Review: Succulent seafood is on the menu at Saltine

restaurant review

“I’ve always loved saltine crackers,” my friend confessed, as we sat down to dine at Saltine, the new seafood-driven restaurant on West End Avenue. “They’re light and crispy, have the right touch of salt. They go with just about anything.” 

Indeed, the versatile cracker is a must-have accessory to chicken noodle soup. The old school foundation for a dab of pimento cheese. The surprising crust for Atlantic Beach pie. And, the frequent and welcome companion to oysters.

It’s that last connection honored at Saltine, recently opened in the former Blackstone Brewery this spring. From raw to roasted to fried, oysters hold esteemed places throughout the menu. The second such restaurant (the original Saltine opened four years ago in Jackson, Miss.) takes its inspiration from — though it's not limited to — the coastal cuisines of Mississippi and Louisiana.   Executive chef Steven Robilio goes beyond the Gulf to include the New England-style fried clam sandwich and the Italian-American seafood stew from San Francisco, cioppino. There’s much at Saltine for a seafood lover to love.

Transforming the 9,000-square-foot space from the beer cellar to breezy seafood restaurant was an ambitious project. The interiors are awash in marine colors of navy blues, azure and turquoise, with artfully designed rooms — one with a beautiful cephalopod mural and oyster shell chandeliers, another cleverly tiled like a swimming pool. Central is the hexagon bar, where the bartenders serve an array of craft brews, cocktails, Tiki drinks and a daily punch.

On the fruity but not-too-sweet end is the daily punch — gin-based with cucumber and lime on one visit. The House Without a Sour arrives in a fun Tiki totem-faced glass, a churn of 100-proof bourbon, pineapple, citrus, egg white and angostura that goes down dangerously easy.  For those wanting to savor heady sips, the Saltine Sazerac is made for you. Or, if you’re ready to dive into the raw bar, start with the Saltine oyster shooter: the bloody Mary ensemble comes complete with one on the half shell, and a pony of Miller High Life.

From the raw bar, oysters are a must, served with mignonette or smoked pepper cocktail sauce, which has a nice kick to it. Then, share an order of roasted oysters: the LaFittes cooked with crayfish, bacon, hot sauce and butter are swoonworthy. And, the fried oysters (like most properly fried seafood) are true guilty pleasures. Get 'em Mississippi style, served with comeback sauce and saltines, of course.

You could indulge in those bivalves, then share a salad of Beets and Berries and call it a night. Robilio designed the menu to swing low to high end. Saltine’s generously packed po’ boys with fries will fill you well for $15 or less. On one visit, we ordered the fried shrimp po’ boy and enjoyed the sandwich mounded with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and perfectly fried shrimp dressed in remoulade. 

However, you can go for more of a fine dining experience with an entrée of seared scallops — four thick mollusks over pepper bacon risotto, napped in smoked tomato lemon cream sauce. Or cornmeal dusted redfish planked over goat cheese grits, and finished with bitter greens, and a reduction sauce of Abita amber ale and crab. Both were well-executed, flavorful and very rich.

Desiring something less cream-laden? We recommend the cioppino. What’s not to love about a bowl brimming with clams, mussels, shrimp and scallops and tomato confit, all in a wine- and herb-laced broth? This seafood stew comes with grilled bread to capture it all.

And, if you happen to have a vegan dining companion, have no worries. There are a couple of delicious dishes popped into the menu that seem out of place but are sure to please: vegan meatballs in marinara and corn miso ramen.

We tried only one dessert: the Banoffee Pie. So named for its banana-coffee notes, it boasts layers of dulce de leche custard, bruleed banana, and whipped cream over graham cracker crumbs, sprinkled with coffee powder. We love coffee and had wished for more of that in the dish, and maybe a savory crust … made with saltines.

SALTINE

1918 West End Ave., Nashville

615-327-4410, nashville.saltinerestaurant.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday

Reservations: accepted

Payment: major credit cards accepted

Alcohol: full bar

Food: coastal; seafood with Southern influences

Cost: Raw bar: $9-$12. Seafood towers: $39/$89. Roasted and fried oysters: $12-$15. Starters: $9-$12. Salads/soups: $5-$15. Po’ boys/burgers: $10-$16. Entrees: $14-$39.

Parking: on site lot

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