Isla is a sleek restaurant with a good attitude and island-influenced food.
THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Isla Modern Island Cuisine Restaurant Review:
In the shell of an old Burger King, Tiffany Kidwell and her mom, Donna Hiedik, transformed what was a fast food joint into a sleek restaurant with a good attitude. The chef is Chad Martin (former owner of Norfolk’s Blue Hippo); and Kidwell’s fiancé, Darrell Long (designer of Todd Jurich’s Bistro), brought his sense of style to the establishment. Over the curved cocoa-and-cream-colored booths hang pendant lights of copper mesh; the U-shaped bar is spacious and has tiny blue tiles framing the long mirrors on the back wall. Unfortunately, because of the open ceiling, the noise level is enormous; however, it has not deterred the young, chic locals who frequent the place. The island-influenced food sees Martin utilizing such ingredients as conch, coconut, plantains and passion fruit in dishes like Hawaiian peacock snapper and tangerine ceviche, pho, and grilled Argentinean gaucho steak---all well-prepared and open to improvement as the chef works out the kinks in the seasonings. We also recommend the furikake-crusted tuna and the mojito-marinated tiger prawns.
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