Went to Kenton's Last Night

Our reservation was for 7:45, and there was only a slight delay of 5 or 10 minutes while they cleared our table.

The building renovation was well done. It's a nice looking contemporary style. There's a large bar, and oyster station (for the shucker), and two dining areas.

The service was attentive and friendly. They have a good selection of whiskeys, cocktails and wine.


We started with the fried oysters with jalapeno aioli and pickled turnips AND the smoked drum mousse with "cajun caviar" grilled toast. The oysters were perfectly fried and spicy. Aioli was spot on. The mousse was served in a small Mason jar. It was good, but I was hoping for more. My wife liked it more than I did.

I had the grilled pompano with oyster broth, bacon and pickled green tomatoes. The pompano was grilled nicely. The "oyster broth" was a bit thicker than I expected but had a nice understated flavor that was picked up by the bits of bacon and green tomatoes.

My wife tried the "chicken under a brick" (they don't bring the brick to the table ). It was accompanied with broccoli, cauliflower and sage. Nicely roasted and juicy.

For dessert we shared the chocolate mint tart with bourbon caramel ice cream. It was good, but pretty much what you would expect.

It's not inexpensive. The food bill was about $90, and 2 drinks and 2 wines by the glass came to $45.

One of the owners (the husband) told one of our friends that he thinks a restaurant needs several years to become "great". And they're still finding their footing with local resources and tastes. The meal was very enjoyable, but it didn't necessarily stand out when compared to the best restaurants in the same general category. I'll definitely go back after a few months.