Fish Restaurant in Soho - Lure, Aquagrill or Le Pescadeux?

[jovialetr]

Which one of Lure, Aquagrill or Le Pescadeux would you recommend (or any suggestions that I missed)? I will be with my husband in NYC Dec. 25-28 (we're both in our early 30s) and we are planning to go for drinks at Lani Kai and are looking for a good fish restaurant nearby for dinner. We will be focusing on fish, not shellfish or other seafood, as my husband is what I like to call "kosher lite" (no non-kosher meat, no mixing milk & meat and no shellfish). I am usually more adventerous when I travel without my husband (this board gave me great suggestions for my summer trip with my mom), but am more limited this time. Places I am thinking of going other nights are ABC Kitchen (have a reservation for Christmas Day dinner), Osteria Morini (have already done Scarpetta, Locanda Verde and Maialino) and Saxon & Parole.
Thanks!!!

[princeofpork]

Lure has the best atmosphere for a lively night with a few cocktails.

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Lure Fishbar
142 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012

[Simon]

My suggestion is to walk just a couple blocks down into Tribeca and eat at Cercle Rouge -- on W.Broadway...i've had very good fish entrees there, as well as tartars...it's moderately priced and charming...

re: the original three: not crazy about the food at Lure...and while i've always enjoyed the food at Aquagrill and never had bad service there, it's just never felt like a fun place to go: just something intangible about the vibe that i don't like...never been to Le Pescadeaux...

Another Soho option is Rouge et Blanc -- the Vietnamese/French bistro on Macdougal, but i haven't had much fish there yet.

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Aquagrill
210 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Lure Fishbar
142 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012

Cercle Rouge
241 W. Broadway, New York, NY 10013

Rouge et Blanc
48 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

[jovialetr]

Thanks, Simon! I will check out the menus for Cercle Rouge and Rouge et Blanc. Rouge et Blanc had a recent good NYT review, right? I have to make sure there would be enough choice for my husband though.

[Simon]

yeah, i can't remember what the fish entrees are at R et B...the menu is fairly small though, and it's possible that a couple dishes might be get disqualified because of pork ingredients...cute place though...

Cercle Rouge menu is pretty vast and includes several fish entrees...

[kathryn]

Lure is decent but wouldn't be my first pick for something like this. I like Aquagrill a lot but without the oysters it becomes a lot less compelling. What about Mermaid Oyster Bar? The menu has 4-5 fish options.

I might try Babbo or Lupa instead of Morini, I'd call to see if you can get in.

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Aquagrill
210 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Lure Fishbar
142 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012

Mermaid Oyster Bar
79 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

[jovialetr]

Thanks, Kathryn! I will look at the menu for Mermaid Oyster Bar. I went to Babbo the last time I was in NYC in July, so wanted to try something different this time. How different is Lupa than Babbo, foodwise? While I enjoyed Babbo, I actually liked Scarpetta and Maialino better for dinner (have only done Locanda Verde for brunch, so no direct comparison).

[kathryn]

Lupa is supposed to be a Roman Osteria, so closer to Maialino in terms of food. But in terms of something different, I think Morini might work, as would LV. I think Morini is good, just a little overpriced and loud.

[jovialetr]

Thanks, Kathryn!

[cubicles]

if you like Scarpetta, Locanda Verde, and Mailino, I would definitely recommend trying Ciano over Morini. from my experience morini is loud, fairly overpriced, and just not of the same quality as white's other restaurants. IMO, dell anima, l'artusi, and il buco alimentari (admittedly a much more casual atmosphere) are also all better choices.

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Ciano
45 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010

Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

[rrems]

My choice would be Le Pescadeux. I think it is more interesting than Aquagrill, and since you are not looking for shellfish, which is a specialty of Aquagrill, it seems to make more sense. I also like the atmosphere at Le Pescadeux, and though I admit it can get a bit loud it is not intolerable. Lure has good food, but my one dinner there featured horrible service and a deafening noise level. Speaking of deafening noise levels, bring your earplugs to Osteria Morini, or go to Ciano instead, if you want great Italian food.

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Le Pescadeux
90 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

[sam1]

le pescadeux isnt destination worthy but its a solid option for fish in the neighborhood. very nice owners as well.

ill say that their non-seafood items arent very good. i was also disappointed by their 'sugar pie.'

but for fish and a glass of wine, it's a great place.

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Le Pescadeux
90 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

[rrems]

Frankly, though these are all pretty good, none is quite "destination worthy" IMO. My top picks for seafood would be Oceana or maybe Millesime, but these are not in Soho.

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Oceana
120 W 49th St, New York, NY 10020

Millesime
92 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

[jovialetr]

Thanks for all the feedback! I know that none of the 3 I've mentioned are really "destination worthy", but I would really like to stay in/around Soho that night. Also, I am totally fine with a relatively good (but not necessarily amazing) mid-range restaurant. I am really into food, but my husband is not (especially because of his dietary restrictions). I did an amazing foodie trip with my mom in the summer and hit a lot of the places that I wanted to on that trip (EMP, Babbo, Maialino, Bar Room at the Modern, Momofuku Ssam Bar, Minetta Tavern plus numerous others) so this one can be more low key (and less expensive overall).