The fish we serve tomorrow hasn't been caught yet, SEAMOOD says...

I came across the name "Seamood" while browsing through Time Out and read their (almost) raving review about the food and the concept of this (relatively) new seafood joint on the streets of Dubai. So I said "ok, what the hell? you cannot call yourself a seafood lover and not try the one and only joint that serves sustainable fish in this whole city!"



As mentioned before, I seriously lack any sense of direction and/or orientation, so luckily, my friend joined me for a quick dinner after work (he's a guy, I also invited him to make sure I'll actually reach the restaurant...you know, guys, maps, directions, they're good with these things).



I think it is close to impossible to miss Seamood - the bright pink signage visible from a mile shines bright on Mankhool Road. The degree of brightness was so high for me that I would much rather look at the sun than at the pink light (you know, supposedly when we die, we walk towards the light, right? If it's like this one - pink - , I'll run back as fast as I can).  Besides the pink signage, the venue sports a few food photos at the entrance, so that the food concept is communicated clearly. Personally, I    am not a fan of food photos in the restaurant - I find them cheesy and cheap -, but I guess Seamood is neither fine dining nor located in a hotel, so...works for them.



Stepping in, I must give them this: they spare no expense in electricity! So much light that I felt like I'm back in school, in the classroom, shaking and waiting for the teacher to ask me a question which, 99.9%, I had no clue about. It was odd...



We chose to sit on the swing, but little did we know it was secured to the ground...makes sense although I thought we'd be in for some great fun and acrobatics with our dinner. I guess not many people want to eat and swing at the same time and mess up their digestion, so good job Seamood, in keeping us grounded! The height of the swing to the table was just right, which is something I appreciate in a restaurant. Most of them either have their seats too low compared to the table or there is not enough space between the table and the seat so you can cross your legs (the standard measure in the industry), and you end up stretching them under the table.



The waitress arrived promptly to the table, very warm and smiling. I liked her instantly (which is not easy, I'm very picky with service; I never complain because I don't want to get people into trouble, this is a tough enough industry as it is). I knew from before what I wanted: fish soup and nothing fried. Why not fried? Everything tastes at least decent when fried....and you also cannot properly evaluate the real taste and flavour of the main ingredient, or its freshness. 



Based on the above, we opted for the ocean mix soup, the Seamood soup, mixed seafood tagine and grilled rosetta with potatoes and tahina sauce. The soups arrived pipping hot, but....they looked the same....I tasted them both and, to be honest, the only difference was that one had crab in it and the other one didn't. The seafood mix was the same in both, consistency of the broth was identical, taste and flavour were good, but I felt I was eating the same soup from two different bowls (don't get me wrong, I am a sucker for both soup and fish, I could eat a pot, but I still love variety more). The seafood mix consisted of calamari rings (awesomely cooked, not chewy, not bendy, not stringy, just perfect), shaari pieces (so soft they were melting on my tongue) and shrimps (again, Seamood rocked the cooking time for them). Personally, I'm not a fan of crab in soups, I find it messy to eat (Note to self: if ever on a first date, don't order crab soup. There's no elegant - or sexy - way to eat it, trust me on this one!), but my dining companion seemed to be enjoying it (the "mmmmm"s and "aaaaa"s let me to believe that it was as delicious as the calamari, imagine!). Buttery and creamy, the broth was very delicate in flavour and it did not require a complex palate (the creamy fish soup does not have that many layers of flavour simply because the cream covers the taste buds). I would've loved a hint of acid to balance the fat, but I'm used to this style of cooking, so...nothing wrong with butter, as Julia Child says.



My favourite dish of the day was, by far,  the mixed seafood tagine. Because I have a soft spot for stews and anything with gravy, the tagine was right up my street! Warm, welcoming and happy, I just wanted to dig in and finish the whole thing in one bite. Ouch, too hot to even come close to it! The main ingredients of the tagine were shaari, calamari and prawns, tomatoes, roasted pepper, onion and cumin for the sauce. Served with fresh baked bread on a side, the tagine smelled extremely inviting and I must admit that my dining companion did not have a chance to even come close to it...I was guarding it with my life!

 



The grilled rosetta (a fish from the mullet family) didn't sweep me of my feet, to be frank. The marination of mustard, tomato, onion and coriander was  overpowering to the fish, which was overcooked (dry) and seriously missing salt and pepper; it had a nice crust though. The 5 (five) cubes of potatoes served as side dish were so over salted I had to drink 1 liter of water after eating 1. Ratio was 1:1. 



Overall, the food at Seamood is good and for the money you pay! The seafood is indeed fresh (you can feel it in the texture), the flavours are clean and well balanced (most of the time), the menu is uncomplicated and there's no "Dubai"-fuss about the place. Just easy going, down to earth, feel like home and come and eat in your PJs kind of vibe.



What I found disappointing are two things: ambiance and waitress's knowledge. Ambiance, and especially the lack of music and the lighting because this is one of the key elements of a dining experience - along with music, service, food and so on - and you need to get it right to make people enjoy. I don't enjoy feeling like I'm trapped in an interrogation room during dinner, but that's just me. The waitress's knowledge because I find it unprofessional to not know the ingredients in a dish - when asked about the ingredients in the broth, the fish used ( which we knew it was shaari, but she didn't), the marination of the grilled rosetta and so on, she did not have an answer; calling the chef didn't help much because my Arabic is limited to habibi, khallas, yalla, Ramadan Kareem and Eid Mubarak and his English to hello, how are you, fine, bye and I don't know.



Overall, the concept of Seamood is interesting enough to make me curious enough to pass their doorstep. I appreciate the fact that they keep an eye out for sustainability in a city like Dubai, where opulence and "the more, the better" principles still rule and people live a life of "money can buy everything". For sure I will visit again if not for the food, then only for feeling better about eating sustainable fish and making a small difference. 



P.S.: to all fish and seafood restaurants out there in Dubai! Ask Seamood for advice - there's plenty of (eatable) fish in the sea.