Gemma Fish + Oyster announced it will open Dec. 22 at Atlantic Boulevard and Hendricks Avenue in the Publix-anchored East San Marco shopping center.
The 6,500-square-foot, two-story space at 2039 Hendricks Ave. has indoor, covered rooftop and outdoor dining with seating for 225.
It is taking reservations and will be open daily from 4 to 10 p.m. In January, it will expand its hours to include lunch and brunch.
Reservations are recommended and can be made at gemmafishandoyster.com or on the Resy app.
On Dec. 22-24 the restaurant will operate at half capacity and reservations are required. The restaurant is closed Christmas Day. It opens to full capacity on Dec. 26.
The restaurant is owned by Chef Mike and Brittany Cooney. The spouses also own Ember & Iron at 60 Shops Blvd., Unit 80, in the Shoppes of St. Johns Parkway in St. Johns.
Before opening Ember & Iron in 2021, Mike Cooney was the chef de cuisine at Restaurant Medure in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The Gemma Fish + Oyster chef de cuisine is Donald Dean and the general manager is David Moses.
“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,” Brittany Cooney said in a news release Dec. 18.
“It is truly one of the most special areas in Jacksonville and we look forward to the new relationships we will make.”
The restaurant’s raw bar features oysters, salmon tartar, three seafood towers, caviar and ceviche. Oysters can be ordered a la carte.
Appetizers include fried oysters with green goddess dressing, lobster and pimento cheese dip as well as spicy mussels with Calabrian chilies.
Featured entrees are Scottish salmon with pistachio mole; whole local fish with a tamarin chili glaze; roasted half-Moroccan chicken with harissa yogurt and chermoula potatoes; and grilled wagyu flank steak with beef fat fries, bone marrow butter and bordelaise.
The restaurant will feature 10 house cocktails, a wine list and 12 local craft beers on tap.
The restaurant was designed by Brittany Cooney and the Jacksonville-based Design Cooperative architecture and interior design firm.
The gemmafishandoyster.com site shows a menu but does not include prices.
