Dining review: Stoney's Stone Crab grabs your attention with fine seafood
Seafood restaurants in Naples these days seem like shells found along the Lowdermilk Park beach: they're everywhere.
Yet it's always worth checking out the new place in town that serves up creatures caught in the ocean for those of us who crave crustaceans, savor scallops and greet grouper with a smile.
Stoney's Stone Crab in Bayfront in Naples along the Gordon River, near the intersection of U.S. 41 East and Goodlette-Frank Road, offers another chance to sample the sea.
The high-ceiling, 240-seat waterside restaurant should bring something to the table literally in this seafood-mad town, and it does. With mahogany accents throughout, hanging iron lighting and tiled wood-looking floor, Stoney's looks the part.
The real test, though, was the seafood. So my dining companions and me wasted little time in ordered the campfire oysters: fire-roasted oysters served in lemon-garlic butter with seasoned bread crumbs
Two of the three of us love seafood, and we downed the savory creatures with ease. They were so good that I offered our third companion, who doesn't like seafood, to try and even she was impressed.
Next up was, well, the stone crabs. Caught fresh, they come in three sizes and are market-priced: medium, large and jumbo. Our mediums were $7.50 each last Friday. They're served cracked and chilled over ice with a house mustard sauce.
For those unfamiliar with Florida stone crabs, they're harvested annually from Oct. 15 through May 15 and taste a little sweeter than regular crab meat, and the ones at Stoney's did not disappoint.
The chef’s creation grouper fillet ($36) was tender and cooked to perfection, tender and white and juicy. We opted for the premium version, which added crab-shrimp sausage sauce to it, but that was overkill to a good piece of fish. The shrimp sausage was a touch rubbery as well.
We’d be happy with the simple grouper at $26, which, like all fish here, can be ordered grilled, blackened, fried, pan seared or steamed. (We admit we’d miss that richly seasoned dirty rice that comes with the premium dish and would have to order it as a side for $7.)
Actually, all the sides looked a bit pricey at $6 (french fries) to $9 (prosciutto asparagus, creamed spinach, roasted mushrooms, garlic mashed potatoes and truffle fries).
But Stoney’s Stone Crab doesn’t do them as an afterthought; the asparagus was char-broiled with a bit of oil, herbs and generous dusting of prosciutto crumbs. And if its creamed spinach is like the old Stoney’s Steak House recipe, it’s loaded into a cheesy cream base that makes you love your greens but probably negates all that spinach nutrition.
The five-ounce, hand-cut steak ($28) ordered medium came just so – its insides slightly pinkish red. We tried ours topped with melty blue cheese crumbles and fried onion slivers with a boat of the house BBQ sauce for dipping for $6 extra. The briny cheese paired nicely with the melt-in-your-mouth chunk of meat, which on the outside was crisp and dotted with garlic and other seasonings.
We also ordered the charred asparagus as a side dish, covered with a heaping pile of tiny prosciutto bits. Paired with it was a miniature boat of béarnaise sauce, but the well-seasoned spears could stand on their own without the help of dipping sauce. As we mentioned earlier, the price at $9 seemed a little steep for a simple side dish.
My salmon was one disappointment from the evening. Bland-tasting, it did not elevate to a salmon sampled at other fine Naples restaurants. The asparagus tips with it also were a bit too hard and chewy, and could've been cooked a few minutes longer.
The desserts came through, though. The Key lime pie ($8) tasted better than at most restaurants, creamy and not waxy at all. The graham cracker crust was unique and flaky but still cohesive, with coconut shavings mixed in.
Crème brulee here has more of a custard than a cream texture, rich but not melting in texture. It comes with a solid sugar crust and a crunchy sweet sugar fan that we wolfed down.
Also try the warm apple tart ($10), a flavorful hot-cold combination with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Stoney’s Stone Crab opened Dec. 21 in a big space that has hosted a handful of restaurants in the last 15 years. Mereday’s Brasserie and Alto Jazz Kitchen concepts filled the 8,000-square-foot venue last, but it previously was home to two Italian dining spots — Il Bellagio and Bianchi’s at Bayfront — and an all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecue, The Grill Club.
Our server, Paul, made the experience even better with his quick knowledge of dishes. And when we asked about what we thought was nutmeg in the sumptuous lobster bisque ($12), he asked the chef and returned to say the ingredient was actually Espelette pepper.
Paul provided just enough attentiveness but also made us feel like he was never too far away, filling up our drinks and answering our questions.
The Naples Daily News pays for all meals for dining reviews. We do not solicit or accept free meals.
If you go
What: Stoney's Stone Crab
Where: 492 Bayfront Place
Hours: During season, 4-10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Prices: Appetizers ($12-$18); chilled shellfish platters of medium stone crab, oysters and shrimp cocktail (market price); fresh stone crab in medium, large or jumbo (market price); soups and salads ($10-$12); hand-cut steaks, 5-ounce fillet ($28), 7-ounce fillet ($36) and prime New York strip ($50); entrees ($18-$60); sides ($6-$18); desserts (from $8-$14)
Information: 239-331-4821 or stoneysstonecrab.com
Something else: Stoney's from 4 to 6 p.m. daily offers a happy hour with drinks half-off and a more affordable appetizer menu that includes everything from Mahi tacos ($9) to smoked salmon fish dip ($5) to barbecue shrimp ($9).
Forks: 4 out of 5