I was spoiled during my time cooking at a restaurant nestled in quaint Nantucket Harbor: The seafood was überfresh and plentiful. I didn’t expect to find the same when I came back to St. Louis. but while Oceano Bistro, in downtown Clayton, is far from any seaside town, the fresh catch is top-notch, resulting in a range of seafood dishes that take me right back to the bay.
The kitchen, headed by executive chef Jon Lowe, puts out a selection of dishes inspired by everything from Japan to France to America’s East Coast and ranging from clean, crisp flavors to rich, butter-basted decadence. The occasional misstep may stem from random inconsistencies in service or preparation, but never, it seems, with the quality of the product.
A tour of the best offerings begins with the hamachi-avocado ceviche. Thinly sliced wisps of ever-so-delicate raw hamachi are drizzled with velvety Meyer lemon vinaigrette the shade of a pale yellow buttercup. Crescents of creamy avocado, dainty microsprouts and sweet green peas are layered and placed just so over the fish. The dish is light and bright yet luscious and inviting. By drizzling the acid over the fish instead of marinating it, the texture of the flesh remains tender, not “cooked” tough. It’s very pretty to look at, too.
Conversely, ordering the crab cakes with shiitakes, apples and lemongrass aïoli to start will land you right in the middle of ordinary. They taste fine but don’t offer much texturally. We wanted more tender, meaty morsels, not shredded, breaded mush, and more crisp apple, earthy shiitake, peppery arugula and aïoli, which barely tasted of the advertised lemongrass.
A good alternate is the glazed salmon flatbread with a crisp crust, charred here and there, and caper cream cheese, shaved fennel, chopped greens and shredded Parmesan. An amber glaze drizzled on top was sweet and a little spicy, with a bright kick. Texturally, there’s a lot going on: the superthin crunchy crust, the creamy cheese, tender bits of salmon, crispy fried capers. Even with all those flavors, the salmon still seems to shine.
Main courses feature a rotating variety of fish based on season and what’s good and fresh at the moment. One night it was a grilled Hawaiian nairagi with potatoes and a rock shrimp genevoise sauce. The fish was firm and served mid-rare, but the sauce was something special. The essence of the rock shrimp was extracted from their shells and combined with aromatics and cream to create a rich, earthy, sumptuous sauce. Nevermind that the potatoes were a bit undercooked that night. It was really, really good – memorably so.
Basking in a buttery revelry was the sea bass over corn and asparagus risotto with smoked tomato butter. At first bite, butter, then flakey ocean flesh, then creamy risotto, sweetness from corn, and crisp-tender bites of asparagus. A nice citrus flavor tinged the whole dish, preventing it from entering “too much” territory.
Missouri rainbow trout in a yummy lemon almondine butter was crisp at the edges, tender and flaky within. An apple cider-brined pork chop for the non-seafaring type is a big hunk of meat – a bit unwieldy to carve into, but juicy despite being served well-done, and nicely seasoned, sweet and flavorful.
Desserts seemed uninspired. The trio of crème brûlée was just OK; the phyllo-wrapped brownie with ganache and vanilla ice cream is tasty but unexciting.
There are lots of servers, busers, food-runners, managers, etc. floating around the place, and they are more efficient for it. Vaulted ceilings highlighted with soft spotlights and lots of booths and banquettes clothed in muted reds create a sophisticated setting for the bustling crowd on weekends and sturdy after-work crowd on weekdays.
BACK FOR SECONDS Where: Oceano Bistro, 44 N. Brentwood Blvd., Clayton, 314.721.9400
When: Mon. to Thu. – 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. – 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sat. – noon to 11 p.m., Sun. – 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Don’t-Miss Dishes: Hamachi-avocado ceviche, grilled Hawaiian nairagi, sea bass with corn and asparagus risotto
Vibe: A casually sophisticated crowd sports everything from flannel shirts and jeans to expensive suits and pinky rings.
Entrée Prices: $14 to $34
This article appears in June 2011.
