Hooked Seafood & Martini Bar

Rehoboth Beach headlines read, “Martini Tom is Back!” Tom Garvey does indeed reign supreme at his old haunt in Midway Shopping Center. The ghosts of Tutto Bene, Adriatico and Betty's Pure & Simple have long since given way to Hooked Seafood & Martini Bar which Tom and long-time SoDelConcepts'/Casa DiLeo's chef Christian Colgan have taken over. Though Matt Haley remains behind the scenes, the day-to-day ball is squarely in Tom and Christian's court. In their first few months of operation, this was both a good and a not-so-good thing. The food was generally OK, if not somewhat inconsistent, and the service was, frankly, abysmal. Well, Hooked has apparently figured out what it wants to be when it grows up, and as of this writing, things are very much improved.

After a few re-visits (in as much of a disguise as I could muster), I am pleased to report that things — especially the service — have fallen nicely into place. In fact, on two of our visits, our interaction with our server Amanda was one of the highlights of my week. She's a real pro. And recent emails from RF visitors have turned out to be correct: The food is consistently good. The star ratings have been changed to reflect the great improvement in this restaurant, and negative visitor comments that no longer apply have been deleted.

Enough chatter. Let's get down to business.

You could make a meal out of the appetizers. The crab dip is served in a bread bowl that's delightfully crispy on top, hot and savory with that magic combination of crab and cheese.

The Shrimp and Andouille Spring Rolls are attractively presented at the proper temperature. The kicker on that plate is a little cheddar and jalapeño grits cake. WOW! It is perfectly delicious. In fact, as good as the spring rolls are, the grits overshadow them. See if you can get it as a side with your main. You won't be sorry.

My friend Andrew Thomas (bartender extraordinaire at Striper Bites) firmly instructed me to get the Honey Brie and Roasted Garlic appetizer. Given how skinny this guy is, I find it hard to trust him when it comes to food, but I took his advice and I'm better (and probably fatter) for it. The dish is one of the best brie presentations I've had here at the beach. A small wheel of the aromatic cheese is baked — not too soft, mind you — and topped with warm walnuts slathered in honey. A bulb of roasted garlic nestles up to the cheese, and each clove is dark and buttery. Try to get the cloves out whole — it's really not hard with the little fork they provide. Seasonal fruit and crunchy little crostini accompany.

On one of our past visits, the server enthusiastically endorsed the Lobster Orzo appetizer. I asked for it as an entree. The creamy orzo with chunks of mushroom, lobster and smoked gouda was perfect — except for one thing: What is it with truffle oil? I have deleted (you can thank me now) my previous rant against truffle oil which is WAAAYYY overused. But obviously somebody sees something in the rancid-tasting stuff, and one of our truffle-oil gobbling guest foodies couldn't get enough of that Orzo. Go figure.

If you like Oysters Rockefeller, you'll love the four big ones at Hooked Seafood & Martini Bar. Asiago cheese and applewood smoked bacon are the winners on that plate. I also highly recommend the fried calamari. An adjacent table ordered two of these and they looked great. I could hear the crunch. Served simply with lemon mayo (on the side, thank you), it was light and crispy.

The Crab & Corn Chowder is loaded with goodies. Interestingly, the recent incarnation is thicker than the version we had last year. Not to the point of being floury, but it could certainly be a little less … substantial. You can order it in a cornbread bowl if you are really hungry. Bread bowl or not, it's a must-get. Order it with a dash of sherry. It will thin it out a bit and add a slightly sweet edge in the process.

The Oyster Stew is light, creamy, but with nice body. There are two wonderful little kickers here: (1) Expertly restrained use of sherry, and (2) the surprising appearance of a large fried oyster. Even more interestingly, fried oysters appear nowhere else on the menu. They make it just for the stew. We had this dish last year, and apparently it's still on the menu. If it is, get it! I hope it still has the happy little oyster.

The Crab Cakes have lots of chunky crabmeat with a tasty filler with a spicy kick that enhances the taste of the delicate meat. The cakes are well-sized for the $22 tariff. Beware: truffle oil lurks on the fries! Unless you like that burned, flowery aftertaste (here I go again…), ask them to spare you the truffle oil. They'll happily do it.

On our last visit one of our favorite local hairburners ordered the hamburger — boring, I'll admit, but a truly good measure of how a restaurant pays attention to the details. It looked great and tasted great. And that's saying something, because this woman hates everything.

I had a little server-centered adventure on my first visit when ordering the Fish ‘n' Chips. So I ordered them again on one of our recent visits and they were wonderful. Rather than cod, they use rockfish, and though I really liked the texture of the cod, the fish was perfectly fried to a nice crispy finish. The fries (sans that t-oil, thank you) weren't really the traditional “chips,” but they tasted great. Order the Green Beans with the broccoli. The beans are brightly firm and plump. Bits of tomato, onions and a little garlic mix it up.

Two 7 oz. lobster tails are joined by those green beans and a baker on the Twin Tails entree. The tails have been consistently good over the last few visits, and the $29 ticket demands that one be picky. If they're rubbery or mushy, send them back. But I suspect you won't have to. The baked potato was hot and happily yielded to a few dips in the drawn (clarified) butter. I'd order it again in a minute.

There's always at least one carnivore in the aquarium, and on our last visit, one of my trusted Foodies decided to try the Filet Mignon special. This particular preparation involved an absolutely delicious blend of blueberries and ginger, an interesting change from the almost equally good dijon/shitake glaze from the past.  I could order that blueberry/ginger concoction in a wine glass with a big ol' bendy straw and be perfectly happy.

The steak was cooked perfectly to order.

In my earlier article, I was pleased that Martini Tom was drawing in the customers, and suggested that the restaurant needed a front-of-house manager. I am quite aware that neither Tom nor Christian were even remotely amused by my suggestion (we'll leave it at that…), but interestingly, the dining room is now expertly managed, and Martini Tom can now do what he does best. Did they do it because of my advice? Probably not — I'm not that delusional. But it doesn't matter. Hooked Seafood and Martini Bar is a better restaurant because of it. And it was an easy fix, wasn't it guys?

Hooked Seafood & Martini Bar is located at 18585 Coastal Highway at the south end of the Midway Shopping Center. They open at 3:30, feature a happy hour from 4-6, and have a fun late-night menu until 1 a.m. (the martinis are indeed good. If Tom's doin' the watermelon-tini, get it).

They do take reservations (302) 827-4944.

Check out their website for entertainment schedules,etc.(D., Bar, Late night). Price range: Moderate +.