Zig Zag Puts a Friendly, Inviting Spin on the Classic Oyster Bar

By Scott Lynch

Zig Zag Oyster Bar is located at 406 Prospect Place, at the corner of Grand Avenue, and is currently open on Tuesday through Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., with Sunday and Monday hours coming soon     

Nialls Fallon, Nick Perkins, and Leah Campbell are kind of geniuses at opening beloved local spots that feel so warm and welcoming, and serve food that’s so much better than it probably needs to be, that their restaurants also become everyone else’s go-tos whenever they’re in the neighborhood.    

I mean, they’ve done this five times in a row now, a stellar run that began in 2016 with Hart’s in Bed-Stuy (want somewhere cozy with a killer burger? Hart’s it is), then Cervo’s in Dimes Square (beautiful shrimp heads and party people), then back to Bed-Stuy for The Fly (great chicken and an excellent group hang), then back to the Lower East Side for Eel Bar (slightly sophisticated and Basque-y). 

Photo by Scott Lynch

And the fifth place in their portfolio, which just opened on a relatively quiet corner in Prospect Heights? It’s already a neighborhood favorite, a raw bar wide open to the street with a fun food menu, classic cocktails, lots of wine, and a relaxed, inclusive attitude that makes you want to be a regular. Welcome to the family, Zig Zag Oyster Bar.   

Fallon tells BKMAG that they’ve been wanting to do an oyster bar for years; it was, in fact, the original plan for the Cervo’s space, until they realized there was too much firepower in that kitchen to not cook things like the now-famous piri piri chicken and fries. So when their buddy Sage Geyer told them he wanted to give up Bar Meridian, they jumped at the opportunity.  “Our first thought was: Here’s our oyster bar!” Fallon says. “There’s no gas. No hood. It fits our concept so well.”

Classic seafood tower (top tier; $90). Photo by Scott Lynch

The thing to get here is the seafood tower, which comes in two degrees of showstopping awesomeness. The “classic” stars a dozen raw oysters—a mix of poppies and moon shoals when I went, both East Coasters—plus a half-dozen each of steamed mussels (with some punchy salsa verde), marinated steamed clams, and snappy shrimps dusted with freshly grated horseradish. A bowl of potato chips and a bottle of hot sauce complete the festivities. Honestly, it almost feels like a bargain at $90. 

Classic seafood tower (bottom tier; $90). Photo by Scott Lynch

The “deluxe” tower, for $70 more, adds on things like pickled mackerel, snow crab, and lobster salad, all of which sound delicious, but we supplemented our tower with a couple of Chef Gillian Graham’s à-la-carte dishes. The almost comically plump anchodinas, for example, are served on slabs of well-buttered toast and are as luscious and as you would hope.

Anchodinas ($14). Photo by Scott Lynch

Non-seafood options include cold roast chicken with pickles, a lentil salad, and a plate of Virginia ham and mortadella. But the sleeper hit at Zig Zag may be the innocuous-sounding “boiled potatoes,” which hit the table swimming in butter and pummeled with horseradish, and add a welcome bit of carby heft to your meal.

Boiled potatoes with horseradish ($10). Photo by Scott Lynch

There are two desserts, and they complement each other so well it’d be weird not to get both. The lemon torte is flaky, just slightly gooey, and zesty as hell; the ultra-creamy olive oil ice cream gets a pour-over of fernet. Together, they’ll send you home happy.

Lemon torte ($14) and olive oil ice cream with fernet ($11). Photo by Scott Lynch

Cocktails at Zig Zag cost about $16, most bottles of wine can be had for about $85 or less, and beers are twelve bucks. My thick and peppy Virgin Mary was $14 and totally hit the spot.

Virgin Mary ($14). Photo by Scott Lynch

And the space itself really seals the deal. The cool circular bar, a holdover from the Bar Meridian days, anchors the interior, but the room simultaneously feels more intimate and brighter and airier than it used to. The wide-open frontage obviously helps with that, as the restaurant spills out onto the sidewalk with an abundance of outdoor seating. A mostly walk-in policy encourages pop-ins for the locals.