The fresh seafood arrives by plane daily – perhaps oysters plucked from the chilly North Atlantic or Ahi Tuna harvested from warm waters off the Hawaiian Islands – and is promptly shipped directly to Wildfish Seafood Grille.
San Antonio’s newest seafood restaurant features an amazing array of high–quality, prime seafood paired with a towering wine list in a high–energy environment situated off Northwest Loop 1604 and Huebner Road in the Plaza Las Campanas Shopping Center.
Wildfish Seafood Grille offers the freshest prime seafood (flown in daily within 72 hours of ocean harvest), aged USDA prime steaks, an innovative raw bar, creative cocktails, and an award–winning wine list that earned the restaurant the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2006 and 2007.
San Antonio is the first Texas city to get a Wildfish Seafood Grille. The concept was introduced in Newport Beach, California in 2005 by Eddie V’s Restaurants Inc., and another soon followed in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company’s headquarters. The company has three unique brands, and founders Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles are introducing all of them to the Alamo City.
Roaring Fork, which features a rustic, Southwestern theme, is expected to open in June right across from Wildfish at Plaza Las Campanas. The signature Eddie V’s Prime Seafood restaurant is scheduled to open in another year at the new expansion of The Quarry on Basse Road, with views overlooking the golf course. All three restaurants have earned incredible accolades. Bon Appetit magazine says Eddie V’s “sets the standard for seafood.”
The expansion is part of an aggressive building campaign nationwide for Eddie V’s Restaurants, which already operates seven restaurants in Austin, Texas; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Newport Beach, California. Along with the three San Antonio restaurants, the company will open several other restaurants over the next three years in new markets, mostly in Texas (Houston, Fort Worth and Dallas).
The success is based largely on the quality of the food, says Eddie V’s partner and Corporate Chef John Carver.
“The menu at Wildfish Seafood Grille is made up of imaginative creations prepared fresh to order. The cooking techniques keep the emphasis on the superior quality of prime seafood by utilizing the best cooking preparation to bring out the best qualities of the dish,” Carver said. “Simple, light sauces, broths and vinaigrettes follow to enhance and not overcome the pristine flavors of the fresh fish and shellfish.”
Offerings include Chilean Sea Bass, Pacific Ahi Tuna, Gulf Coast Snapper, Block Island Swordfish and Georges Bank Lemon Sole, among others. Seasonal dishes include fresh Alaska Red King Crab Legs, Nantucket Bay Scallops, wild Copper River Salmon, and live Jumbo Soft Shell Crabs. The innovative raw bar features at least three different types of oysters and a selection of fresh fish that changes weekly, if not daily, based on the most recent arrivals. Wildfish Executive Chef Steve Warner, a San Antonio native, describes the menu’s fare as “simple, fresh and light with vivid flavors and memorable presentations.”
In addition to incredibly fresh seafood, Wildfish Seafood Grille continues its commitment to procuring the finest specially aged, USDA Prime Midwestern, grain–fed, center–cut steaks. Steaks are aged for 28 days, hand cut, seasoned with coarse salt and cracked black pepper. They are then broiled in specially designed, infrared steak broilers at 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. Just before serving, each steak is brushed with fresh butter and sprinkled with chopped parsley and served on a sizzling hot plate.
The unique casual, contemporary atmosphere also sets Wildfish apart. Glass double doors resembling a shimmering waterfall open to reveal what looks like the skeleton of a massive sea creature, spectacularly suspended over a sunken bar topped by dark African mahogany. Just beyond the bar is a brightly lit, etched–glass fish tail that appears to hang from the end of the illuminated wooden skeleton, leading patrons to the innovative oyster and raw bar where a daily sashimi plate and variety of “top–of–the–catch” shellfish is ready to be shucked to order and served to waiting guests.
The 7,300–square–foot restaurant has the feel of a friendly contemporary warehouse, with exposed masonry resembling adobe outside to respect the Spanish Colonial theme of the surrounding Plaza Las Campanas development. The casual yet sophisticated decor features cherrywood and maple, with industrial finishes and clear–coated steel columns along the restaurant’s frame that further complement the warehouse atmosphere. The outdoor covered patio seats between 60 and 80 guests, and can be closed off to create a semi–private dining area.
