Ms. Reiley is correct, this restaurant is gorgeous with a very impressive aquatic decor. My favorite features were the saltwater aquariums strategically placed about the restaurant. And, what impressed me the most was the fact that these aquariums were in actuality HD flat screen TVs. What a grand idea! We basked in that tranquil feeling one gets while watching sea life swim gracefully to and fro without the hassle of having to clean fish poop out of the tanks. I want one of those!
Oh, yeah...this is a restaurant and not an art gallery, so I suppose I should mention stuff about the food. Well, I was way more impressed with the decor and the art than I was the food. I am an aficionado of oysters on the half shell so the boutique oysters really piqued my interest and tantalized my taste buds. There were three varieties, two from the Northeastern waters and one from the Pacific Northwest. They were pricey at $2.75 a pop, but what the hell...I want a half dozen of each! They arrived on a tray of ice, perfectly shucked and with various sauces. I don't need sauce to enjoy a fine oyster. The first two or three weren't quite right. I tried the fourth one with a vinegar based dip and it wasn't too bad. The fifth one, I couldn't get it past the sniff test. These oysters, flown in fresh daily, had spent way too much time out of the water and in the air. The waiter took them back and returned with a complimentary half dozen oysters. Good God, they reeked! I sent them back.
By then our entrées had arrived so I told the waiter to forget the oysters. My dining companion had ordered the Island Glazed Meatloaf with crispy onion straws and smashed potatoes which she said were very tasty. I had chided her on her choice of meatloaf in a seafood restaurant. I think in retrospect that she made the wiser choice. I had the ubiquitous seared tuna. This Sesame Seared Tuna was served on a gummy wad of soba noodles with a passion fruit teriyaki sauce. The flavors weren't bad, but a gummy noodle wad is not one of my favorite foods even though I love noodles.
We perused both the lunch and dinner menus but there was nothing that really leaped out at us that you couldn't find at any other area seafood restaurant and probably at a much more reasonable price. Our bill, including a 20% tip (the waiter was very accommodating), several of their excellent draught beers, plus our food orders came to $108. Some of the oysters were removed from our bill, but I think someone in the kitchen thought I was being too persnickety. Maybe so, but I grew up on the Florida Panhandle eating Apalachicola oysters so I know a good one from a bad one, and when they smell like (I just imagine) Warren Sapp's jock strap after a particularly hot day on the field...well, those som-bitches are bad.
Oh, we never did see any of the St. Pete who's whos although a few nights later we did see Channel 13's Charley Belcher at Artifacts in Tampa. We are fans and we were thrilled!
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