milesheggi
| Irvine, CA | 7 Reviews
Seafood restaurants can be hit or miss, frequently a miss, but every so often the gods of the deep smile on you, and you find a real gem. Enter Bluewater Grill; “a seafood restaurant, not just a restaurant that serves seafood” – in the words of the head chef, and it’s an important distinction to make. At this restaurant, in the wee hours of the morning, the daily delivery of fish arrives, and the chefs taste everything. If something isn’t up to their exacting standards, they send it back! This kind of integrity is what will make or break an eating establishment, and it definitely “made” Bluewater Grill. The interior is a contemporary marriage of dark woods and subtle nautical themes: No life preservers or fishing nets on the wall here. The lighting is low and has a modern, soft glow. The décor is rich but tastefully restrained, with black and white photographs of fisherman and their catches, sea-blue tile mosaics, elegant glass line floats hanging from lamps, and a strikingly colorful photograph of a clam from the South Pacific. You’re going to like sitting in this restaurant. And people do like being here. Bluewater Grill is popular for mixers, private parties, and corporate events. There are special tastings on the second Tuesday of every month that may feature oysters, high-quality beef, or on the day we went, a clambake. During our visit, there was a lively group who had reserved the patio to view a slideshow of wedding pictures. It’s clear that Bluewater has embraced the community, and discerning diners have returned the favor. The important part is the food. We had ponzu scallops, an Ahi poki tower, the cedar plank salmon, and the seared Ahi. Now, Dave and I both eat a lot of fish, being sushi fanatics. This meal was incredible. The seafood here was on another level. The ponzu scallops were delicate and tangy, chilled in clamshells with a little squeeze of lemon. The poki tasted great, with tuna that wasn’t over-seasoned; it’s an old trick at sushi places to give you older fish that’s heavily spicy to mask the flavor, but this tuna was perfectly fresh. Dave’s seard Ahi was also delicious and minimally seasoned to allow the fish to speak for itself. My cedar plank salmon was light and moist, with that smoky flavor just locked right into the meat. The head chef shared with us that a lot of cedar planks for sale don’t have the fragrant, distinctive qualities that really impart great flavor, so Bluewater has cedar planks specially made just for them. And you can taste it. On top of all this, there’s also a great happy hour from 3:30-6:30, where you can get $4 drinks, and high-end appetizers like shrimp ceviche lettuce wraps and a tenderloin tease with horseradish. Also, being adjacent to an AMC theater, you can get movie tickets for $7.95! I’ll be coming back very soon, and all it will take is one meal here to make you feel the same. check the video review: http://www.youtube.com/screamintv#p/a/u/0/5i97iuA_5qc
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