Bubbly Mermaid Oyster Bar - Anchorage

The business is permanently closed. It looked really good in the photos. Checked Google and it shows permanently closed. You can see inside it's been closed for awhile.

Extremely misleading. Very sketchy. Not professional or forthcoming regarding very reasonable questions. I’m sure the oysters are great but NO info will be volunteered regarding what you should expect to be charged. Again, DEPOSIT ONLY APPLIES TO CHAMPAGNE and according to other reviews, a bottle an hour is required and not optional. Awesome venue that I have been to in the past- the beautiful photos from other posts are real. But the following photos detail a conversation with the owner when I was trying to get information (it is nonexistent online other than reviews- per our conversation as posted below. Bottom line- eat oysters ANYWHERE else.

Apollo’s restaurant was more fun than we could’ve asked for! It was private seating which made the whole experience very intimate, allowing time to speak with the owner and pick his brain on anything and everything oysters. What was meant to be a one hour dinner turned into over three hours of amazing and innovate food, and even better conversations. I felt as though I’d left anchorage for a classy European ambiance with endless oysters and champagne, I honestly don’t think it could have gone better! I have been in Alaska since January and this was easily my favorite culinary experience yet!

I was getting frustrated since it seemed like every place that was known for their oysters was closed or did not have oysters. I kept hearing about this place though, it became kind of mythical in my mind. They were hard to track down and when I finally got through I was told there was a $100 deposit against the champagne tab and we could have one hour on the desired date. It seemed a little structured but we went for it and I am so glad that we did. The place is tiny. When your hour arrives the people before you are sent out and wow you have the entire space to yourself. There are about 30 champagnes on the wall and I was delighted to find many favorites. There is sort of a menu on the wall but it is ignored. Fiurst come simple shucked oysters on the half shell. Our night there were 6 different types so that was our first dozen. After you have them you learn which are from where and they learn which you prefer. For us a series of shooters came next, lemon grass, ginger, thai pepper, dazzling flavor combinations with a steely crisp bottle of Laurent Perrier to compliment them. Your hour goes by in a heady daze and soon there 's a party of five waiting on the sidewalk to take our space. We left and went to the airport to depart. Can 't think of a better fare thee well to Anchorage and Alaska.

I recently moved to Anchorage and was excited to see a place like this downtown, especially after reading the write-up 36 Hours in Anchorage in the New York Times, which mentioned it. Apollo, the proprietor, has had to completely change his business model due to COVID-19; whereas pre-pandemic, people filled up every corner of the small space for champagne and oysters, now, you have to text Apollo and make a reservation (instructions on what to do are taped to the front door). When you figure out a time, he will ask for a deposit and then open the restaurant for you and your party alone. Some reviewers (both here and on other sites) have complained that this new procedure is unnecessarily difficult. What these people fail to understand is that when dealing with fresh seafood which doesn 't keep, it 's essential to know who is coming and when. The same is true for champagne, which cannot be sold by the glass if the restaurant isn 't full of people, since it goes flat. You should know that this is a really special place. It would be special in New York or San Francisco, but it is extremely so here in Anchorage. Apollo travels around the West Coast and beyond picking up the freshest seafood himself, and brings it back to Anchorage to serve his patrons. The night I visited, he had spiny lobsters from Baja California and a variety of oysters from up and down the West Coast. He used these materials to prepare one of the best meals of my life – a meal where the freshness of the seafood was allowed to speak for itself, without pretense. First, there were four oysters on the half-shell, served with Apollo 's homemade mignonette sauce, which he created from champagne that had gone flat once things shut down due to COVID. You won 't need the sauce because the oysters are so flavorful, but it serves as a lovely palate cleanser between each oyster type. Second, there was a series of oyster shooters, each with different flavor combinations. The menu describing all the types of shooters Apollo makes takes up two entire chalkboards – standouts for me included a mint-based shooter, one featuring ginger and soy, and one containing Thai chili. The mint one, especially, brought out flavors in the oyster which I didn 't know were possible. Then, the lobster. Where do I begin? It was served with a crab-apple compote and cooked in butter, the remnants of which were served in a ramekin alongside the dish. The meat was sweet and tender; it came right off of the shell. For someone used to the brinier lobsters of New England, this was a real treat, completely different. Paired with the oysters was a delightful, mineral-heavy Blanc de Blancs. With the lobster, Apollo brought out a bottle of Möet Chandon Rosé, a perennial favorite of mine, which brought out the creaminess and nuttiness of the lobster without overpowering its nuances. It is rare to find a place – outside of dining metropolises like New York or London – where the proprietor looks at the act of cooking and wine pairing as an art rather than a profession. The Bubbly Mermaid is such a place – a place where the enjoyment of fine food is not only a sensory feast but also a communal experience. But go knowing that Apollo takes his work seriously, and expects you to do the same. If you visit with a desire to learn more about seafood and approach your food with an open mind and an empty stomach, you will have one of the best meals of your life, and likely share a very interesting conversation with the chef. In these lonely and isolated times, what more could you ask for?