Atlas Oyster House used to live in the shadow of Pensacola's Fish House. Not anymore.

Pensacola’s Fish House has received recognition from all around the world with direct views of Pensacola Bay, walls lined with photographs of celebrities that have eaten there, and the world-famous dish: the Grits a Ya Ya.

While The Fish House tends to be the go-to recommendation for out-of-towners, its next-door neighbor, sister restaurant Atlas Oyster House, was its more casual counterpart for the locals to score cheap oysters or order a Fish House signature without the wait time. The restaurant has been closed since the COVID pandemic, but the time was used to breathe new life into the space.

Now, with Atlas’ interior makeover complete and a brand-new menu to complement it developed by executive chef Jason Hughes — Atlas has been reimagined and taken on a new identity since it was first birthed into Pensacola in 1998. With elevated small plates, entrees, cocktails, handcrafted sushi rolls, seafood towers and an expansive oyster program at the local, national and global level, Atlas plans to give the Fish House a run for its money as a premiere dining destination.

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“We kind of envisioned a tennis match between the restaurants," Hughes said. "We want to do it really well. We want to make it better than the Fish House, then we want to go and make the Fish House better than this. We want this rivalry always between the two sides of the building."

“I think the oyster program — I hope it turns out to be something really neat and unique for the area,” Hughes said.

They plan to always have a diverse variety of oysters offerings from Pensacola, across the country and around the world. Hughes also plans to experiment with serving oysters in different ways, including six different varieties of baked oysters and unique recipes like oyster shooters served in shot glasses with the house bloody mary mix and a citrus beer topper.

When you walk into present-day Atlas, which is now in its soft-opening stage with plans to be fully open beginning July 18, you’re met with rich sapphire-blue booths, pearl-shaped dangling lights, deep-stained wood and potentially the most special feature of all, framed photographs spotlighting Pensacola’s fishing history.

The space is intended to capture the old-world fishing enchantment captured in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea,” but with a taste of elevated elegance, according to Maria Goldberg, Great Southern Restaurants’ director of marketing, public relations and events.

“It does not look anything like it used to. Sort of. The layout is still the same, but a lot of changes. We’re still Atlas and we’re still an oyster bar,” Goldberg said.

No longer will Atlas be the overflow space if the line at the Fish House runs too long, but a cozy hideaway from a day out at sea.

“What we want to do is make (Atlas) her own self and special so that people will want to make the place a destination," Goldberg said.

Now, Atlas infuses modern decor, like the “The World is Your Oyster” neon sign with relics from the past including a display case of old-time fishing collectible bobbers.

Hughes worked hand-in-hand with Goldberg's vision to design a menu that curated an elevated experience for guests.

“You can see it when you walk through the dining room is kind of taking something old and familiar and making it new, trying to kind of capture what made it special in the first place, and then just making it more unique,” Hughes said. “For us, for the menu, we were really inspired by the breezy, New England oyster bar. I lived in Boston for four or five years and it’s so cool because the two places are so different, but they’re so similar … that’s how it began as a city, the major industry was seafood.”

Hughes takes guests on an uncharted ride of unique flavors in every plate's finishing touches — from the brandy-brie cream of the shrimp and crab nachos to the savory NOLA barbecue butter that bathes the barbecue shrimp, to the balsamic dressed greens and touch of truffle honey in the Magic Mushrooms small plate — but he still makes a few subtle nods to the Fish House next door.

“One of the things that I said kind of all along in this is project was I wanted this place to be separate and distinct from The Fish House to motivate people to want to come to both locations,” Hughes said. “I didn’t want a single corn grit in this side of the building.”

The Girl Next Door entrée on Atlas’ menu is the exception and plays off that idea of Hughes trying his hand at the Grits a Ya Ya. Don't be mistaken, it's not a copycat version, but the dish reimagined. With the jumbo Gulf shrimp still serving as the center-point, the dish is composed of light and creamy stone-ground brie rice grits, roasted local corn, tomato, house-smoked tasso ham and lemon leek cream.

The Oysters a Ya Ya, an Atlas baked oyster dish, is a spin a little closer to the original, topped with roasted mushroom, spinach, applewood bacon, white wine and smoked Gouda gratin which fuel the original's distinct flavor.

Each menu item is designed to feel approachable, but with intricate flavor touches that make them unlike anything else. The small plates in particular are meant to be ordered, shared and experienced.

“It’s still very much a part of that idea is to sit down and order many things and that shared dining experience with the people you’re with, your friends, your family, whoever. Just a lot of stuff for the table,” Hughes said.

Hughes said he wants to be known as an "honest" restaurant, one where the quality is evident in every detail, whether it be by the hand cured meats or house-pickled jalapenos.

In the duck Reuben, for example, the house made duck pastrami is brined for up to two days before being smoked, then layered with ham choucroute, Havarti cheese, creole remoulade atop Emerald Coast Bread Co. sour rye and served with crispy fries.

Aside from the wide array of small plates to snack on, such as the burnt brussels glazed with bourbon and topped with spiced Renfroe pecans or the firecracker calamari complimented by a creamy orange-chili sauce, mango slaw and coconut lemongrass vinaigrette, Hughes has crafted a variety of full-blown entrees to choose from.

The Low Country Pork Chop, Roasted Chicken, Clams & Bucatini, Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon, Cornmeal-Dusted Gulf Shrimp and Crispy Gulf Coast Oysters comprise his inaugural entree list.

Regardless of what the dish is, the focus is on freshness.

“I just love the access we have to fresh seafood. I think it’s the best in the country, if not the world,” Hughes said. “There isn’t anything too crazy here (on the menu,) but we’re definitely focusing on the ingredients, the fresh seafood, everything is super technique driven here … all these things we can do to just take those fresh ingredients and deliver them in the freshest and most craft-driven way possible.”

More updates and information can be found on the Atlas Oyster House Facebook page or by calling the restaurant at (850) 437-1961.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Atlas Oyster House brings Pensacola new option for elevated dining