Lure Fishbar

142 Mercer St., SoHo, NY

7.0

map & more

Neighborhood
SoHo

Cuisine
Raw Bar
Seafood

Nearby
Santos Party House

212-431-7676

Official Website

By Chris Stang
September 17, 2009

Lure Fish Bar needs to change it’s name. Maybe Lure Raw Bar. Or Lure Party Boat. Either would be more appropriate, and here’s why. The cooked fish entrées at Lure are almost all disappointing. Generally, they suffer from a lack flavor despite potent accompaniments like ponzu sauces, dashi glazes, and red curry broths. The raw bar, on the other hand, is a large selection of high quality seafood and is worthy of the namesake. I’m throwing Lure Party Boat out there because this place kicks out the jams like it’s 1992. Hit after hit from MTV’s Party To Go albums, slick yacht décor, and sushi on the menu make it feel like you’re at sea with Arsenio Hall or one of the Wayans brothers. Don’t get us wrong…all in all we like Lure Fish Bar Party Boat. The service is great and earns them some points but a few tweaks on those entrées would bump up our rating into the more than respectable range. We’ll come back a few more times, if only to hear some Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D on the playlist.

Food Rundown:

Shrimp Cocktail
The raw bar is certainly Lure’s strength, and the shrimp cocktail is excellent. The cocktail sauce has a nice horseradish bite.

Crispy Calamari
Easily one of the best things on the menu at Lure, this lightly fried calamari has an unexpected chili glaze that gives it both sweetness and kick.

Seared Yellowfin Tuna
Avoid this one at all costs. This is straight off the Christmas menu in a white-collar prison. Mealy, bland tuna medallions come served with edamame and shitake mushrooms. Even after six blood orange margaritas, I couldn’t trick myself into liking this.

Steamed Branzino
It’s probably not a good sign when most of the fish dishes at a place boasting itself a “Fishbar” are a let down. The branzino is a nice filet and a great piece of fish, but like much of the rest on the menu, needs help in the flavor department.

Desserts
All the desserts at Lure suffer from the same affliction that the fish dishes do. Sexy descriptions on the menu will lead you into high expectations, but we’ve been consistently let down.