Seaport Village Pop-Up Combines Performance Art With Seafood Snacks

A pop-up that got its start as a performance art piece in Logan Heights has taken up residence in Seaport Village where it’s currently open to the public every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Created by local artist and native San Diegan Max Daily, Oslo Sardine Bar debuted three years ago as an experimental gallery installation inside the Bread & Salt art center. Inspired by his grandmother, who worked in a tuna cannery, the pop-up featured Daily hosting curious patrons at a custom-designed, nautically-themed bar dedicated to and decorated with colorful cans of seafood, from sardines to mussels and oysters, and was an instant hit with audiences.

With sponsorship support from King Oscar, a global purveyor of Norwegian sardines, Oslo Sardine Bar has traveled to some of the country’s major art events, including Miami Beach’s prestigious Art Basel.

Recently, Daily re-homed the pop-up in Seaport Village, taking up residence in a vacant storefront in the complex’s Lighthouse District. His weekly operating hours coincide with Thursday evenings’ Seaport Sessions events, which offer food, beverages, and free concerts.

Inside the thoroughly charming space, which includes interactive elements for kids and a model shark that snaps Polaroids of visitors, Oslo Sardine Bar offers a menu of premium canned seafood served with crackers along with a helping of entertainment and education about San Diego’s fishing history. The bar can also be reserved for private tastings.

Daily, who majored in puppeteering and trained in butchery, has worked in the local hospitality industry for years. He told Eater that he’d like to turn the project into a permanent bar somewhere in San Diego.