REVIEW: New Year’s at The Fish Store

In a fitting end to the year, ushering a new approach filled with lightness and inventiveness, The Fish Store’s New Year’s Eve prix-fixe dinner was the dignified meal to end 2020; a year wrought with unwelcome developments.

“My vision was about making a special NYE menu that would spark the general public to come dine out in a safe and comfortable environment, while enjoying a really special menu at an extremely affordable price during these trying times in the restaurant business,” owner Seth Needelman said.

Offering their full regular menu alongside a new prix-fixe was a good choice in allowing patrons to choose from verified favorites or daring new concoctions.

This summer, The Fish Store had introduced an updated menu that followed in a similar fashion, keeping mainstays like crab cakes and stuffed salmon on while introducing new crowd pleasers like lobster mac-and-cheese and shrimp quesadilla.

The NYE prix-fixe menu included a starter, soup/salad, entrée, and dessert, generously priced for $54.99 per person.

Here’s a breakdown of what my dining companion, the foreman of the ceiling crew at Moynihan Train Hall (aka the new Penn Station), and I had for a lovely, aptly but ironically celebratory NYE dinner:

Starter:

-Lobster ravioli, paired with what seemed to be the decadent and signature seafood bisque of The Fish Store, this appetizer was enough to fill the belly of the hungriest diner, but so lightly fried that it was a pleasant beginning.

-Chicken teriyaki skewers, once again relying on old favorites, The Fish Store’s teriyaki sauce was sweet and original accompanied with tenderly barbecued chicken.

Soup:

Neither of us wanted a salad for the end of a gluttonous year working from home.

-French onion soup, heavenly light broth and perfectly sauteed onions rounded out with just the right charring on the cheese.

Entrée:

-Flounder almondine, dizzyingly beautiful stacking of almonds atop a delicate piece of flounder, the contrasting textures of the crisp, toasted almonds and the flaky fish were wonderful.

-Salmon piccata, exquisitely and traditionally paired with artichokes and capers; there was an unexpected sweetness in the sauce that contrasted well with the saltiness of the fish.

Dessert:

-Spumoni, cryogenically frozen, but wonderful once thawed.

-Chocolate cake, worthy of a “Matilda”-style eating contest.

“This was an opportunity to showcase our fine-dining abilities by branching off and designing this menu with our delicious, fresh seafood, while still offering the daily menu,” chef Tom Beebe said.