The first thing to know about searching seafood near me in the East Village is that the restaurant attached to the old search result is no longer there. The Mermaid Inn’s former address at 96 Second Ave has permanently closed, and the current Chelsea location is at 227 10th Ave. It is also not currently a dollar-oyster stop: happy-hour oysters are $2 each, chef’s choice, with a six-oyster minimum. If you want to stay in the neighbourhood, Upstate is the closest direct answer. Fish Cheeks shifts the search towards Thai seafood, while Aquarelle adds a raw bar, Mediterranean dishes and later service. Here is how to choose without crossing town for the wrong bargain.
Ask Karpo in the app about seafood near me in the East Village to compare today’s timing, the best happy-hour window and the most sensible route before you leave. You can also check which option suits oysters, Thai seafood or a late dinner.
The Mermaid Inn, Chelsea — $2 chef’s-choice oysters and Old Bay fries
The Mermaid Inn is a full-service New England-style seafood restaurant with a raw bar, lobster rolls, fish tacos, grilled fish and weekend brunch. The current Chelsea branch is at 227 10th Ave, not the former East Village address that still appears in older guides. Its useful happy-hour detail is precise: from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, chef’s-choice oysters and little-neck clams are $2 each, with a minimum order of six. The oysters are not currently a dollar, so the headline bargain needs that correction. Old Bay fries remain on the menu, giving the restaurant a familiar side for a shellfish-focused visit.
This is the choice for a full restaurant meal rather than a compact neighbourhood oyster bar. The $39 lobster roll comes with Old Bay fries, while the fries alone are $10. Dinner runs Monday to Thursday from 4:30 PM to 9:30 PM, Friday and Saturday until 10:00 PM, and Sunday until 9:00 PM. Weekend brunch is 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM, followed by a sunset menu from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM. Take the L train west to 14th Street, then walk or use the M14 crosstown bus; early arrival is sensible.
Upstate Craft Beer & Oyster Bar, East Village — market-led oysters in a small room
Upstate is the closest true neighbourhood substitute if your search begins in the East Village and ends with oysters. At 95 First Ave, at East 6th Street, it is a compact craft-beer-and-oyster bar built around freshly bought, simply prepared seafood rather than a broad restaurant menu. The restaurant says it orders from the market daily and operates without a single freezer, so the menu can change with what is available. That approach suits diners who would rather see the seafood list move than choose from a long fixed catalogue. The narrow street-front room has a compact bar, beer taps, wood-toned surfaces and tightly packed seating.
Upstate opens Sunday to Thursday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM and Friday to Saturday from 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM, with happy hour daily from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Current menu examples include marlin crudo with caviar at $14, fettuccine with clams at $19, mussels at $18 and cioppino at $23. It is the easiest walk-in option from the central East Village and the best fit for a focused seafood stop close to home. Go here for market variation, oysters and beer; choose The Mermaid Inn when you want more room and a broader New England-style menu.
Fish Cheeks, NoHo — daytime Thai seafood with a long happy hour
Fish Cheeks gives the phrase seafood near me a different meaning: instead of a raw bar or New England-style menu, you get intense, family-style Thai seafood at 55 Bond St in NoHo. The menu includes crab curry, crab fried rice, clams and whole fish, with dishes intended to work across the table rather than as a single, quiet entrée. The room is bright and colourful, with Thai-inspired scalloped or temple-like tile details, warm wood panelling, basket-style pendant lights, greenery and red, yellow and blue accents. From central East Village, it is a roughly 10-20 minute walk, depending on where you start.
The timing is unusually useful for a daytime seafood search: happy hour runs every day from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Fish Cheeks serves Sunday to Thursday from noon to 10:15 PM, and Friday to Saturday from noon to 11:15 PM. Current pickup-menu examples include coconut crab curry at $31, crab fried rice at $31 and Zabb wings at $19. Choose it for a group that wants bold Thai flavours and shared plates, especially before evening service gathers pace. It is less suitable if your priority is a simple dozen oysters or a quiet solo seafood meal.
Aquarelle Seafood & Mediterranean, Alphabet City — raw bar dining with late Friday and Saturday service
Aquarelle stays close to the East Village at 47 Avenue B in Alphabet City, but it takes the search in a more Mediterranean direction. The restaurant offers a raw bar, crudo, whole grilled fish, shellfish, seafood pasta, brunch and cocktails. Its own description leans into an underwater-wonderland dining room, with a nautical setting and a raw-bar focus rather than the compact beer-bar feel of Upstate. This is the option when you want the meal to feel like a proper evening out, with enough range for diners who do not all want the same shellfish dish. The address also makes it practical for a short walk from much of the East Village.
Aquarelle serves Monday to Thursday and Sunday from 5:00 PM to midnight, and Friday to Saturday from 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Weekend brunch runs from 11:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and daily happy hour is 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Prices include $19 for a half-dozen chef’s-selection oysters, $32 for a dozen, $27 for linguini with clams, $34 for branzino and $92 for a deluxe seafood tower. Pick it for late Friday or Saturday seafood, a raw bar with more ceremony, or a table that wants cocktails alongside fish and shellfish.
How to choose
For the most direct answer to seafood near me in the East Village, start with Upstate. It is in the neighbourhood, has a daily 5:00 PM-7:00 PM happy hour and keeps the menu close to the market. Aquarelle is the stronger choice when you want to stay nearby but need later Friday or Saturday service, a larger raw-bar spread or a full Mediterranean dinner. Fish Cheeks is the outlier in the best practical sense: its noon-to-5:00 PM happy hour makes it the useful daytime booking, and its family-style Thai dishes suit a group rather than an oyster-only visit.
The Mermaid Inn Chelsea is the destination choice, not the nearby one. Its $2 chef’s-choice oysters are available from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM with a six-oyster minimum, and the lobster roll with Old Bay fries makes the longer journey worthwhile if that is what you want. From the East Village, take the L train west to 14th Street and continue on foot or use the M14 crosstown bus. Upstate is the easiest walk-in. Around 10th Avenue and Chelsea Market, street parking is limited, so reservations and an early happy-hour arrival are sensible.
One correction before you search
Older guides still send diners to The Mermaid Inn at 96 Second Ave, sometimes with a dollar-oyster promise attached. That East Village location permanently closed. The current official listing is The Mermaid Inn Chelsea at 227 10th Ave, where the current happy-hour menu lists chef’s-choice oysters at $2 each, not $1, with a minimum of six oysters or clams. If you are standing in the East Village and want seafood without a cross-town trip, use Upstate at 95 First Ave instead; if you specifically want The Mermaid Inn, plan for Chelsea and its 4:30 PM-6:00 PM happy-hour window.
Please drink responsibly. Must be of legal drinking age.
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Ask Karpo first
Ask Karpo in the app to check the best order before leaving: start with whether you want to remain in the East Village, then compare the 5:00 PM happy-hour windows at Upstate and Aquarelle with Fish Cheeks’ daytime option. For The Mermaid Inn, plan around the 4:30 PM-6:00 PM happy hour, book or arrive early, and allow time for the L train west to 14th Street followed by a walk or the M14 crosstown bus. Street parking around 10th Avenue and Chelsea Market is limited, so confirm the route and booking order first.
