“Passionfish is dedicated to serving sustainable seafood; seafood that is harvested in a manner that does not harm the habitat of the ocean floor nor result in by-catch of the ocean’s endangered turtles.” Make no mistake, if I had it my way, no one would eat living creatures from the sea, but I’m a realist. I know 100% of the population is not going to give up eating seafood; if people are going to eat seafood, this is the way to do it.
AMBIANCE: There’s an undeniable air of eco-friendliness at this restaurant. From the outside the restaurant looks like nothing more than an unassuming dental office, but on the inside it’s a winding restaurant with crisp white tablecloths covered with recycled paper and decorated with some fantastic ocean-related art pieces. Even though the restaurant is very nice, casual attire is the norm giving a relaxed feel to an upscale dining experience.
MENU: For a vegetarian, this restaurant offers a very limited menu: one or two salads, one entrée, maybe one ‘nibble’ and/or appetizer. The good news? Their menu changes daily, so you won’t have to eat the same vegetarian dish over and over during return visits.
FOOD: By far the best dish we had was a special feature on the menu; an appetizer that consisted of a soft mozzarella cheese drizzled with mint honey served with toasted bread and cheese filled squash blossoms. For my entrée I ordered the Ratatouille Ravioli which arrived at the table topped with a few sprigs of baby arugula and grated parmesan cheese; this dish was just okay. I wish I’d had room for dessert. (If you’re interested, Wil said his seafood was ‘good’ – but he wasn’t swooning).
SERVICE: The service was quite nice. We had a primary server who helped us navigate the menu and wine list and the best bus-boy in the world who kept our drinks filled and whisked away dishes a-la-Beauty-and-the-Beast-be-our-guest style.
PRICE: Unfortunately I hit a bit of a road block here. My mediocre Ratatouille Ravioli was $16.00 plus tax. No matter how many garden fresh vegetables were used to make it, the flavor of the dish did not come close to being a sixteen dollar meal. One appetizer, a bottle of wine, and two entrees was about $100.00 for two. Value and flavor didn’t quite measure up to my standards here, though we did enjoy our dining experience.
Passionfish
701 Lighthouse Ave
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
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831-655-3311
