Seabear Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

My family and I were in Athens for the night and this was the restaurant that stood out to us to try to enjoy a celebratory evening at. MISTAKE. The food was good however the service is beyond unacceptable. College town or not, other people live in Athens besides 22 year olds. When we were trying to pick restaurants we tried to call Seabear and they don’t have a working phone number so a) we couldn’t get in touch with them prior to coming but b) decided to try them anyway. Mistake in hindsight. Our server sat us and told us they don’t have ANY highchairs and walked away. We have a 24 month old baby so we tried to just make it work and someone else came and offered a booster to put on a metal chair and we used it hoping for the best. Our daughter fell out of this arrangement because it’s completely inappropriate to offer to a baby but when you’re dining out and your child can’t reach the table you try to make it work. I’ve never in my life dined at a restaurant that didn’t own ONE single high chair (unless specified to be not child friendly) and when I asked to speak to a manager it was conveniently our rude and condescending server. I voiced my issues and extreme dissatisfaction for the fact that our meal was ruined watching our child fall onto asphalt and she couldn’t have cared LESS. Told me that their restaurant doesn’t cater to children and didn’t offer any condolences. Nothing at all and actually avoided our table for the remainder of our meal. So all in all, we chose this restaurant, they offered an unsafe and inappropriate seating arrangement for a baby, did absolutely nothing to make the situation right after our baby fell and hit her head on concrete due to their negligence, and then proceeded to act completely unprofessional and lacking any remorse. You are a RESTAURANT. Buy a damn high chair and act like a professional establishment if that’s what you want to be considered. The food is god but when you’re morally unsound place, that speaks louder. I didn’t catch the managers name because she cowardly avoided us but she was a young girl with pink framed glasses who clearly isn’t capable or mature enough to be managing a restaurant. Have more class for...

Husband and I dined here last night and wish we had checked it out ages ago. Sea Bear is located in an old bottling factory, now called "The Bottleworks". It's a really neat location in Athens, a bit removed from the more hectic downtown area. There is parking off Prince, behind the Bottleworks, although the restaurant itself is on Prince Ave.

The space is on the smaller side, so this is definitely more of a meet-up / date spot, and probably not a great option for large groups, although the menu said they offer catering. The dining area was pretty full, as was the bar, but we were seated right away. The cocktail and beer options looked interesting, but we decided to try a local ginger ale, "Ginger's Bunkhouse Spicy Ginger Ale".

The menu has a good mix of small plates and entrees, as well as an impressive selection of oysters. We both loved the roasted local veggie plate that included carrots and turnips. The veggies had a nice char on the outside, and were packed with flavor. We thought about ordering a second plate, but wanted to make sure we had room for all the oysters and the low country boil (Sea Bear's Thursday special).

The low country boil was delicious. The corn on the cob was a little too spicy for my taste (it competed with the spice in the ginger ale), but the shrimp was really good. Sea Bear's version did not include crawfish, just shrimp, but it was done well and we're glad we ordered it.

The oyster selection was a mix from PEI, NB, & MA. We got a sampling of the oyster varieties, and ordered seconds of the St. Anne's, Glacier Bay, and Thatch. This satisfied our oyster cravings, and we will...

I was so excited to try Seabear because I have heard nothing but great things. Unfortunately, I left feeling disappointed. We were a group of 9, so we called at 5pm to see if it was possible for a large group to come that night. The host explained that there would be about a 50 minute wait by the time we got there, and we decided it was worth it! We arrived at 6:05 and put our name down with the host, who said to expect a 40-50 minute wait. Like I said, we were by anticipating this and were happy to wait. After 45 minutes of waiting, we checked in with the host who then said it would be another 50 minutes. We were shocked, as we were the only people waiting at this point for a table. After a few more minutes of waiting, the host came out to tell us that it was very unlikely that our group could be seated that night - it was 7:15, the restaurant closes at 10pm, and we were the only group waiting. We were now all hungry, so after debating leaving we asked if we could be seated at two separate tables. They were able to accommodate us at two separate tables after another 20 minutes. Once we were seated, our waiter was fantastic! He had great recommendations. Our food was delicious, but the portions were a bit smaller then we were hoping for given the price. The host did come over to apologize - which was appreciated, but after all of our waiting to then be told to leave and then had to split up - we were hoping for more then an apology. All of this to say, if you are coming with a big group - be cautious. This may not be the best place for you. I loved the food and would definitely recommend the place but only for...