantly briny at first with a nice sweetness coming through as you chew and swallow. They’re meaty rather than creamy in terms of texture, which frankly I prefer. Overall these were very good eating, so good in fact that I found that they were at their absolute best when totally plain. Even a couple drops of lemon juice took away from the experience. They disappeared quickly leaving me wanting more.

Panko

These oysters were breaded and fried, then nestled back into their shells with an Asian salad. The Asian salad was surprisingly well balanced – crisp texture, refreshing tang, robustly seasoned but not overly salty. I thought it paired very well with the crispy batter of the oyster, and I give my highest compliments to the chef for coming up with the idea.

The oysters themselves got lost under the deep fried batter, however. They were still meaty and tender, but all of the delicate briny flavours just could not compete with the breading. Which was a pity, since the oysters were such high quality.

Kilpatrick

These oysters were broiled with bacon and Worcestershire sauce. It’s another case of a well designed flavour profile that also suffers from a high opportunity cost. The tartness of the Worcestershire sauce pairs well with the rich and savoury bacon. 

The broiled oysters served as the substrate upon which the robust flavours of the other ingredients could stand on – at the cost of, well, being cooked and thus losing the sweetness that they have when raw.

Conclusions

Get Shucked serves impeccably fresh oysters at a very reasonable price. For the great quality that you get, they’re stunning value for money. To anyone travelling to Tasmania, I would highly recommend a trip to Bruny Island just for these oysters alone. Come prepared to down at least a dozen of them each.

In fact, that’s exactly what we did. We came in right before they closed to enjoy another dozen plain oysters under the setting sun, as the perfect end to our magical day on Bruny island.

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