Cuisine: It’s easy to look at this slick, bustling operation as a corporate seafood house in a Reston shopping center, but chef/owner Jeff Tunks’s kitchen makes a genuine effort to stock local produce and sustainable fishes for executive chef Chris Clime’s globally inspired dishes—from a simple bucket of fried clams to Peruvian ceviche.
Mood: The raw-bar items laid out on ice near the kitchen set a tone of authenticity, and the room has the buzz of a fishmonger’s stall. Because the space expands vertically, there’s not a bad seat in the house—all diners can enjoy views of the first-floor action, though things are slightly more subdued in the upstairs gallery.
Best for: A night of downtown sophistication for Virginians—without the traffic or the long drive home from DC.
Best dishes: Clams casino; fried clams; hamachi crudo with grapefruit and jalapeño; eight-piece “kamikaze roll” of tempura prawns, avocado, and spicy tuna; red Thai curry lobster; honest, lightly bound crabcakes; whole-roasted branzino; freshly fried doughnut holes.
Insider tips: A special kids’ menu is a welcome departure from the usual chicken-fingers kind of offering. Servers here know their wines—one of the chefs lives on a nearby vineyard—and will bring samples.
Service: •••
Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. Expensive.
See all of 2010's 100 Best Restaurants
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
