Seamore's restaurant review: Some nice fish, but a big catch - The Washington Post

The last two-plus years have given me plenty of time to think about my line of work, how I judge restaurants, what readers want, my role in the dining scene.

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When the bottom fell out from beneath the industry, and takeout and delivery were pretty much the only way to experience chefs' work, I wrote themed roundups as a way to simultaneously support restaurants and diners' interests. Subsequent reviews of individual establishments were largely positive; I wasn't afraid to criticize, but I also typed more words of praise by focusing on places I really liked. With the publication of my recent fall dining guide, I announced my decision to drop star ratings from my reviews, partly because businesses with lots of moving parts — restaurants — deserve more than a symbol to sum them up.

And now? At the moment, I'm thinking about Seamore's, a seafood chain with five branches in Manhattan and Brooklyn that recently opened its first location outside New York. Co-founder Jay Wainwright, who introduced the Cosi fast-casual sandwich chain in 1996, says he looked at coastal cities Boston, Los Angeles and Miami before settling on Arlington, Va., whose open-minded demographic and proximity to like-minded suppliers appealed to him. The local purveyor for Seamore's is the conscientious, quality-focused ProFish in Washington.

On the surface, Seamore's is a brand a lot of consumers can get behind, with a feel-good mission of serving only sustainable fish, a bullet point promoted on a big black board with the names and drawings of fish the restaurant prefers to offer. Spend some time here, however, and you're reminded that hospitality can be every bit as important as food when considering a place to eat.

A red spoon near the name of the fish indicates a catch available that day, typically a half-dozen choices that have included hake, swordfish, yellowfin tuna, black sea bass and Arctic char. Any can be the centerpiece of a Reel Deal, an entree rounded out with three sides — tasty cauliflower mash; sauteed asparagus with mushrooms; a corn, cucumber and tomato salad — plus a choice of sauce. The Reel Deal, priced between $24 and $30, is one of the best values on the menu. My happy meal in this light-filled, white-tiled dining room: sweet Montauk scallops arranged with their escorts, which change with the season, and a dip of bright yellow lemongrass aji.

But first, consider anything set in a miniature fry basket. The possibilities include "firecracker" cauliflower, named for the heat in the sweet chile aioli draped over the crackling florets, and tempura "Buffalo" shrimp, the seafood equivalent of Buffalo chicken wings, offered with carrots, celery and a coolant of ranch dressing.

Yellowfin tuna poke is a respectable and especially peanut-y version of an appetizer that seems to be playing everywhere right now. In contrast, the fisherman stew leaves an oddly familiar taste in its wake: "Chili!" two of us jinx one another after spooning into the tomato paste-powered bowl of fish, fennel and potato.

Executive chef Laurence Cohen comes to Seamore's from the Washington outpost of the seafood-themed Truluck's, also a chain, and he's doing a menu similar to what a diner finds in the Seamore's restaurants in New York, with a few exceptions, including the daily catches. Snakehead, the invasive creature nicknamed "Frankenfish," is likelier to be offered in Virginia than in New York, for instance.

Two of Cohen's additions to the script are two of the best ways to commence a meal. Shaved Brussels sprouts and fennel tossed with spinach and napa cabbage get tang from goat cheese, sweetness from caramelized onions and a nice gloss from walnut vinaigrette. A heartier launch is succulent Virginia clams in a steaming bath of DC Brau's El Hefe Speaks beer, with a raft of a garlicky split baguette for absorbing the goodness of mustard, thyme and lemon in the elixir.

Much of the rest of the menu alternates picks with pans. Hot heads will appreciate the fire in the red curry mussels, its broth a weave of coconut milk, bright herbs and zippy red curry paste. Lobster lovers are likely to put their forks down after a bite or so of the lobster mac and cheese featuring dry seafood bonded to rigatoni like Super Glue. I ordered two different tacos, but the only one to appear was the gochujang-flavored chicken served on gummy flour tortillas with a thimble of kimchi. No one finished the wrap.

Which brings me to a whale-size caveat at Seamore's. I realize the restaurant is young and good staff is hard to find, but beyond the ever-ready smile at the door, service is hit-or-miss, and mostly miss. I might be more forgiving if the staff paid better attention to customers, but more than once, I've looked up from my plate to see servers chatting near the kitchen or checking their phones.

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At Seamore's, the crew manages to see less.

There are sometimes long lags between courses, with no one around to tell you why. The pause was so comical one dinner, I contemplated using the time to run to the nearby Whole Foods for some milk and bananas. Instead, I triple-checked the noise level, which registered 84 decibels in the middle of the inaction. (That's the equivalent of eating alongside a diesel truck. Bon appetit, fish fans!) Basic skills elude some servers, like the guy who finally produced our bottle of wine after two reminders — without a corkscrew. "I'm new to wine," he explained before retrieving an opener.

On my last visit, a manager showed us to our table, introduced the restaurant's theme and said a waiter would be right with us. A minute later, the same manager returned, told us he was going to be our server for the night and introduced the theme — again, almost word for word, as if he didn't remember seating us 60 seconds earlier. (It's true, it's true what they say about becoming invisible at a certain age!)

The restaurant offers a single dessert. It's a mash-up you should explore if you like churros and salted caramel ice cream, a combination offered as a sandwich that's hard to eat in that form (you'll need a fork) but easy to like.

The best strategy at Seamore's is to stick with what the chef whipped up for his Arlington audience and a Reel Deal entree — and bring some ear plugs and a boatload of patience. Unfortunately, the newcomer's mission statement is lost in the muddle. For now, anyone asking me for good seafood in Arlington is going to hear "The Salt Line," locally produced and just five minutes from this scene of too many crimes.

Seamore's

2815 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, Va. 703-721-3384. seamores.com. Open: Indoor and outdoor dining, delivery and takeout for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; for dinner 4 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, 4:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday; for brunch 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Prices: Dinner appetizers $12 to $24, entrees $18 to $35. Sound check: 84 decibels/Extremely loud. Accessibility: No barriers to entry; ADA-compliant restrooms. Pandemic protocols: Staff are not required to wear masks or be vaccinated.