Rio Mar Restaurant Review
800 S. Peters St. (Julia St.)
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New Orleans, LA 70130
504-525-3474 | Make Restaurant Reservations | Menu
Rio Mar Restaurant is one of our 2012
| Top 10 New Orleans Seafood Restaurants
|
Cuisine
Open
Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner Mon.-Sat.Features
- Heart-healthy dishes
- Private room(s)
- Full bar
- Reservations suggested
- Casual
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| Exotic seafood---cod, skate wing, char, sea robins and the like---is the raison d’être of this urbane, casual establishment. Chef-owner Adolfo Garcia's cooking lends a distinctive Hispanic character to the dishes, such as the escabèche of Gulf fish; the bacalao del día (the day's salt cod); four ceviches; and three rice dishes with either shrimp and saffron, clams and chorizo, or squid with garlic. Two must-try preparations are the zarzuela de mariscos (a medley of seafood, glorying in a reddish broth) and the gambas al ajillo, big shrimp wading in a pool of good garlic-herb sauce. Amid the clear seafood focus, there still is pleasingly chewy hanger steak with chimichurri and five-hour roasted pork. We like how the dessert menu has suggested pairings with wine or spirits, especially the guava cheesecake and sweet sherry. Tapas dominate the lunch menu, including warm salt cod fritters (bacalaitos), popular with the business crowd. Spanish selections are the focus of the wine list, but there are well-chosen domestic and other international wines as well. Oenophiles will appreciate the short but smartly selected reserve list, which includes the Vega Sicilia “Unico” Reserva Especial. |

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