the best modern seafood restaurant around...
Written: Jan 27 '01 (Updated Jan 27 '01)
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Pros: creative and delicious seafood.
Cons: very expensive.
The Bottom Line: go for the food, order some of their signature dishes.
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| garyo's Full Review: Aqua |
Aqua is about the food, in particular, the seafood. I've
always heard a lot of hype about the setting with the $150,000 annual flower budget, etc. and that's impressive. But the food is fancy and simple and delicious. We had the 5-course tasting menu for $75. At Aqua, the whole table must order the same tasting menu if you choose to get one.
They started with a small cup of clam chowder poured at your table which was nice with the warm rolls. Another "freebie" was a raw Hog Island oyster with a
margarita granite and a salted lime wedge. Hog Island oysters are from the Tomales Bay area and are sold at the SF Farmer's Market. They are round and sweet and delicious.
OK, then the courses started. The first course was a crab cake that was breaded and fried with some some beets and greens. Pretty good with a good size, but I liked the one at Boulevard more. Then the next course is a Aqua signature dish: the black mussel souffle with saffron sauce. Each person gets an individual souffle and the hot top is broken open and the saffron and creme sauce is poured in. Yum.
The 3rd course was a fish dish of broiled striped bass that was a substitution of red snapper that they had run out of. The 4th course is another Aqua signature dish: the foie gras on seared tuna with a pinot noir sauce. The
seared tuna is rare on the inside and charred on the outside like a tataki from a sushi restaurant. The tuna is on top of a potato cake, and the foie gras is on top of the tuna.
The final course was a dessert palette: a metal Nambe-like artist's palette with 7 or 8 miniature desserts in the palette's holes. This was to share for the 2 of us. The desserts I recall were a rootbeer float, bread pudding, citron sorbet, and then some chocolate stuff. And a couple fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.
As you can see, it's a menu with some standard fare like the crab cake and broiled fish and then some spectacular dishes like the mussel souffle and the foie gras on seared tuna. I wouldn't get a dry white wine with this menu with
its rich dark sauces.
The service is good as you would expect for the prices. Our particular waiter was a bit distracted, e.g., not offering us coffee with dessert, but the waiters in general were courteous and knew their stuff.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations I did not really like our table as the two of us were seated in a row of 3 tables for 2 that were very close together. If going again as only 2 people, I would make sure to request a better, more private table.
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
garyo
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Location: California
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 6 members
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