STL's New Seafood Space: McCormick & Schmick's Grand Opening

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Being smack in the middle of the country doesn't exactly make St. Louis the capital of seafood restaurants and the recent departure of Blue Water Grill has left and even bigger void in our seafood dining scene. The newest seafood restaurant to make its way to our city is opening their doors today, and here is sneak peek at what you can expect from McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant that is opening in West County Mall.

The net cutting ceremony for McCormick and Schmick's is scheduled for 3pm Monday evening and they will start serving their signature seafood dishes and traditional fish favorites with a twist at 4pm. The menu changes on a daily basis depending on what they have fresh in the restaurant and what fish types are in season. They also offer one of the largest selections of seafood in the city with more than 30 different types of fresh seafood rotating on their "fresh sheet" everyday.

Many traditional seafood staple dishes, like lobster, salmon and walleye, are served up with a distinct spin. Take for instance the calamari; a pretty standard dish at many restaurants but McCormick and Schmick's puts a twist on the fried squid by serving it with three different types of dipping sauces, including an awesome horseradish sauce that sounds scary but tastes amazing.

Dinner doesn't get much better than stuffed seafood. The crab stuffed salmon and mahi-mahi were glazed with butter and cooked just until the fish melts in your mouth, and sides like butternut squash cannelloni make for a great, flavorful addition.

The dessert and drink menu even have their own style; a traditional vanilla bean creme brulee (awesome) was sits on a tray with a slice of upside down apple pie and the restaurant features a "scratch" bar centered on fresh squeezed fruit juices.

Overall it was a nice dining experience. Trying to put your finger on the atmosphere you almost get the east coast restaurant feel - almost. The restaurant offers nice food, and it is definitely a place for the fancy-set but it is still tacked onto a mall and it is still a chain. Not to be a snob or anything, but the menu is a little pricey for a mall dining experience. Then again, if you are a seafood fan expensive dinner is nothing new and the city has some slim pickings. Though the dinner experience can set you back a few bucks, the happy hour is something that is a little more feasible for the rest of us. The bar menu has twists and turns like the restaurant does, and their happy hour pricing is seriously cheap. Overall: nice dinner but it stinks that it is in a mall; happy hour is totally worth a regular spin though.

McCormick & Schmick's is located in West County Mall at 17 West County Center Drive. Their grand opening is Monday, February 23rd at 3pm and dinner begins at 4pm. Their hours of operation are 11am-10 pm Sunday through Thursday and 11am-11pm Friday through Saturday. You can shimmy up to the bar until midnight Monday through Saturday nights.