Ask someone if they’ve eaten at St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin, and they might reply, “You mean that seafood restaurant in Deep Ellum?” The name suggests something different than what it is: a bar with a full menu of familiar items, from fried calamari to mix-and-match pasta to New York strip. And there’s no seafood on it, really, except for that calamari and maybe a tuna steak (available as a sandwich, too). But back to that strip, which sounded good to me one recent night, but sadly, there was none. Turns out there was no ribeye, either, and not because of a recent red-meat rush. “The owner forgot to order it,” we were told. Not sure if that’s the kind of thing you want to admit to your dining public, but the waiter thoughtfully suggested the tuna instead, cooked medium. The most steak-like of the fishes, it did sate that craving for a steak, and the cilantro-lime sauce added an unexpected zing. (Unexpected as in I didn’t know it was coming.) My friend went for the mix-and-match pasta, with fettuccini and a quattro formaggio sauce (mozzarella, Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and feta), which is a lot like Alfredo but interestingly less rich and therefore more palatable given the enormous portion. Both entrées come with a salad—adding to that “bang for the buck” thing—although we had to get fancy and request a Greek salad, which set us back another couple of bucks each. Not sure it was worth it for a mound of lettuce and sliced green peppers. So when we go back for that strip (fingers crossed!), we’ll get the house salad instead.
Get contact information for St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin.
