Seabear Oyster Bar

A modern oyster bar/seafood joint housed in an old Coca-Cola bottling plant…

Seabear a cozy, little restaurant with a slab concrete bar and shelves of liquor climbing up the white, subway tile wall. Light shines through the mustard yellow curtains, highlighting a frozen Negroni machine and a bunch of pineapples to the right.

Peter Dale, who worked with Hugh Acheson at Five & Ten (Athens’ fine-dining mecca), then partnered with Hugh at another Athens restaurant – The National – is part owner of this spot.

And like The National, Seabear is all quality.

Seabear has an entire “non-alcoholic” section on its menu.

It includes some craft sodas, including a locally made, insanely spice ginger ale called Ginger’s Bunkhouse which we’d highly recommend. And a lemonade and cold brew coffee.

But Seabear really shines in the shrub department.

The bar makes its own shrubs using the kitchen’s leftover, seasonal fruit (we applaud the waste reduction).

When we visited, the options were Black Cherry Cardamom and Pear Spice. Both were delicious – not too sweet, not too vinegary.

And while mocktails aren’t featured on the menu, the bartenders are ready should you ask. Our bartender, Emily, whipped up a mean tiki drink we named The Gilligan (which is now features on Seabear’s menu!). The citrusy drink was finished with a homemade coconut cream and homemade grenadine.

If you’re in the Classic City and taking a break from booze, Seabear is a must visit.

Oh, we snacked on the fried clams while we tasted… they were excellent.