Bubbly Mermaid Champagne & Oyster Bar

This place is awesome! If you haven’t been you’re missing out! The location is small but very inviting. The owner is a gentleman and a scholar of his craft. Very knowledgeable of Champagne and Oysters, 2 things I know very little about as a craft beer drinker. We will be back again for a date night!

Awesome little place. Only holds 12 to 15 people at a time but wow. Yummy creative baked oysters combined with bubbly. Simple and good!

Greatest bar in anchorage. We have been there maybe ten times since moving to Anchorage last fall and have had a wonderful experience every time. Oyster and champagne is what they do and they do those two things extremely well. All the champagne is very tasty (and expensive) but they move enough product that you get to sample stuff that you would never otherwise be able to have by the glass. It is a quirky looking place with real charm that comes from the very methodical and creative minds of the owners. It can get crowded quickly since the space around the bar is tiny, but that gives you the perfect opportunity to sneak over to the wonderful gallery next door. Don’t be shy about checking out the art while you sip some champagne. If there isn’t anyone working the shop, you can ask the bartender to process a sale if they aren’t too busy.

Let me start by saying the oysters are delicious BUT the service is terrible. The ambiance is cool, quirky, and artsy. Overall, I’d give this place a 3.5 but since I can only rate by whole numbers, I would give them a 3 because the service was so bad, I would not go back.
PROS: The oysters served had a different twist and both my husband and I enjoyed them. You can choose to get them cooked in different variations or raw. They come with crackers and this salsa type sauce that gives the raw oysters a nice kick. One of my favorite cooked oysters was the «Oscar» which had crab, asparagus, and bearnaise (rich thick sauce thickened with egg yolks and flavored with tarragon according to Google). It just all melts in your mouth!
CONS: There’s really just ONE big con and that was the service. His name is Appollo (sp?) and he came across rude. When my hubby brought up one of the cooked oysters that Appollo mentioned earlier that he he could not cook anymore, he said, «We talked about this already» in a rude fashion. Secondly, when I asked for the bathroom, he directed me hastily with unclear instructions so I had to ask him a second and third time. By then, he would continue to come across abrupt and barely paid any attention to us until we paid for the bill because he probably thought that if he would «try» to be nice, we would tip him nicely.
NOTE: The number listed to contact them on Unilocal just rings and informs you that their voicemail is not yet set up. Instead, you receive a text message providing you information about their business.
It’s too bad that their service is poor because if that wasn’t the case, I’d definitely be back.

Perhaps I’m not the target market, and maybe I have no business in here.
What am I talking about?
— I don’t like oysters.
— I think champagne is just OK.
I met some friends here that were very much into oysters and champagne.
The thing that stands out most about this place is the ambiance. It’s intimate, warm, and dark. Very much unlike most any other place in Anchorage. It looks like you’re in the captain’s quarters of some rustic old ship.
Since I don’t like oysters, I went with a dish featuring related bivalves: scallops.
They were OK, and the portion was tiny, not really what I was expecting.
The champagnes, even the cheaper ones, were very expensive.
The beer selection wasn’t very good at all.
I just ended up drinking water.
It’s a fun place to hang out, especially if you’re into champagne and/​or oysters. Not really my thing though.

I normally don’t give anyone a 5 star rating because they pretty much have to be perfect all the way around but this place really deserves it. Especially considering they only sell oysters and champagne. The oysters are all locally sourced and delivered daily. They’re also very selective about which ones they serve, I’ve had local oysters at a few different restaurants but these are easily the best in town and served a dozen different ways.
My favorite is definitely the «Natural» which is just a live oyster served with a lemon wedge and a little house made cocktail sauce. It just has an amazing, fresh ocean taste that can’t be beat. Although some of their other offerings come close ranging from the simple «Blackened» which is just Cajun seasoning over the top and they scorch it to the classic Rockefeller with spinach, bacon, mushroom and parmesan. There’s a few off menu items that they serve like the Ceviche which is delicious and the Thermidor which is a classic lobster thermidor but with oysters. Plus it’s only 3 dollars per oyster which is pretty standard around town but you get much more for your money here. The champagne can get expensive but they only really serve higher end bottles so I don’t mind that too much. They’re also very knowledgeable about the champagne, I don’t think they have a sommelier or anything but they know their stuff. They also have a few bottles of beer they keep on hand for anyone not wanting champagne which is great because the cheapest glass is 12 dollars. I will warn you it’s very easy to get carried away here, the last time my girlfriend and I stopped in we spent about $ 100 before she cut me off. That’s the problem with oysters, I could probably eat them all day.
The place itself is pretty small but that somehow only works out to its advantage. The design and atmosphere are so comfortable and cozy that you don’t mind being shoulder to shoulder with strangers. It just has this way of making you want to talk to the people around you like you’re at a house party with friends. At this point it’s pretty famous for its bar which is shaped like the prow of a ship. The place gives off a vibe like your on vacation eating at a restaurant on the beach in Mexico. Definitely a place to go on your next night out but you should know, they only accept cash or debit cards.

Such a shame when an owner of a business does not care about customers…
Food/​drinks:
Oysters were good, however, they really pile on the sauces. It felt like all I was eating was mayo. Drinks are pretty darn pricey! It’s like you’d have to pregame before stepping into this place lol
Service:
The reason why I stayed and the reason why I will never go back. It was my first time there, so I didn’t know what the set up was… didn’t know how to order or what to order… I told the owner this and he just looked at me and said okay with a «so… what?» Look on his face. This lasted for what felt like 5 minutes… I was so embarrassed that he was putting me on the spot and everyone at the bar was staring. I was about to leave, but the waitress was soooo nice! She was so helpful and kind. I heard she’s the owners wife… he definitely needs to keep her around. balance his salty attitude!
Overall:
As much as I love oysters and alcohol, I’ll take my money elsewhere.

I’m typically stingy with my 5 stars, but this place was just so unexpectedly awesome.
I really loved Alaska, I loved the rustic, cozy, and low-​key feel to everywhere we went. The Bubbly Mermaid just kind of flies in the face of everything else that we had experienced so far in Anchorage. The tiny boat-​shaped bar, the unique concept of simply serving oysters and champers, and the hidden bathroom and back-​bar? I was smitten.
The cheapest champagne was $ 12/​glass, which for a night out on the town can be pricey, but for a couple glasses, it works. There were two different types of oysters available and then a menu for cooked oysters that rivals anything I’ve been before. All oysters, cooked or raw, $ 3. Paul ordered 3 and I ordered 3 and there wasn’t a bad bite to be had. My favorite was the snow crab oyster.
As for the service, we had absolutely no issues. We also arrived pretty early (5pm) on a Saturday and were 2 of 4 in the restaurant. My only beef would be that they do not accept credit card. Yikes! It is pretty easy to rack up a hefty tab in the matter of minutes, so I hope this is something they consider changing (or at least posting a sign).
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Bubbly Mermaid to anyone visiting. A fun, unique stop in Anchorage!

Their oysters are too die for (locally sourced from Valdez). While this place is small, the nautical theme décor was really cool. Our server was really nice n served us both times we were here. The oysters (cooked or raw) were all $ 3, just remember Alaska is more expensive in general (except for their beers lol). They offered different varieties of the cooked oysters (other then the usual casino n rockafeller). Alaskan oysters are huge, light colored n briny (which we love). We will definitely come back here.