New Rockfish Seafood and Grill Concept

I was very excited several months back because one of the new buildings in my neighborhood put up a Rockfish Coming Soon sign.  My family and I have eaten at the Plano and Lewisville locations several times.  We love the fly fishing cabin theme and the peanuts that you just drop the shells on the floor.  Not to mention the great food.
The Rockfish logo looked a bit different to me and they had the word "Grill" in the name.   I was intrigued.  I watched as they added a patio and put up wood siding with great anticipation.  There was never any doubt that we would eat there.  There are not many options for nice sit down restaurants in The Colony.  Lots of fast food and casual dining concepts.  Some of the sit down options have severely gone down hill and we don't even bother to go there anymore.  We do eat locally sometimes, but tend to travel to neighboring cities for the most part.  Therefore, any new local place is greatly appreciated.

Imagine my excitement when DallasFoodNerd.com offered me an opportunity to go to a special media tasting prior to Rockfish opening its doors.  I accepted immediately.  The day finally came when I got to meet my fellow nerd, Steve at Rockfish for a collaborative post for DFN.  I didn't know what to expect but I was thinking a room full of foodies fighting over a limited amount of samples, served from a buffet line.  Boy, was I wrong.  There were only about 10 of us there from different foodblogs.  They had us sit at 1 table and the manager and chef discussed the new concept and food.  The new concept doesn't stray too far from the original, but enough that you quickly notice a different vibe.  Gone are the peanut shells, and stereotypical "fishing cabin" theme.  In its place is a roomy, clean and modern setting with distressed wood and a few rope accents.  Along with a few local works of art providing pops of color.  

They first brought out

some appetizers for us 

to all share, Shrimp Ceviche and Ahi Tuna Nachos.

The nachos come on a choice of cucumbers or tortilla chips. I found the chips to be way too salty so I liked the cucumber option better.  Both had great flavor, the tuna was cooked nicely and topped with an avocado and mango salsa with a mild wasabi aioli.  The ceviche tasted great but they did something that is one of my pet peeves.  They used cooked shrimp.  So technically it wasn't ceviche, but they still use the word to sound more foodie friendly.  They mentioned this during the speech and said they found most people didn't like shrimp cooked in citrus and not heat.  Fine.  Dandy.  Then call it shrimp salsa or Rock Shrimp cocktail.  Ceviche purposefully has that raw-esque, slightly cooked texture and is delicious.  Rant over.  Like I said it was tasty.

The next course was individual samples of their soups.  Here is where I found some familiar faces.

They still had the Crab Bisque, New England Clam Chowder, Louisiana Gumbo and Jalapeno Cream.

Each of these were as good as I've always enjoyed.  It's hard to pick a favorite, but I enjoy the bisque and jalapeno cream more often than the rest.  However, these are some pretty heavy and caloric options, so they have added a lighter Maryland Crab Soup.  It was light, fresh and clean with lots of crab.

Next came the entrees.  Part of the new concept is that you can get options other than seafood, so they gave us the choice of steak or pork chop.  Since we wanted to properly review all items offered, Steve and I made sure we got different proteins.  It was a difficult choice since both sounded good, but Steve chose the Cajun Pork Chop and I chose the Hand Cut Ribeye Steak.  Of course we share a few bites with each other.  The pork chop was very juicy and full of herb flavor.  Served with handmade horseradish mashed potatoes and rockin' green beans.  My ribeye came out and it looked great, but when I cut into it to check the temperature I noticed that it was raw.  not rare, but raw.  I have a pretty high tolerance when things don't come out as I ordered, but this required some more fire.

When they brought it back it was perfectly med rare, just how I like it.  For the sides, mine came with the same mashed potatoes, which were great and some even better homemade creamed corn.

 Before we knew it, another plate came to us all.  This time it was Panko Crusted Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa and Pineapple-Mango Butter.  Very light, crisp and delicious.  The sauce and salsa brightened it up and there wasn't too much breading so you could really taste the mahi.  Along with the simple rice, the sugar snap peas were the perfect complement to this dish.

Just when you thought they were done feeding us, they brought out the final entree, Cajun Pasta.  This had shrimp, crawfish tails, chicken and andouille sausage.  A very nice pasta option.  It was served with their revamped Rockfish House Salad.  They have elevated this with dried cranberries, candied nuts, bacon and feta cheese.  This was very delicious and if I had more room, I would have finished it for sure.

I was so full at this point, but they sent us home with a dessert sampler.  This included Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce, Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Brownie and seasonal Créme Brulée.  I couldn't eat this till much later in the day, so I can't effectively comment on it.  The flock and I enjoyed all of them.  My son was especially fond of the key lime pie.  The brulee and bread pudding didn't stand up well to leftovers, but I could tell that it will be good the next time we get it.

The concept is a winner in my opinion. I will take the flock there, probably quite often.  It will appeal to the younger generation who don't like seafood and with the bar and patio, it is a nice place to enjoy with friends.  With a nice selection of draft beers, several wine options, full bar and Signature Drinks there is little chance you will go thirsty.

They offer a "Body & Sole" menu with lighter options that include nutritional information.  

They also have a Gluten Free menu, if you are into that.

Rockfish Seafood & Grill will have live music on the patio on wednesdays.

They are located near the Nebraska Furniture Mart and Studio Movie Grill (coming soon), nestled between The Colony, Lewisville and Castle Hills.

4740 State Highway 121 Ste. 400

Lewisville, Texas

Disclaimer:  The food was complimentary.  All thoughts and comments are my own.