Scott's Seafood Roundhouse
824 Sutter Street, Folsom, 916-989-6711, scottsseafoodroundhouse.com
The highly anticipated opening of Scott’s Seafood in Historic Folsom launched to rave reviews (notably from this reviewer) on a hot July night. The heat, like everything else, was aptly prepared for with a misting system set up to keep the guests of owners John and Suzanne Cook cool and comfortable.
Scott's Seafood Roundhouse
The new venue is stunning with contemporary design, a seafood market, and lavish bar area. Two separate patios ensure plenty of alfresco dining—one even flows directly into the district’s open-air amphitheater.
Calamari
The menu for my soft-opening invitation was a mix of past favorites with some new items from Chef Greg Dunn (Chef Greg has been with Scott’s for 17 years). Dining began with an appetizer of fried calamari; let me reword that: perfectly fried calamari. The crunchy yet tender cephalopod arrived with sweet Thai chili sauce and Thai chili butter (the butter on fried food was a bit heavy for my palate).
Baby Kale & Braised Beets
Our server, Tristan, then brought an exceptional bowl of clam chowder and a baby kale salad with braised beets. The chowder was worthy of any I’ve had from San Francisco to Seattle and Boston to Maine. The salad of goat cheese, crispy bacon, hazelnuts, and honey mustard vinaigrette was light and refreshing. A chilled glass of Chardonnay was all that was missing (mea culpa, I had a martini).
Linguini & Clams
Entrées were next up. First, possibly the best bowl of linguini and clams I’ve had in…ever. Supple, buttery pasta and sweet clams with an essence of the sea, I could barely pry a bite away from my dining companion.
At this point, I spied a whole grilled fish headed out of the kitchen, so I mentioned casually to our host, Suzanne, how good it looked. “Would you like the branzino?” she replied. “I’m sure our readers would love to see that plate,” I remarked coyly, barely able to contain my exuberance at having swapped out a hamburger for it. Char-grilled with couscous tabbouleh, a Greek artichoke salad, and tzatziki sauce, it was even better than it looked, if that’s possible. (Thank you, Suzanne!)
Whole Mediterranean Branzino
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (Monday-Friday); 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (Saturday-Sunday)
Try This: Fresh Chilled Seafood Tsunami, Clam Chowder, Fresh Dungeness Crab Cakes, Whole Mediterranean Branzino, Chef’s Signature Burger, Linguini & Clams, Scott’s Cioppino, Fresh Lobster Roll, Vegan Char Grilled Scallops, Warm Cinnamon Maple Bread Pudding
Alcohol: Full bar; beer, wine, & cocktails
Tab: $$$
Heads-Up: Weekend brunch; fresh fish market sells everything from filet mignon and marinated skirt steak to oysters, lobster, and clams; special “strolling” (takeout) menu; many ingredients are sourced from the Historic Folsom Farmers’ Market; daily happy hour; vegan & kids’ menus
Warm Cinnamon Maple Bread Pudding
by Lorn Randall
photos by DANTE FONTANA
photos by DANTE FONTANA