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FIRST LOOK: Blackfish Stone Harbor
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FIRST LOOK: Blackfish Stone Harbor
Filed Under: Field Trip | Openings
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| All photos l Felicia D'Ambrosio |
| Tuna tartare on a fried wonton, Cape May Salt oyster with watermelon and carbonated Meyer lemon, smoked salmon with cr�me fra�che. |
On Friday we previewed Blackfish Stone Harbor, the coastal efforts of James Beard-nominated chef Chip Roman. Friday's soft opening, featuring tiny versions of the dishes on the a la carte menu, gave guests a chance to see the transformation of the formerly dark and dingy space and try out Roman's progressive cooking.
Meal Ticket was especially stoked on the separate bar menu, featuring classics like French onion soup, steak frites, a hefty "beach burger" and clams casino.
General Manager Kip Phelps�was gearing up for the intense Saturday night ahead � for their first dinner service, they already had 125 on the books and had closed reservations.
Peep the interior, and more importantly, the food, after the jump.
Blackfish Stone Harbor, 9628 Third Ave., Stone Harbor, N.J., 609-967-9100,� blackfishrestaurant.com
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| L to R: Amanda Roman, manager Kip Phelps, partner/owners Dr. John & Denise Sprandino, manager Ashley Hess, chef/owner Chip Roman. |
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| The center dining room of the only white-tablecloth restaurant in Stone Harbor. |
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| Asparagus soup |
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| A shiny shortrib |
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| From the bar menu: NY strip steak frites |
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| Beignets with raspberry sauce and coconut cr�me anglaise |
Luciano's Restaurant also is a white table cloth restaurant and has been established for at least 6 summers. The idea of a white table cloth is not new to Stone Harbor.
I love Chip Roman and think he is one of the best chef's in the area, but trying to transfer the magic or even quality of Blackfish to 250 seats is going to be a HUGE challenge. I think he may be able to do it, but this looks like it could go either way for me. I look forward to trying it out this summer, whats the dress code?
[...] Blackfish Stone Harbor is open as the town’s only white tablecloth restaurant. If that sounds too stuffy, you’ll be happy to hear there’s a bar menu with classics like French onion soup, steak frittes and a “beach burger.” [Meal Ticket] [...]
I was fortunate enough to attend a wonderful event sponored by Blackfish Stone Harbor this weekend. The restaurant has been transformed into a cozzy dining spot enabling customers to experience fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere. The food was an experience in itself....the drinks were fabulous and the dessert scrumptious with impeccable presentation! Staff superb! Good Luck in Stone Harbor...Spread the word. John E.
Best of luck to Chip Roman, John and the entire Balckfish staff! The meal I had was superb, the dessert was the best I've ever had and the staff was professional and ever so friendly. What more can one ask for??? Thanks to you all for a wonderful weekend opening! I will spread the word. Clare D.
The food was amazing, and the restaurant looks NOTHING like the old Henny's restaurant site. I am curious to go back and try the bar menu this summer, as everything on it looked so delicious. If this is a taste of the entire Shelter Haven project on the bay, then I'm sold. Wonderful! Best of luck this summer!
My mom, sister and I dined Sat. evening May 16th at Blackfish. The wait staff was extremely "on" and attentive (The water girl refilled my glass before I had even taken a sip!). However, we found the menu to be fairly limited (if you don't like fish - you don't have a lot to choose from). I had the house salad as a starter and was surprised to find it consisted of mixed leaf lettuce and dressing (nothing else, no tomato, no onion, na da and hardly any dressing too boot). My mom and sister both got the steak and fries and I had the Escalar (butterfish). The best part of my meal was the rice and peas and the curry sauce (they were REALLY good). The fish itself was on the dry side. My mom was not thrilled with her steak. I took a taste and found the sauce a little too much. My sister's was over cooked. The fries were also not the best. For dessert I ordered the Creme Brulee which was also just OK. Comparatively we ate at Ristorante Luciano (one block away) the previous evening and had an incredible meal and incredible dessert (Limoncello). The bill at Blackfish was $235 compared to $112 at Luciano's (however, we did bring the wine). Finally, the thing I will miss most about Henny's is that Blackfish is not a family restaurant - it is more of a fine dining occasional restaurant (given the prices). And given the prices (and that I have a young family) I will be unlikely to frequent it the way I did Henny's. But I may visit the bar - as that is nice (assuming it doesn't break the bank to have a few). Oh and the interior, understandably given they are demoing the place in a couple of years, looks pretty much just like Henny's minus the booths and a new paint job.
I love Blackfish! The restaurant itself is so nice. The service and food was excellent! Chip Roman is an awesome chef. He and John Sprandio are great partners and I think Blackfish will do very well this summer. I have dined there twice and both experiences were great. I also visited the bar, which is really cool and the music is awesome. Keep up the good work Chip, John, and all the staff at Blackfish. This is going to be a great summer!
Read all of the reviews, heard great things, but..my husband and I were quite let down. We know that it may only be a temp space; however it looked just like Henny's painted white. Made reservations. Arrived and seated on time yet it took over 15 minutes until our very pleasant waitress took our drink order, and asked if we were ready to order dinner at the same time. More wait for drinks, asked twice for water. Took the first sip of our martinis and our appetizer was on the table. So much for leisurly vacation dining. Crab salad app was delicious! My main course was "surf and turf".....a wonderfully tender palm size portion of a braised short rib and two scallops.....along with a few spoons full of much too sweet parsnip puree for $3o ish John's entree was "bouillabaisse"...a plate with a handful of clams, mussles, and shrimp and whatever fish was sitting around the kitchen from the weekend.....seriously, he had a turkey sandwich when we got home because he was still hungry! $30ish Desert was a molten chocolate cake....itlooked and tasted like the very same cake that is bought in bulk frozen and served at every chain around except there was a tiny bit of malt under the vanilla ice cream. A big disappointment! Try Quahogs....you won't get a linen napkin but you will get more pleasant service, the most delicious clam chowder in Stone Harbor and right-from-the -pier fish that's really worth the cost!!
i used to work for chip in conshohocken. i thought the blackfish there was good i can not belive how stoneharbor is turning out. this summer i will deffinatly come down to vist and have dinner if these reviews keep comming in! all the best chip GIORGIO
The Blackfish Stone Harbor is truly a great place to dine!
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