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| - Such pretty, photogenic dishes! I have been looking forward to going to Pier 215 for ages and finally made plans to go for a belated Valentines dinner with my guy. The location is nicely appointed and intimate, with twinkle lights and a great view. It's a date-night spot for sure. Menu is massive, something for everyone- and again, every dish comes out so beautifully. They really pay attention to plating, everything we had was so photogenic!
PANKO SOFT SHELL CRAB: I LOVE soft shell crab, and the presentation was fun on this one. But other than the actual crab, I didn't care for this dish. It's plated on pureed sweet potato, a flavor that failed to elevate or highlight the delicate crab flavors. And serving this with tartar sauce was also a bizarre choice that didn't really work. Maybe this would have benefitted from more of the honey-mustard instead.
GARLIC BUTTER SEARED TUNA: Gorgeous, light, flavorful. Really liked this dish, and BF compared it to the version served at another of our favorite izakaya style spots in town. Fish was fresh, flavors were bright and harmonious.
PAN ROASTED LITTLE NECK CLAMS: So conflicted! The mussels were huge and meaty, like the ones we had up in Canada. But the broth! It was so bland! That's supposed to be the highlight of a dish like this, and it needs to be served with a crusty bread to soak it up. This had so much potential!
CLAM MUSHROOM MISO SOUP: One of the more traditional menu items. The miso was muted and the clams were nice, and there was additional tofu and seaweed as expected. But I didn't come across a single mushroom.
SUSHI DINNER ($25): 10 pieces of nigiri + tuna roll. BF and I were in agreement that this was AYCE quality sushi. Fish was cut paper-thin, and several slices improperly. Half were cut against the grain, which kills the cell and destroys the flavor. These pieces were hard to chew and didn't highlight the buttery texture and fresh flavors of the fish. Very disappointing! Did we just get the sub-par remnants after they got slammed for the holiday?
215 ROLL: Went with their namesake roll ($22), packed with several ingredients (lobster, soft shell crab, asparagus, mango, micro cilantro, tuna, salmon, avocado, den miso sauce). Again, it was a gorgeous dish. But it just didn't work. Throwing all your best ingredients into a single roll doesn't work if the flavors aren't balanced. There were bits of fruitiness from the mango and crunch from the asparagus, but the fish was not highlighted and the roll was overwhelmingly dry. My guy refused to eat more than two pieces, which is unheard of.
We were disappointed with our meal. Maybe I would have fared better ordering from the pasta dishes and grilled meats featured in their "specialties" section. The quality does not match the expectation set by the price point. You eat with your eyes first, so maybe that's where the extra star or two come from in some of these rave reviews.
I plan to go back for the sashimi rice bowl for lunch and hope for a better experience. Maybe I'll return for their tapa and raw bar items, like the oysters and the octopus carpaccio. But as Rod U said, the fish quality is closer to AYCE than to the upscale caliber expected, unfortunately.
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