A seafood tower from Zig Zag Oyster Bar.
Photo: Max Flatow
“We have a strong belief that there should be an oyster bar in every neighborhood, if not on every corner, of New York City,” says Nialls Fallon, who is opening Zig Zag Oyster Bar with his partners, Nick Perkins, Leah Campbell, Taylor Ward, and chef Gillian Graham, in the former Bar Meridian space. “To us,” Fallon adds, “going out and grabbing oysters is similar to going out to our neighborhood bar.”
Campbell says they decided to take over the corner location — long the first-date spot in the neighborhood — when it became clear Bar Meridian’s owners were ready to move on. “These are people we are super-close with,” she says. “I think the team wanted to pass on the space to people they knew.”
They brought in Russell Perkins, who had helped design their other restaurants (Cervo’s, Eel Bar, Hart’s, the Fly). He kept the horseshoe-shaped bar as an anchor in the dining room, recladding it in stainless steel and adding scalloped panels along the front. The warm glow of yellow neon tubes mimics the ambient light of a candelabra; Perkins also pulled inspiration from the early 20th century, installing glossy Formica tables and shellacked wood paneling.
“Cervo’s and Eel Bar obviously lean more Spanish and Portuguese. Hart’s is a little bit more of that Mediterranean, Italian coastal vibe,” Campbell says.
“A lot of oyster bars here are either really New England–y or very New Orleans,” adds Fallon. “We wanted to build an oyster bar that really felt rooted in New York City.”
A salad of fennel and lentils; peel-and-eat shrimp. Max Flatow.
A salad of fennel and lentils; peel-and-eat shrimp. Max Flatow.
Similar to new spots like Lei or Stars in Manhattan, Zig Zag — which will hold back many of its 55 indoor and 40 outdoor seats for walk-ins — is intended to serve as a stop on the way to somewhere else as much as it is a final destination. “We want you to be able to come in, have oysters and drinks, and go off into the night,” Perkins says. “Or we want you to come at the end of your night and finish off with a snack and drinks. Or we want you to come with friends and get full and not feel like you have to grab a slice of pizza on the way home.”
Raw-bar staples (a deluxe tower, peel-and-eat shrimp) are complemented by Italian-leaning dishes, such as lentil salad with fennel, a hake-based whitefish salad, and Sungold tomatoes on toast, or cold roast chicken with pickles and hot sauce. “These are not all intended to be small plates,” says Perkins. “We’re really focused on giving guests value, so you’re not going to pay $20 and then have some tiny little plate of food.”
The list of cocktails (all under $20) is like a “just play the hits” celebration of gin and vodka drinks. There’s also a small wine list focused mainly on sparkling and white varietals and — despite dinner-only hours — a Bloody Mary, which keeps with the ethos of offering something familiar in a slightly unexpected way. “What’s more chic,” asks Campbell, “than an evening Bloody Mary?”
The Bloody Mary.
Photo: Max Flatow
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