GW Fins dinner review...

Went for a big birthday dinner to celebrate a couple's whose birthdays were both last week. Table for 13.

First impressions were about the size of the place, giant dining room - but the noise levels weren't bad at all, probably helped by the high ceilings.

They sat us immediately and we all jockeyed for position around the 3-4 tables they all pushed together in a line for us. They had us up against a wall so the waiters could access behind us. They waited by committee, but we had a couple of main servers to who took care of everything.

The place isn't hip or cool, the waiters didn't try to be either, it was service of top quality - no one waited for anything and if you asked anyone around for something it came out instantly. We ordered two each of the following apps, but they split them up into three plates each since our table was so long (perfect example of how professional and accommodating the service was)

Lobster Dumplings - Fennel, tomato concassé, lobster butter
Blue Crab Potstickers - Country ham, creamy pea shoot butter
Watermelon & Pork Belly - Pickled ginger slaw
Wood Grilled Spanish Octopus - Kalamata, fennel, grapefruit
Crispy Soft Shell Crab - Roasted cashew, creamy brown butter

The soft shell was amazing, the watermelon that accompanied the pork belly had such a fine texture that everyone was impressed by that dish...Everything was great for this course. Pretty much food everywhere.

We split a triple iceberg salad since it came with three different dressings, I don't think I tried it, though it looked good.

Our end of table banded together to order 4 different entrees so we could try a variety of dishes.

I got the
Sautéed Louisiana Tripletail - Sweet corn spoon bread, crawfish maque choux, roasted corn butter

wife got the
Wood Grilled New Bedford Sea Scallops - Wild mushroom risotto, mushroom butter

Couple across got
Sautéed Jolt Snapper - Shrimp etouffée, Louisiana Jasmine rice, lobster butter
Parmesan Crusted Drum - Jumbo Lump crab, asparagus, Meyer lemon, crispy capers, brown butter

Everything was good, I liked the snapper dish, and fish, best of all. I think most who tried my Triple Tail thought it was a hit as well. Serious meal, most of it is kind of a blur.

Neat place that sort of defies New Orleans, though the service seems reminiscent of the old NOLA great places. It's a VERY good seafood place in IMO, straight forward and crisp on every detail. To make up for the decidedly non-NOLA meal we ate at Elizabeth's for brunch the next day.