Upscale casual restaurant, raw bar with rooftop seating opening Friday in San Marco
A much anticipated, upscale casual restaurant and raw bar offering fresh seafood, Wagyu steak and rooftop seating opens Friday in Jacksonville's historic San Marco neighborhood.
Gemma Fish + Oyster, 2039 Hendricks Ave., Unit 111, at the East San Marco retail center, aims to be a pearl in the crown of destination restaurants on San Marco Square.
The two-story restaurant and oyster bar is the new venture from Northeast Florida restaurateurs Chef Mike and Brittany Cooney, the founders and owners of popular Ember & Iron in northern St. Johns County.
Gemma Fish + Oyster initially will open at 50 percent capacity and will be "reservation-only" until closing on Christmas day.
The restaurant will reopen on Dec. 26 at full capacity. At that time, reservations will be recommended but not required, the Cooneys said in a news release announcing the opening.
On the menu at Gemma Fish + Oyster
Developed by Cooney and his culinary team including Donald Dean, chef de cuisine, the restaurant offers an innovative menu, including:
A roasted half Moroccan chicken with harissa yogurt and chermoula potatoes
Grilled Wagyu flank steak served with beef fat fries, bone marrow butter and bordelaise
A half-ounce of caviar with pommes rosti and champagne cream
Scottish salmon with Basmati rice, pistachio mole and vegetables
Grilled octopus with cannellini bean puree, seared pork belly, spicy broccoli rabe and brown butter
Pork with fried baby sweet potato, koji mayo, Aleppo chili crisp and black garlic reduction
A 12-foot raw bar will offer a large selection of fresh oysters, salmon tartare, three seafood towers, caviar and ceviche. Appetizers will include fried oysters with green goddess dressing, lobster pimento cheese dip, and spicy mussels with Calabrian chiles.
Fresh from scratch, house-made desserts include fried apple bread pudding and an orange semolina cake with ricotta icing.
The restaurant's two bars offer 10 house cocktails, an extensive wine and champagne selection, cocktail pitchers, and a dozen taps featuring local beers.
Brittany Cooney and local architect Design Cooperative led the restaurant's design team. The restaurant design is highlighted by "warm woods under a gold ceiling."
It also includes a gold-plated raw bar, a three-dimensional mural and a signature Sinatra booth. The covered rooftop bar is among the largest in San Marco and features up-lit trees, custom gold lighting and "sweeping views of San Marco."
Gemma Fish + Oyster is intended to be "a place where locals near and far can dine and feel like family," the Cooneys said in the news release.
The neighborhood, they noted, had a lot to do with their decision to open in San Marco.
“When the opportunity came about to open a restaurant in San Marco, the decision was easy because of the uniqueness of a historic and quaint community. It is truly one of the most special areas in Jacksonville and we look forward to the new relationships we will make,” Brittany Cooney said.
Gemma Fish + Oyster is the latest restaurant to open this year in San Marco, following Taverna Oceana, City Grille & Raw Bar and Limoncello Ristorante at Bistro AIX.
The 6,500-square-foot restaurant has 225 seats with indoor, covered rooftop and street-level dining areas.
Initially, the restaurant only will be open for dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. daily. Lunch and brunch will be added in January.
At East San Marco, the restaurant joins Foxtail Coffee Co. which includes Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream as well as Crumbl Cookies. Coming soon is Anejo Cocina Mexicana.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Gemma Fish + Oyster opening at East San Marco in Jacksonville
