Gemma Fish + Oyster is the second restaurant for husband and wife Mike and Brittany Cooney. | Gemma Fish + Oyster
Published on December 19, 2023 at 11:09 am
Gemma Fish + Oyster — a new two-story seafood restaurant with rooftop bar — is ready to open in the East San Marco shopping center.
Gemma will open Friday with a 12-foot raw bar and two bars featuring an extensive craft cocktail menu.
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The restaurant is the latest concept from husband and wife Mike and Brittany Coone, who opened Ember & Iron in St. Johns County in 2021.
The Cooneys said the decision to open in San Marco had a lot to do with the neighborhood.
“With Ember & Iron, the St. Johns community really embraced us and believed in the quality of service and food that we were bringing to that area, so 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. “It is truly one of the most special areas in Jacksonville, and we look forward to the new relationships we will make.”
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Gemma’s raw bar will include a large variety of fresh oysters, salmon tartare, three seafood towers, caviar and ceviche. Guests also will be able to order oysters a la carte with handwritten order sheets. Fried oysters with green goddess dressing, lobster pimento cheese dip and spicy mussels with Calabrian chiles are highlights of the appetizer menu.
Gemma’s bar will feature 10 house cocktails, an extensive wine and champagne list, cocktail pitchers and a 12-tap beer system with local brews.
The 6,500-square-foot restaurant offers indoor, covered rooftop and street-level dining with seating for 225. The East San Marco shopping center is at 2039 Hendricks Ave.
The restaurant is accepting reservations via its website. It will open at 50% capacity and will be reservation-only until it closes Christmas Day. The restaurant will reopen Dec. 26 at full capacity. Reservations will not be required but are recommended.
