A seafood tower from Zig Zag Oyster Bar.
Picture: Max Flatow
“We have now a robust perception that there needs to be an oyster bar in each neighborhood, if not on each nook, of New York Metropolis,” says Nialls Fallon, who’s opening Zig Zag Oyster Bar along with his companions, Nick Perkins, Leah Campbell, Taylor Ward, and chef Gillian Graham, within the former Bar Meridian area. “To us,” Fallon provides, “going out and grabbing oysters is just like going out to our neighborhood bar.”
Campbell says they determined to take over the nook location — lengthy the first-date spot within the neighborhood — when it grew to become clear Bar Meridian’s homeowners have been prepared to maneuver on. “These are individuals we’re super-close with,” she says. “I feel the staff wished to move on the area to individuals they knew.”
They introduced in Russell Perkins, who had helped design their different eating places (Cervo’s, Eel Bar, Hart’s, the Fly). He saved the horseshoe-shaped bar as an anchor within the eating room, recladding it in stainless-steel and including scalloped panels alongside the entrance. The nice and cozy glow of yellow neon tubes mimics the ambient gentle of a candelabra; Perkins additionally pulled inspiration from the early twentieth century, putting in shiny Formica tables and shellacked wooden paneling.
“Cervo’s and Eel Bar clearly lean extra Spanish and Portuguese. Hart’s is a bit of bit extra of that Mediterranean, Italian coastal vibe,” Campbell says.
“Loads of oyster bars listed here are both actually New England–y or very New Orleans,” provides Fallon. “We wished to construct an oyster bar that actually felt rooted in New York Metropolis.”
A salad of fennel and lentils; peel-and-eat shrimp. Max Flatow.
A salad of fennel and lentils; peel-and-eat shrimp. Max Flatow.
Just like new spots like Lei or Stars in Manhattan, Zig Zag — which is able to maintain again a lot of its 55 indoor and 40 outside seats for walk-ins — is meant to function a cease on the best way to someplace else as a lot as it’s a closing vacation spot. “We would like you to have the ability to are available in, have oysters and drinks, and go off into the evening,” Perkins says. “Or we would like you to return on the finish of your evening and end off with a snack and drinks. Or we would like you to return with mates and get full and never really feel like it’s a must to seize a slice of pizza on the best way house.”
Uncooked-bar staples (a deluxe tower, peel-and-eat shrimp) are complemented by Italian-leaning dishes, comparable to lentil salad with fennel, a hake-based whitefish salad, and Sungold tomatoes on toast, or chilly roast hen with pickles and sizzling sauce. “These are usually not all meant to be small plates,” says Perkins. “We’re actually targeted on giving friends worth, so that you’re not going to pay $20 after which have some tiny little plate of meals.”
The listing of cocktails (all beneath $20) is sort of a “simply play the hits” celebration of gin and vodka drinks. There’s additionally a small wine listing targeted primarily on glowing and white varietals and — regardless of dinner-only hours — a Bloody Mary, which retains with the ethos of providing one thing acquainted in a barely sudden manner. “What’s extra stylish,” asks Campbell, “than a night Bloody Mary?”
The Bloody Mary.
Picture: Max Flatow
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When you want to learn in print, you too can discover this text within the July 27, 2026, concern of
New York Journal.
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