Ostra

          Last weekend I was debating where to go to celebrate my birthday dinner, and was excited to learn that Ostra had opened earlier in the week. This made my decision easy! Ostra is a high end seafood restaurant occupying the former Avila space in Park Plaza. It's the newest addition to Columbus Hospitality Group (the restaurant group that owns several restaurants in Boston including Mistral, Mooo, and Sorellina). As a fan of all of their other restaurants, I couldn't wait to try Ostra.

          The menu is laid out into several sections including shellfish, rawfish, slightly cooked, hot appetizers, and main courses. You could easily do a tapas style meal with smaller plates, or a more traditional style with the larger entrees. We did a little of both, and started with several of the raw and slightly cooked options.

          Our first course was a selection of two East Coast oysters. Even if you're not familiar with oysters, the menu is progressive (briny to smooth) and easy to navigate. We chose the briniest two options, RI East Beach Blondes and Cape Cod Cotuit Bay. All selections are accompanied by house made Horseradish Cocktail, Lemon, Sparkling Mignonette, and Tabasco. I enjoyed the flavor of both, and appreciated the unique presentation.

          For the second course we shared two of the raw options: smoked salmon tartare with creme fresh and caviar and yellowfin tuna carpaccio with olives and jalepeno. Both were delicious, and tied for my favorite dishes that evening.

          The third course was the bf's favorite, a joanh crab salad with Dijonnaise, Cucumber-Jalapeño Sorbet. The combination of flavors and beautiful presentation were equally impressive.

          We Shared the salt crusted branzino for two as our main course. This was filleted tableside and served with lemon, olive oil, and roasted vegetables. The fish simply melted in your mouth.

          Dessert is the one thing we don't share well, since I always go for chocolate and he goes for fruit. Sometimes we compromise, but tonight we each got our own. I loved the chocolate hazelnut creameux with popcorn ice cream, salted caramel, and pop rocks chocolate. The bf equally enjoyed his baked apple with crumble, cider caramel, brown butter ice cream.

          The meal at Ostra was fantastic, and I would definitely go back. It's a great addition to the neighborhood and city, since there are so few restaurants that focus on high end seafood and offer traditional caviar service.