TL:DR - This joint is romantic AF. Music selection is on point. Food is either a home run or kinda meh. Beware of whole lobsters. 4 star overall.
This past weekend we (being my lady and I) were having a romantic weekend away (in the city - so more of a romantic weekend... of stay) and wanted to find a "fancy" place with a romantic vibe that wouldn't be too crazy on a Friday night.
Being the planner that I am, I poured through several publications (both in print and online) who'd made lists on most the romantic/best ambience/date spots in the 6ix. I found several options that I liked but none stood out to me like The Chase Fish & Oyster. So we booked it! At the time of booking, I made a note that this was a "special occasion" dinner so I wanted a good table if there was one available.
Our reservation was for 8:15 pm and we arrived right on time. The entrance is on the side of the building down an alleyway and you need to pass not one but two hostess stands before you're seated (seemed redundant but without them, you'd likely struggle to find the entrance entirely).
The restaurant is beautifully decorated and laid out, sophisticated and sleek with enough of a casual sea shanty vibe to make it not super stuffy. The main bar is shaped like a set of rolling waves and they carry you down to the main dining room which is sunken down several steps. The dining room also leads out to the patio but the real beauty, in my opinion, is the dining room. As you look up they've arranged soft hanging bulbs at various heights which give the appearance of a starry night sky against the dark ceiling.
We were walked into the dining area and given a choice of seats, either a private cosy corner booth which allowed us to sit at 45 degrees from each other or a two-seater. We went with the corner seat but it was really nice to have a choice.
Once seated we wasted little time ordering drinks and food. Here is what we had and my thoughts:
COD TACOS - warm tortilla, smoked tomatillo & lime sour cream
$6.25/pc
**I didn't eat this but my fiancee did and said she really liked this (4-star)
CRAB TATER-TOTS - Dungeness crab, charred scallion & cheese curds
$23.95
**You think this is going to be like crab-cake based on the description, it's not. It's literally a massive pile of actual tater tots topped with a crab and cheese sauce (2.5 star - a lazy dish, very filling but not very good)
STEAMED MUSSELS - Creole butter, white wine & garlic
$25.95/lb
**The quality of the mussels here were fantastic. HUGE in size, great flavours, a healthy portion and a nice bite to the sauce (5-star)
WHOLE EAST COAST LOBSTER SPECIAL - 1lb or 2lb lobster Steamed with drawn butter served with cheddar biscuit, and coleslaw
MP ($55 at time of visit for 1lb)
**This was an odd experience. I pulled off the tail so I could get at the meat and with it came a flood of dark brown sludge which smelt horrid (I gagged), what's worse it the gelatinous sludge was wrapped all over the tail meat. I asked the server if this was normal or if the lobster maybe was off and she handled the situation well by whisking it away and taking it to the chef, but when she came back she said that it was cooked fine and the lobster was fresh according to the chef. They warmed the dish back up for me and I assume trimmed off parts of the tail meat that appeared unsavoury, what was left was less than half a tail in meat. The claws didn't provide much meat overall so for $55 I got less than 1/2 a tail, and two small claws.... and a smelly plate of brown liquid. I think the customer experience here could be improved with some set of expectations or at the very least explaining how to separate/eat lobster (1-star)
Dessert
BANANA SPLIT (for two!) - Neapolitan ice cream, bourbon caramel, cherry toasted peanuts
$?? (don't recall - and not listed on their website)
**best banana split I've ever had... EVER. So many flavours and textures, it was like eating a banana split, creme brulee and a peanut buster parfait all in one - Like the best of DQ on a plate. (5-star).
From a food perspective I would say overall it's a 3-star overall, too many inconsistencies with dishes being either great or not. What puts them over the top is the customer service, design/decor, and ambience (which I forgot to mention was only made better by the amazing music selection playing all night - classic RnB, contemporary-pop hits, sultry tunes with seductive instrumentals AND ALL THE SADE you can listen to. You know when a restaurant plays "Smooth Operator" they're lookin' to help you get lucky that night ;)
I'd go back and try more menu items out, great date night spot, worth the money
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