La Plancha del Mar 02/10/2009
Reviewers Rating: Excellent
LPDM is located in the old China Shack space in the Marketplace building. Despite its small size, the owners have managed to create a funky and cool vibe. The menu is divided into small plates and large plates, and they told us that we could mix and match as we liked.

We tried two cocktails—the hibiscus cosmopolitan, which was tasty but very strong, and the el guapo, which was fruity and light.

We tried three small plates: bruschetta two ways: roasted tomato and mushroom goat cheese. Both were delicious and highly flavored. You get two small bruschetta of each flavor—perfect for sharing. We also tried the house made foccacia—crunchy and doused with some tasty olive oil. Next up was chicken and steak skewers with spicy romesco sauce. The meat was tender and juicy, and the sauce was spectacular! The final small plate was prawns with salad greens. Again, the prawns were snappy and fresh.

Our shared main dish was the tuna frites. The presentation was spectacular, the tuna was rare and topped with a grapefruit foam, there was a delicious pepper sauce, the frites were so crispy and greaseless—perfect, really…BUT…the tuna was slightly fishy. After the perfection of everything else, I was so disappointed! They’ve only been open around two weeks so I am sure that they are still working out the kinks as far as how long to keep stuff in rotation. I doubt this will be an ongoing problem.

Dessert was a key lime cr譥 brulee and it was terrific. Service was great too.

Despite the issue with the tuna, I think this is one of the most interesting menus available on St. John right now. I’m looking forward to returning. Highly recommend.

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