NEW ORLEANS -- The concept behind GW Fins is to run a first-class seafood restaurant like a high-end steakhouse. The star ingredient – fish in this case, instead of steak – has to have the best quality and presentation, and service and ambiance should follow suit as well. Along the way, they have tapped the wealth of local seafood and a creative, often innovative approach to create a truly distinctive New Orleans restaurant.
GW Fins
808 Bienville St., New Orleans, 504-581-3467
FOUR STARS
The Setting
There’s a contemporary feel to this upscale French Quarter dining room, even if some of the styling can feel a few years out of date now. The room has a luxurious amount of space, from the large bar to the soaring ceilings to the double row of padded banquette booths, and big windows looking out to the beautiful façade of Arnaud’s Restaurant just across the street.
The Food
The entrée menu at GW Fins changes up as frequently as the chef’s seafood connections bring in a new catch, but the appetizers have evolved into a more stable list of house favorites.
* Lobster dumplings, delicate bundles in a rich lobster butter sauce.
* Blue crab pot stickers, following a similar Asian theme with tender, pan-fried noodle around the sweet meat.
* Crudo and seafood carpaccio, always changing, always good.
* “Fins wings,” a house specialty, cut from behind the gills of changeable fish of the night, with the fin attached, fried and coated in sweet/spicy Korean-style sauce.
For main courses, it’s harder to say just what fish will turn up on the GW Fins menu from night to night, but that’s part of the appeal of the place. Anyway, it’s hard to make a poor choice. This is a highly consistent kitchen. Some dishes to look for:
* Redfish, tuna and flounder might be common enough seafood menu fare, and here they’re vividly fresh, done to a turn and often joined by imaginative presentations.
* The “scalibut,” a cut of halibut with scallops seared to its surface.
* Drum, prepared with a top crust of chicken skin cracklin’.
* Whole fish is another specialty, and whenever Gulf pompano appears this is a reliably great dish.
* There is always steak on the menu, and grilled chicken, though clearly these items are there for those averse to seafood who somehow wind up in this dedicated seafood house.
* The go-to dessert the apple pie, which is like an oversized turnover for two.
* The “salty malty” pie with caramel, sea salt and pretzel crust is also recommended.
Drinks
The GW Fins bar will mix a proper cocktail, though wine is really the better accompaniment to seafood of this caliber and the list here is impressive. There is plenty of range, and you can get very good bottles for under $40. The by-the-glass selection is extensive also.
Price
This will be an expensive dinner, with most entrees up in the high $20 range. Two people will easily spend $140 here with wine or drinks. It certainly seems justified for the quality of the cuisine and overall experience. The restaurant periodically runs three-course specials that are great bargains.
Overall
GW Fins is a superb, contemporary seafood restaurant serving an exciting, high-caliber cuisine. The creativity and professionalism throughout recommend it for nights when you want something that will be memorable, special and reliable.
