206 Fish is the ideal restaurant to fulfill one's dream: fish, fish, and more fish
Following are some facts that I have learned at 206 Fish restaurant, which is about to celebrate 20 years in business. First – a seafood meal can be just as creative and delightful as a meat meal. Second – when such a meal comes with the recommendations by an experienced waiter, it is important to listen; only good things can come from this. And third – fish do not go very well with just white wine, they also work great with bright local beer.
Regarding clause 1, 206 Fish is the ideal restaurant to fulfill one's dream: fish, fish, and more fish. There are some meat dishes, if you insist on having them, but there is no intention of competing with 206 Meat which resides on the ground floor of the same building. Here, as mentioned, it’s the fish that do the talking. And by saying "talking", I mean that they actually sing. And so they should, when there are great ingredients, mostly made of fresh local produce, composed by Chef Itzik Harel (formerly of Mul-Yam restaurant).
206 fish's kitchen is declared as fusion, with a personal interpretation of the Mediterranean, Italian and French cuisines. Here we should discuss clause 2 – waiter Motti. After giving us just enough time required to nibble on some delicious house bread that was served with 206's mythological pickles, he guided us through the painfully diverse menu – as for every bite we ordered we had to let go of something else.
For my friend who is a seafood enthusiast, he suggests starting with a dish which is known as the restaurant's identifying mark – a zucchini flower filled with a chopped seafood mixture, coated with panko and deep fried, served with a raw zucchini salad, balsamic sauce, almonds and goat cheese. As for me, I am always in favor of raw fish – grouper Carpaccio on this case. Thin slices of white fish meat, with a minimal precise dressing of salt, olive oil and lemon juice, a cucumber julienne in ginger vinaigrette that added crispness to the entire dish.
Meanwhile we took note of clause 3. The alcohol menu respects local wineries, and my friend's chardonnay by Barkan was a safe choice. Still, and I do apologize for breaking the rules, but my local beer – Alexander Blonde – was soft, fruity and smooth, just perfect to go with our main courses.
Ho, those wonderful main courses. Thank you, Motti, for the recommendations. One consisted of two burnt sea bream fillets that were taken off the grill at the precise moment that would preserve their delicate texture. The fillets were laid on a potato gratin made with cream and parmesan, dipped in rich parmesan sauce, and served with two asparagus stems – a seasonal addition of color and taste. Our second main course was a rich sea-bass fillet made a la plancha, with its crispy skin and white flesh that was served with tiny moist gnocchi, dipped inside sage-butter and mushrooms.
We had to go for dessert. Harel's Kadaif started with caramelized noodles, and continued with a twist of mascarpone cream filing, with pistachios and vanilla sauce, so that a beautiful tower was revealed, like a metaphor for this entire wonderful meal.
