When Dallas restaurateur Greg Katz visits Mexico City, he always makes a point to stop at Contramar, a popular seafood lunch spot known for its dramatic presentation of a whole snapper, which is butterflied, grilled, and then bathed in bright green and red chile sauces.
He’s now serving up a similar dish at Green Point Seafood & Oyster Bar, Katz’s newest concept on Knox. Green Point got its moniker from a neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, where he is from and where his grandparents are buried. There, Katz grew up eating grilled shrimp, calamari, and fish.
Green Point’s menu merges some of Katz’s—and his brother’s, Nik Katz—happiest memories. “It’s inspired by a whole-style family fish, but then Mexico City-style, which has a great memory for me as well,” he says. “We’re kind of having a little ode to them.”
The snapper is coated generously with light green chile sauce and smoky red sauce on each half, with an herby radish salad on top. The sauces balance each other out: the red sauce is deeper in flavor while the green lifts. The dish is only available for dinner.
The menu also includes a cold bar with a chilled crudo plate and oysters, fried grouper sandwiches, and entrees such as fish and chips and lobster rolls. The seafood is sourced from Minamoto Foods in Austin, Regalis Foods in Dallas, and Ocean Beauty Seafoods, which gives Green Point access to fish from Hawaii, oysters from the east coast, and lobsters from South Africa.
“We can get stuff basically from anywhere,” he says. “We have access to everything now, especially being in Dallas.”
The drink menu for both lunch and dinner is also just as impressive. It leans on bubbles and whites, which pair well with seafood, and a healthy selection of specialty cocktails.
Green Point is the third of Katz’s concepts, following Beverley’s and Clifton Club, both of which Katz says are neighborhood concepts. Beverley’s is the neighborhood bistro, and Clifton Club is the neighborhood cocktail lounge. He says Green Point is Knox’s neighborhood seafood place and oyster bar.
“I’ve never seen as many regulars than Beverley’s has. I mean, it’s insane,” Katz says. “Our bar is packed every day with neighborhood people. There are people that come five times a week and have for years, and I anticipate that Green Point will be the same thing.”
3219 Knox St., Ste. 100.
This story originally appeared in the December issue of D Magazine with the headline “Chile Weather.” Write to [email protected].
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