This is an easy restaurant to miss given its nondescript exterior but you are doing yourself a disservice if you pass it by. Inside you will find a warm, cozy interior with tables and both a front and back bar for seating. I sat at the back bar which gave me a view of the staff putting together the wonderful seafood platters.
Service here is friendly from the host through all the staff. Everyone is welcoming and attentive. Felix helped me the most during my visit but Nicholas checked in as well. Everyone who brought me a dish explained it. As a solo diner experiencing this restaurant for the first time, I enjoyed periods of interesting conversation while being allowed time to savor my food and enjoy the book I was reading.
While I love trying new restaurants. I am admittedly reserved in trying new seafood. Here though, I knew I would be cheating myself if I did that, so I opted for the Chef menu. My only regret is not being able to finish everything that I was served (I got full fast).
I started with a house cocktail, the Purple Smash. First up was the seafood platter which they did modify for me, providing just one raw oyster and a couple of extra shrimp along with snow crab, mussels, house smoked salmon and smoked sturgeon. I tend to think of myself as not a salmon fan, yet the favorite off the platter was the smoked salmon followed closely by the smoked sturgeon. Next was a series of tastings from the appetizer menu: the beef croquette with its wonderful smoky flavor and mixture of textures, the tuna with light, crunchy tuna chips to go with the cool minced tuna, and the Arctic char in it's lightly sweet blood orange sauce.
If my meal had ended there I would have been beyond satisfied, but I still had a bit to go. My main entrée was the seared salmon served along with the carrots side dish. Again, the textures and flavors worked amazingly well together: the crunchy salmon skin, the moist salmon flesh swiped through the caviar beurre blanc sauce was the perfect bite. The warm potato salad refreshed my palate for another bite. The carrots as well were roasted, but firm and delicious with hints of savory and sweet. And there was one last thing included with my menu tasting, a coffee cake and ice cream dessert. As Felix said, it's nearly a perfect dessert with the warm and cold, crunchy and moist in every bite.
While I did my best to create appetizing photographs they do not do Garde Manger justice. This is definitely a place you should come to for extraordinary evening. read more