Restaurateurs Jolly Weldon and Amy Tommarelli are building a destination for seafood enthusiasts in Old City.
If you’re looking for the perfect place to have a full crab dinner or go all in with a seafood platter, you’ll have a choice of two restaurants at 110 Chestnut St. starting Labor Day weekend. On the first floor, grab a bib for an all-you-can-eat crab feast at Maryland-style crab house The Nauti Mermaid. On the second floor, the aptly named Old City Oyster Bar will have oyster specials and bubbly beverages. Weldon and Tonnarelli are opening the Jersey Shore-themed bar on Aug. 30 with complimentary oysters, $1 sparkling drinks and $1 beers during “Slurp and Burp” from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The two restaurants will share an overall theme of bringing quintessential oceanside dining to Old City, but each floor will have its own dining (and drinking) experience.
Everything you need to know about the Old City Oyster Bar opening
Old City Oyster Bar will be an homage to beloved seaside dinners down the Shore: nautical decor, fresh seafood and lively music. The interior will feature vintage prints of shore towns and burlap textured wallpaper. An eight-stool “sing-along” piano bar will expand the entertainment beyond a traditional stage and crowd to be more interactive. The 40-foot walnut bar will serve two purposes: a space for people to eat and drink and live oyster shucking. But the Old City charm isn’t forgotten. The space has exposed brick and a more modern finish to bring it all together.
The new restaurant will have a limited menu during opening weekend and expand to full dinner service next week. The menu will have three “surfboard” platters with fresh shellfish including lobster, clams and oysters galore. Don’t miss buck-a-shuck oysters exclusively sourced from local beaches in New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. They will also have a recycling program for the shells so they can be returned to local oyster beds.
Focusing on serving local oysters is just one of Weldon’s efforts to make the new restaurant as sustainable as possible.
“We will be using no plastics and no bottles, and everything is going to be recycled,” he said in a press release. “We’re excited to open this space in the ‘greenest’ way possible with just about everything being recycled, and we’re thrilled to bring another fun concept to Old City.”
In addition the food menu, the beverage menu will have a distinct theme. Oysters and something bubbly are the perfect pairing, so the beverage menu will have a strong focus on sparkling beverages, including sparkling wine starting at just $2. The bar will have both wine and beer on tap as well as a cocktail menu designed to pair with the seafood specialties.
Dinner will be served Tuesday through Sunday starting at 4 p.m every day, as well as happy hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m Tuesday through Friday. Brunch service will start later in the fall.
