Recommended Menu Image

GT Fish & Oyster 

Tags: Seafood, Bar/Lounge, Recommended, Menu, Image

Our Review

A smart abstraction of the panregional seafood shack, GT is candlelit and carefully appointed with wood paneling hung with shark's teeth and framed oil paintings of tall ships in distress, and though it's perpetually mobbed by a spirited crowd taking its time at having a good time, there's plenty of room to breathe. For former Trotter's chef de cuisine and current Boka exec Giuseppe Tentor—who supplies the G and the T—it's a significant step away from fine dining, but not an overstep. The complex, even challenging dishes familiar to his fans are balanced by smart updates of domestic and international classics, ranging from clam chowder and crab cakes to squid paella and miso-glazed cod. He doesn't mess so much with the most hallowed of these—a modestly sized lobster roll, which abounds with sweet chunks of shellfish in a buttery roll next to buttermilk-battered frazzled onion, nested like a disassembled Awesome Blossom. But even most of the familiar dishes have tactical improvements. Deep-fried brandade nuggets yield to an almost fluffy interior of steaming salt cod and potato sitting atop bracing fennel-orange salad. Grilled mahimahi—dressed in chipotle aioli and a sprinkling of chicharrons and swaddled in corn tortillas—successfully straddles the divide that separates partisans of crispy and soft fish tacos. And a glistening red puck of tuna poke—as luxurious as formed fish butter and freshened with translucent sliced cucumber, drops of mango puree, and pickled mango shavings—barely resembles the old warhorse. Even unadorned sea creatures are accompanied by careful accents. Terrifically fresh and skillfully shucked raw oysters in three varieties from each coast come with cocktail sauce emulsified with sweet apple; steamed Alaskan crab legs are perfumed with lemongrass, oranges, and lemons. For the most part the more ambitious dishes are every bit as appealing as the simpler ones. The real reward of ordering a whole chorizo-stuffed squid is a saffron-stained bed of rice you couldn't find in any paella pan in town. And you have to admire the sheer cojones of putting out something as visually challenging as the pitch-black squid-ink gnocchi and fiddlehead ferns, a primordial-looking bowl of pasta and greenery I'd throw down in front of anyone with even the slightest taste for confrontation. Read the full review >>

— Mike Sula

Features: Outdoor Seating, Full Liquor Service, Valet Parking, Lunch, Dinner, Open Late, Saturday Brunch, Sunday Brunch, Reservations Accepted

Price: $$$
Payment Type: MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, Discover

Past Events

• GT Fish & Oyster

  • Sat., Dec. 31 2011

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