Fantastic 5 star service. Excellent atmosphere, bu...

Fantastic 5 star service. Excellent atmosphere, but I have to subtract one point for the food. The plating and the texture is expertly done, but the flavors were slightly lacking. I would give this a 4.5 if possible, but alas I can't give it a perfect score.

I must say our server Sarah was absolutely phenomenal. Knowledgeable to a T on every dish and drink on the menu. Always checking up on our party and taking care of used dishes and silverware. Absolutely perfect server. Thank you Sarah! She took care of everything perfectly.

The atmosphere is contemporary and warm. Very well done all throughout and the wood is a nice touch for a seafood-themed restaurant. The open wood hearth behind the bar sets a great scene for any diners who are up at the front.

The signature drinks were quite tasty and well-mixed. The beer list is a little light if you like a draft beer, but there are many cans and bottles available. The wine list is extensive if you enjoy wine.

The menu itself is well thought-out. Short enough to keep itself simplistic, but long enough to have a nice variety. Most proteins are done a single way which I think is excellent planning. If I remember correctly, it's highly seasonal. Each menu is stamped with the date as to keep everything up to date. With so many great notches, I'm sad to say the food itself all felt very monotone and mild.

One very special appetizer is the blowfish tails, served with capers, raisins, and a special sauce. The blowfish tails themselves very certainly needed the other elements as they do not have very much flavor themselves.

The grilled octopus was another appetizer I tried. This was in a honey glaze that almost overpowers the protein. The octopus is what you'd expect of octopus, but I couldn't shake that it tasted almost like a honey-glazed chicken nugget. That said, when separated from the outer grilled bits, the underlying octopus is there and quite tasty. The salmon poke is excellent however. The fish is complemented well and the protein has taken the accompanying flavors much better.

The roast oysters are perfectly done. They are a mild flavor of oyster with the accompanying breadcrumbs as a great accoutrement to the flavor of the oyster.

I had the swordfish as a main course, which was served with a side of beef (though not listed as such on the menu). This was served with a dark amber sauce that I don't feel added very much. The flavor itself of the swordfish was very monotone and the sauce atop it did not add any flavors. The beef alongside it was the same. The texture on both were perfectly done.

I had a tasting of the she-crab soup which felt quite similar in body: one note and somewhat mild.

This continued with the sides as well. The "fried" basmati rice has many ingredients: fish, vegetables, and aromatics. I was excited for this from the description of it, but when it came to taste, it overwhelmingly tasted of basmati and nothing else. There were extremely subtle flavors of the other ingredients but nothing substantial.

The fried cauliflower is a dish that hits the one-note theme perfectly, but it must be consumed very quickly. Perfectly understandable for the nature of the dish, but definitely eat this one fast. Very well done.

The hush puppies are a very sweet dish topped with powdered sugar and served with a sweet butter. They're very different than most preparations that I gave had but quite tasty as well.

Overall, it let me down just a little how mild everything was. I definitely understand that seafood as fresh as the restaurant brings makes for a difficult base for flavor. While there were certainly some winners, I felt on average that the taste was just simple. Texture and plating was spot-on however. Everything was set for a perfect meal, but I just can't get over how it all settled into constant one-note dishes when everything else about the restaurant was spot-on.