Blackfish (Conshohocken) - mediocre
We ate at Blackfish for the first time this past week. It was an okay meal but we were expecting more based on the Inquirer review and the general buzz about the restaurtant. The staff was friendly but for a seafood oriented restaurant the fish selections on the October menu were very limited (tuna, bouillabaisse, salmon, skate wing).
Each of us started with a Caeser salad which was uninspired to say the least - the romaine was a bit soggy, the dressing was fair and the croutons were from a package.
My wife had the big eye tuna. She requested it rare and it was served very medium rare and was devoid of any real flavor (was supposed to be crusted in Zatar seasoning). I had the Bouillabaisse and it was okay. The broth had no real flavor (was supposed to be saffron infused) and the non-shellfish chunks of fish were tasteless and overcooked.
It should also be noted that the entrees were served with little to no sides. How hard is it to include a bit of vegetable and starch on a high $20's entree? The tuna had a bit of what appeared to be seawood strings on the plate as well as a sun-dried tomato and the Bouillabaisse was served with a small crustini.
Based on this experience I doubt we will go back. We eat out at nice restaurants at least 2 to 3 times a month. We are not food snobs and have dined out enough to know what is excellent, what is good and what is fair. Blackfish was fair.
nevets
Oct 19, 2007 04:09AM
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I'm sorry to hear this because I'm always hoping to find a good restaurant nearby. Funny, but despite all the good reviews, I didn't have a great feeling about the place and thus hadn't tried it yet. Maybe it was just a carryover from the disappointing Maya Bella at the same location. I'm developing a bad attitude about suburban restaurants and don't generally have high hopes when I do try one. I know this is not really fair but it often seems to turn out to be a disappointing experience. I have been to Hamlet Bistro, Bacio, Cafette and others several times in the hope of changing my opinion which was "eh". No luck. I was criticized recently here for mentioning Allison so often. It's not my favorite restaurant but I just haven't found anything spectacular in the suburbs.
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I was at Blackfish a while ago and while I would agree that it wasn't fantastic, we had a couple dishes that were very good. It's worth checking out if you live in the area. We didn't have any problems with soggy lettuce or overcooked fish though, that would definitely change things.
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Cafette, Bacio, and Hamlet Bistro are all in Philadelphia. They are not suburban restaurants.
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Technically you are correct. Should have been more clear. I meant as opposed to center city.
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Two things really suprise me - packaged croutons and a bland tuna with zatar seasoning that would be bland. For a more expensive place that is rediculous. Also, zatar seasoning is incredibly flavorful, it should not be bland at all.
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One of the most (if not THE MOST) important things about a fine restaurant is consistency.
When it first opened I was enthusiastic, and even recommended it warmly on this site. A new place close by with a chef that seemed to have a sophisticated palate.
But we began to notice an inconsistency as we continued to hope we were wrong.
I am sorry to say it hasn't kept up to our original expectations.
(I hope it is not true about the packages croutons!)
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i ate here for the first time last Tuesday. I'm in Conshohocken on business and it is just 5 or 6 blocks from my hotel.
I was alone on a Wed. night at 9:00 and thought i'd have no problem getting a table. Wrong! The place was packed! I waited for 20 minutes and then was seated. The server and hostess were great about holding my white wine in a chiller while i waited. The server, Nina, was excellent. She had my wine chilled in a zip when i got to my table.
This night there was an amuse bouche of a peach foam with cilantro and something else. It was perfect! A good light palette opener.
Next i tried the foie gras. I thought the appetizer selection was severely limited, so i went with an old fave. While the foie gras was adequate, it was nothing special. I would rate it as: good.
They were out of the wild striped bass that night...which is what i wanted. Halibut was served instead as the fish and i wasn't feelin' halibut. So, i went with a house specialty entree of surf and turf (day boat scallops with braised beef ribs) and parsnip puree. The entree was fantastic. The day boat scallops were cooked perfectly. I will say the braised beef was a tad over braised but the sauce was wonderful and potent. The parsnip puree was outstanding. i think i would like to try that dish earlier in the evening (my entree came at 10:00). i think the braised beef would have been much better at 6:30 or 7:00. Overall i'd get the entree a rating of: Very Good to Excellent. Unlike the other poster, i prefer a restaurant that has a very limited entree selection. i prefer a few things, all cooked very well than a lot of things cooled good to very well.
For dessert, the selection was not very imaginative. So, i went with my old stand by, creme brulee. The creme brulee was sizeable (i could only finish 1/2 of it) and expertly cooked. Nothing fancy, but just good basic creme brulee...very firm (i hate runny creme brulee). I had a coffee with it and it was outstanding.
Throughout dinner my server was excellent. i'll definitely ask for her again when my work group comes back after their labor day break.
I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars
Definitely worth the venture and it is a BYO!
btw - the chef came through during dinner and was very friendly.
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