My dad loves seafood. Loves it and makes some of the most perfectly cooked salmon both grilled and pan seared that I’ve ever eaten. His favorite is whole fish though – nothing is more exciting at a restaurant to him than munching on the fish head to get the last bits of fish. This is usually met with a bit of shock in western restaurants, but it’s perfectly normal at an asian one. The fish is always served with a head at a chinese restaurant – that’s how they prove it’s fresh. 😛 So I’m always on the lookout for a great seafood restaurants, and while seattle has a plethora of restaurants that serve seafood, there are not that many that specialize in it. Seastar, Ettas, and Rays are the standards that usually come to mind. Recently, there has been a trend toward seafood with Barnacle, Westward, and most recently, Rock Creek opening.
I went to Rock Creek to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and we made sure to only order seafood.
BBQ octopus – although this dish consisted most of cannelli beans, olives, and tomatoes, the octopus was solid. Think grilled octopus with heat from chilli powder offset by the acidity of the tomatoes. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you that I was eating octopus though if I hadn’t known beforehand.
tuna crudo – italian sashimi, done korean style with pickled cucumbers and an onion vinaigrette; a nice balance with a melt in your mouth tuna
John dory – a pan seared white fish sitting on a bed of cauliflower puree; I’ve never had John Dory before, so I can’t tell you what it’s supposed to taste like, but it has the thickness of trout with the flakiness of halibut but a little more delicate. They did a great job searing the fish.
Neah Bay cod – it was local, we had to try it; it was drizzled with lemon sauce and covered with a tower of kale; well cooked, but the lemon was too overpowering and I didn’t feel like the kale added much to the fish, only the lemon sauce.
Smore trifle – toasted marshmallow on top of an impossibly rich, yet fluffy dark chocolate mouse with a little bit of salted caramel – how could you possibly go wrong with that? I took the left overs home with me – that’s how much I liked it.
White chocolate cranberry bourbon bread pudding – the extra wet and alcoholic version of a starbucks cranberry bliss bar? Again, you can’t go wrong with this and it was delicious.
Service was very attentive for such a recently opened restaurant and the atmosphere is lively. Overall, I appreciated that they cooked seafood well. They did try some fresh approaches and while I’m not sure they all wow-ed, they certainly were at a mild success. There’s lots to try on the menu, so I’ll be back with more fish lovers in tow, but I am definitely having more dessert.
SUMMARY
Overall: happily ever after
Highlights: tuna crudo, john dory, smores trifle
Footnotes: it’s kind of noisy, the oyster shooters look interesting to try for next time, the entire menu is meant to be shared but this is not a tapas restaurant
