Settled on Hyde Lake in the beautiful Shelby Farms Park, Coastal Fish Company offers gourmet seafood with the best view Memphis has to offer.
Source: Coastal Fish Company
The amazing thing about Father’s Day and my wedding anniversary is that they arrive within a month of each other. This means the family gets an opportunity to take it upscale with dining twice at Memphis’ best eating experiences. While Itta Bena remains the standard of cuisine in the city, Coastal Fish Company, located on the lake at Memphis’ beautiful public park Shelby Farms, Coastal’s outdoor seating feels like another world away from the blue-collar experience of living in the Home of the Blues.
Smoke Tuna Dip $14
Yellowfin Tuna, Smoked Cream Cheese, Chives, Sea Salt, Toasted Baguette
We initiated our journey into the fare at Coastal with a basic tuna dip. The baguettes were lightly toasted and fresh, and the tuna arrived looking like it was scooped out of an ice cream container. I expected a spin on tuna with mayo, like someone would make and bring to an office party. In other words, I didn’t pick the selection, so I didn’t have my hopes up. What arrived was actual tuna. While it did look a scoop of ice cream, there were long slices of tuna which seemed to have been shredded with a knife. This wasn’t a canned, or bagged, “throw some mayo in” and go spread appetizer. It was seasoned perfectly, and the cream cheese elevated the dish in a way I hadn’t experienced. Tuna for me over the years was a reminder of childhood meals that weren’t for lunch but was used as dinner when we didn’t have anything else in the house. I honestly couldn’t say when I last ate tuna because in my head, it wasn’t something I needed to try as an adult. It’s not a must have. Prior to the dinner being served, the family went through three plates of baguettes. This tuna dip wasn’t bad at all.
Jumbo Prawns $35
Fresh Mozarella, Heirloom Tomato, Avocado, Shaved Red Onion, Sweet Basil, Garlic Herb Butter
LV had this version of IG’s much hyped avocado toast with prawns on the side… see how I reversed the meal. That’s because the visual of the toast was colorful and overwhelmed the presentation of the prawns, which arrived style with a bit of action going from the garlic-herb butter. She doesn’t tend to eat everything when we visit restaurants, but on a rare occasion everything will disappear from the plate. This was one of those rare moments. I did all I could to resist eating off of her plate because she seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. Since we eviscerated the tuna earlier and there were some baguettes remaining, everyone used the bread to soak up some of the butter from her prawns.
Fruits of the Sea $29
Gulf Shrimp, PEI Mussels, Rock Shrimp, Calamari, Linguine, Coastal Marinara Cream
My daughter and son mimicked each other’s choices with their Fruits of the Sea. I’m not a fan of pasta dishes at restaurants and to be honest I don’t think they read closely as I’ve taught them eating at restaurants and ordering pasta dishes is not going to be the best way to measure how good a restaurant is. Restaurants can hide any flaws in sauce and pasta and the dish isn’t very expensive to create. This doesn’t mean they didn’t enjoy their meals. My son cleared his plate, my daughter… not so much. She did pick through and eat all of the seafood.
Chilean Seabass $45
Yukon Gold Potatoes, Roasted Poblano Pepper, Neuske’s Bacon, Truffle & Chile Sauce
The plating made this meal shine, although the serving size could have been bigger. The flavor wasn’t as bold as I wanted, although the blending the bacon (which was the all-star here) with the Chile sauce and a bite of poblano pepper made for an interesting bite. When I ordered, I was hoping for a more homestyle look to the potatoes, something more rustic, but the texture of the fish and potatoes was interestingly similar. Both items flaked with the fork. My expectations weren’t met, but the meal wasn’t bad, it just needed more bang. When I see Chilean, I immediately expect some heat and there wasn’t any.
We finished off our meals with desserts and I have to say, the outside patio and the desserts are the real stars at Coastal. If you simply go to enjoy a drink and the after-dinner fare, you’ll probably be beyond satisfied. The pictures below are perfect representations of what you imagine the flavor is. Each dessert was rich, and the key lime covered in a hard chocolate shell, was messy fun. Overall, if I had to compare it to other dining options that are on the pricier end for Memphis, Coastal would tie for number 1 in service and atmosphere with Itta Bena, but the food would fall into 3rd behind Flight and Itta Bena remains our number one location now that our favorite restaurant is closed in Rizzo’s. The experience was refreshing, and I definitely recommend it for the location alone.
Tropical Cheesecake
Passion Fruit, Mango, Fresh Raspberry, Graham Cracker Crust
Chocolate Creme Pie
Ghirardelli Chocolate, Vanilla Bean Chantilly
Key Lime – Dark Chocolate Coated
Served with fresh whipped sweet cream, seasonal berries
