Wildfish Seafood Grille

Reviews 3

KY

Kyle Ekstrand

We visited on a Monday night during restaurant week because were interested in sampling a few of the nicer places in town to find where wed like to eat in the future. I say without a doubt that wildfish is not one of those places. The presentation of the place is wonderful. Its bright and energy filled, and the atmosphere is welcoming. Our waitress was entertaining and fun, and the table arrangement looked great. The first courses we chose were the breaded Asian shrimp and the lobster bisque. Both were fairly good, but nothing to jump over. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, and had a great citrus sweetness, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. The bisque was a great consistency, but somewhat bland. The entree was a pretty big letdown. We ordered the swordfish steak and the filet mignon 8oz. cooked medium rare. The swordfish was cooked fairly well, but turned out a bit dry, but was saved by the flavor of the accompanying light sauce. The biggest disappointment of the night was the filet mignon. Im not very choosy when it comes to the cut - I expect a plus or minus around medium rare, and dont really care until its waaay out of the ball park on either end of the temperature scale. The outside had a perfect crust, and I expected going in that the rest would be a tender and warm red inside. Whoops. Something went wrong there. The inside was cold. Not a prissy "oh theyve underdone my steak by two degrees, Im abashed!" kind of cold, either. Go to the refrigerator aisle at your local grocery store and start touching the steaks. The temperature you just transferred to the meat from your finger got that meat to just about the same temperature as this mignon cut. But ok, still not that big of a deal in my mind! I simply stop the waitress next time she comes over and tell her it is actually cold inside. She takes one look and says "yes, thats definitely quite a bit underdone." She apologizes, and takes the food back to the kitchen to get it heated up a little bit. Let me make a note that this was a very busy Monday night, which can explain the coldness of the meat - I reasoned in my mind they didnt have enough meat out of the fridge to get enough for everyone, and so they had to pull some out on the fly. No big deal. All I need is for it to be cooked a little bit longer. In fact, if that had been the end of it, I wouldnt be writing this review right now. The clincher was how about five minutes later as I was finishing my mignon, the manager for the night came over and began by asking how everything was, and how the steak was after the fix. I say great, thanks, its far better now. There, that should have ended the conversation. Nope. He went on to tell me how I didnt know how a medium rare steak is cooked, and that I was incorrect in asking for it to be cooked longer. Really? You start off by apologizing, and then tell me I dont know what Im asking for? Not only have I been to many restaurants, Ive worked in a few of them, and either every single one of those chefs was incompetent, or a mistake was made here. Which is understandable. What isnt is how management decided to deal with the situation. But gosh, I really liked our waitress and the establishment, and honestly on a less busy night, or one which was better prepped for (Mondays typically arent prepped for a rush like this), it would have been perfect, but there it is.

JE

Jeff Turpin

Well, when you have a member in your family that grew up on an island, it can be tough to find decent seafood 3 hours from the closet shore in TX. However, Wildfish gave us an assured hope that something very close to paradise can be achieved. There was a rare, seasonal appetizer of fresh crab over ice along with jicama slaw. The crab was fatty - a rare and exquisite find among crab - and fresh. Usually, even fresh caught crab from an island by a local native and cooked a few moments later doesnt quite reach this level. Next, the Asian-influenced flavors of the ahi tuna, cooked to medium-rare perfection with a side of crab fried rice put our islander in an ecstatic mood, to say the least. Meanwhile, yours truly enjoyed an off-the-menu special of halibut upon a bed of habanero bacon, french green beans, and a chipotle beurre blanc sauce. One word describes this experience. Wow! The halibut was exceptional by itself, and even more so with the complex flavors offered by the sauce and garnishes. Another standout dish is the Louisiana Redfish with a nice brown butter and veal ju sauce delicately placed atop the fish. It was incredible. We finished the night with the acclaimed pineapple upside-down cake (pineapple cake and cheesecake mixed) with a syrup set ablaze by Bacardi 151 for carmelization. Literally the only thing that topped it was the butter pecan ice cream made by Amys, the queen of ice cream. I would have to say this is the best seafood weve ever eaten outside of south Louisiana, and certainly here in Texas. I would say I prefer Wildfish to Sandbar due to me liking more of the recipes at Wildfish; nevertheless, I believe Sandbars seafood is of an even higher quality. Further, this is one of the best restaurants Ive ever eaten at. Period. The food, the rather nice atmosphere, and the extremely knowledgeable and friendly staff lead me to wholeheartedly recommend Wildfish.

A.

A.Jean Gong

I have been to Wildfish Seafood Grille twice now. Once for a small dinner with my family before my wedding and again for my anniversary. Both times, the food and the service was excellent. While their main courses are to be expected from a quality steak/seafood restaurant (good quality meat and cooked the way I had asked), their appetizers are all delectable and offer flavor combinations and presentations that are exquisite and not very common in the area. I recommend the orange ginger shrimp. But I have also enjoyed every other appetizer I have ordered there. (Which was basically everything in the menu. My family ordered a lot the first time we were there) There are two major pitfalls of the restaurant. 1) the dining room as a whole is very loud. If listening to the company is important to you, be sure to ask for a booth along the wall (which was where we sat during the anniversary dinner and it really helped the noise) or a seat out by the patio. 2) Its fancy dining, expect to pay about 30 dollars per entree, and about 50-75 dollars per person. It is a great date place, but I wouldnt pick it for casual eats. PS: if you have a special occasion, call ahead and make reservations and let them know its your birthday/anniversary/graduation yada yada. =} They will write you a cute card, lay out tacky (But real) rose petals and possibly buy you a dessert. And everyone who stopped by or served us wished us happy anniversary. It was a nice touch. Heres a tip. If youre going on a date as a couple, order one entree each, order two appetizers to share. Skip the sides unless you see something that REALLY calls out to you (theyre so filling and not as rewarding as appetizers) and ONLY order alcohol if you feel like breaking bank. They have a good selection of all sorts of wines and spirits, if youre willing to pay.