IF we were disappointed on our visits to Morgans Fish House, it was because of dashed expectations. For one, Mark Filippo is the brilliant chef in charge of the kitchen, and we had hoped he would bring with him the vision and creativity that had put his last place, the defunct Cafe Mezé, on the map for so many years. But Morgans is a different kind of restaurant, in many ways larger and lesser.
The cavernous, minimally adorned dining hall with its crowded tables leaves little room for elegance and grace. Diners, however, who like the Pearl Management Group’s treatment of its other Westchester places — Lexington Square Café and Ruby’s Oyster Bar & Bistro — will probably like Morgans. Cut from similar cloth, these informal dining spots include much noise, many untrained servers, uneven food preparation and, at Morgans, a confusing menu and high prices. What is amazing is how well this formula seems to work. On our visits, Morgans was bursting with customers.
Morgans has been open five months, and while parts of the operation require organization and, at the very least, fine tuning, the kitchen already has a few of the appetizers down pat. Were we to return, a dinner composed of one or two of the best of these appetizers would be a tempting way to go.
Dressed with exceptionally fine citrus-infused olive oil (Agrumato), a top-notch salad was the size of a small entree and featured three huge crisped and succulent scallops flanked by grilled slices of orange and a dainty mound of shaved fennel — a perfect balance of contrasting textures and flavors. Another artful pairing — of tender rings of calamari and similarly sized rings of calamarata pasta — came in a sizable bowl of thickish, flavorful stew with tender chickpeas and tomatoes.
Most starters were created with balance in mind: a soft, small but thick crab cake with crunchy vegetable slaw; silky thick-cut slices of tuna “carpaccio” with chunky lobster salad; a trio of salmon, tuna and halibut tartares. But balanced as they may have been, some were flawed in other ways. Thick dough made lobster ravioli a leaden affair; the savory beignet with shrimp was too hard, although the idea was winning; and artichoke ravioli were mushy.
The ideas driving the design of entrees were at times more difficult to grasp. Moist, firm porcini-dusted Atlantic halibut with crunchy yet creamy honshemiji mushrooms could not have been more agreeable. And dense, lean swordfish profited beautifully from its classic herb and garlic marinade, soft potato providing texture contrast. The system broke down when an entree arrived plain, bare of any vegetable garnish, as if the kitchen had run out of inventive steam and couldn’t come up with a suitable partner for, say, a piece of gorgeous ivory cod, which broke into juicy shards at the touch of a fork but needed a second banana for significant interplay. And worse, an item called Morgans surf & turf brought flavorless jumbo shrimp with dry, stringy braised beef, an awful combination that made no culinary sense.
Vegetable sides included sautéed spinach, unseasoned and bitter; inedibly salty potato cake; and fregola risotto. The last, the menu should note, is not a rice dish but bits of semolina cooked, we assume, in the style of risotto.
Plain basil gelato made the best dessert here. Mascarpone cheesecake was unaccountably dry, banana semifreddo amounted to a semifrozen wedge of bland creamy custard with sliced bananas on the side, and warm chocolate cake was unpleasantly gooey.
While Mr. Filippo was clearly overseeing the kitchen’s stations, on our visits no one seemed to be in charge of the front of the house, where most servers were in need of a great deal of training and direction in getting food and drink to customers in a smooth and timely manner. As for the noise, call it high spirits; it’s part of the scene.
Morgans Fish House
22 Elm Place
Rye
(914) 921-8190
www.morgansfishhouse.net
GOOD
THE SPACE Large, noisy box of a main dining hall with tables closely spaced. A half-dozen half-moon banquettes offer merciful half-volume. Wheelchair accessible.
THE CROWD Enthusiastic, neatly attired multigenerational adults. Service can be disorganized and some servers untrained.
THE BAR Handsome and sophisticated. Few wine choices under $40; by the glass, $9 to $20.
THE BILL Dinner entrees, $23 to $42, some with vegetable garnish.
WHAT WE LIKE Marinated orange and fennel salad with scallops; calamari with calamarata pasta; crab cake; porcini-dusted Atlantic halibut with honshemiji; roasted cod; herbed swordfish; basil gelato.
IF YOU GO Lunch is scheduled to begin on Sept. 24. Dinner: Sunday to Wednesday,
5 to 10 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 5 to
11 p.m.
Reviewed Sept. 16, 2007
