Oceanaire Seafood Room Modernizes Interior, Keeps $1 Oysters

After three months of interior renovations, The Oceanaire Seafood Room at Mary Brickell Village has converted the glamour of an old cruise liner into a more modern, sleeker look. No longer will it feel like stepping into the ball room of the Titanic.

Upon entering, the ambiance of Aruba blue and silver pierce through the dining room into the foyer, where the old-fashioned chandelier was swapped for what manager Rudy Polderman calls "the snowflake", an overhead light with shiny silver arms branching in all directions.

Further into the dining area, guests notice a centerpiece of three neon stacks of Aruba blue light across from the hostess table.

New carpet and furniture was added, old burgundy booths and chairs were changed to blue with cherry wood accents and made more comfortable. The inside shutters on the windows were removed and most of the taxidermied fish were taken off the walls, although a few remain.

"The look is overall more streamlined, more clean," says Polderman. "I think it fits nice with Miami, it looks good."

One of the biggest changes is the absence of the wall that separated the bar from the dining area, opening up the lounge and making the place look more spacious. Polderman notes that the reason for taking down the wall was to drive their bar business and appeal to a younger crowd.

The bar itself lost the low-hanging shelf immediately above the bar, making it more spacious, and second TV was added. A new Monday through Friday happy hour was added from 4-8 p.m., featuring a full bar with specialty cocktails for $6, bottled beer for $3, wine for $4 and discounted food items which include crabcake sliders, fried oysters, Oceanaire tacos, Ahi tuna bites and burger bites, all of which fall under $8.

One feature that was not changed was some of the burgundy wood walls, which couldn't be removed completely. 

The renovations were completed by the interior designers from Landry -- the Houston-based parent company of Oceanaire -- who worked in the dead of night and after hours for nearly three months to complete the changes before the tourist season picked back up.  

Polderman also notes that "catch of the day" chalkboard was removed because it became too messy for the host to constantly erase.