Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Seared Opens in Brecksville

The last restaurant that I went to before my surgery was the newly opened Seared in Brecksville. They took over the former Spanish Tavern location, and have transformed the space with dark woods, brick-red wall color, exposed beams, and soft lighting. We were seated in the dining room, and one thing that immediately caught my eye was the single table privately located by the wine rack in the back. It could be a great setting for a special meal.We settled into our table, and started to look at the menu. Several items sounded tempting, which is usually a good sign. Our group decided to start with an order of a dozen Blue Point Oysters Rockefeller- baked oysters, herb and bacon crumbs, hollandaise creamy watercress, and spinach ($13). There was nothing special about this preparation or presentation, but it was a fine start to the meal.

I had a hard time selecting an entree, but finally decided on the Filet Gorgonzola- gorgonzola cheese, compound butter grilled asparagus, and honey dijon redskins ($23 for 7 oz. steak). The steak was prepared at medium rare, as requested, but could have used a touch more seasoning to really shine. It was a nice cut of meat, and I was looking forward to it. The gorgonzola did not have quite the bite that I was hoping for, so overall it was only satisfactory in flavor. However, the sides were prepared well and I enjoyed the redskin potato wedges. Their hint of mustard was a nice punch of flavor on an otherwise bland plate.

"R" had the Crab Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp- jumbo shrimp, lump blue crab, basil cream sauce, and asparagus risotto ($22). This dish was also on my short list, so I was happy when he ordered it- I wanted to steal a bite! Unfortunately, the dish also disappointed. The shrimp were still securely in the shell, and were very difficult to gracefully eat. You just had to dig in with your fingers, and this wasn't a restaurant setting where you felt comfortable doing so. Despite the hard work to eat, the dish was fairly bland as well. The risotto was watery with very little flavor, and the stuffed shrimp were only so-so, in our opinion. Noteworthy- bread (and salad) is not offered with dinner but is available for a charge.

Lastly, our server was very soft-spoken and hard to hear when interacting with her. She was absent when a second round of drinks was needed, and it took a very long time to clear our used plates after we finished our meal. It also didn't help my overall impression that there was a severe draft wafting under our table. We were seated in the middle of the dining room, not near a door or noticeable vent. It chilled me to the bones, and I do not typically get cold.

However, they are newly opened and I would give this restaurant a second try. They are offering a variety of special nights to drawn people in, including Martini Madness Monday ($5 martinis), Half-price Wine Night on Tuesdays, Build Your Own Burger Sundays, Raw Bar open Thursday-Saturday, Brunch, and other specials. When we visited (late October), that following Sunday was going to be their first brunch. Again, I liked the overall atmosphere of the main dining room and expansive, separate bar area. The menu had several items that sounded worthy of ordering. I'm a sucker for seafood and steaks. So I will be visiting them a second time, but won't be back if it doesn't impress. The prices are high for the quality we received, and I hope that they are continuing to work out any kinks of being newly opened.

Seared
8188 Brecksville Road
Brecksville, OH 44141
(440)526-8100

Seared on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

Alicia at Poise in Parma said...

Thanks for sharing this review. Love the idea of using mustard on the potatoes. Very cool. I didn't know they offered brunch - it's always nice to have another option for it on the South side.

Bite Buff said...

Rumor on the street is that Seared has now closed.

8/8/12