The Fish House That Tried

Being a kitchen mongrel, I know how hard it can be to prepare, execute, and time every dish coming from the kitchen perfectly.  What is equally difficult is conceiving and designing a menu that will delight the taste buds.  You must start off with high quality, flavorful ingredients.  After procurement, the kitchen then needs to have the ability to transform the delectable ingredients into something spectacular;  An experience that every customer who spends their hard earned dollars at your concept will be fired up to share with others.  Unfortunately, Mitchell's Fish House at WestShore Plaza falls short of these tasks.  While the atmosphere and decor are inviting, the concept has some growing up to do before it will be able to wow the taste buds of foodies in the area.   Guests can look into the area where they prepare the fish and store them daily, an open fresh oyster bar for those who want to slide down some hand shucked oysters, and an open kitchen that also poses as a very small seafood market.  The fresh seafood display case is only adorned with selective fillets of very few fish.  I would recommend going to Cox's Seafood off the corner of Dale Mabry and Sligh if you want fresh, seasonal, varied selections of raw seafood.  I also strive to give a place the chance to show me their chops, however, there were some very major issues with the food we received.  The roasted oysters, while decently tasty, were swimming in butter and grease.  The lobster tail and beef tips combo was plated haphazardly with both items being overcooked and somewhat chewy.  The other dishes were on par with this observation, except for the calamari.  The lightly breaded and fried squid was the most tender I have had in a long time.  The presentation was decent, with a light, accommodating sauce, lemon slices, and asparagus that was a little overcooked.  Overall, the experience was what you would expect from a casual, corporate, seafood restaurant.  The only other drawback was the price points for each dish.  While not expensive for a fish house,  I expect some more sophistication from the kitchen, and the concept as a whole.