Fish Tales

Seafood spectacle: wading through the oceanic buffet at Serrano's

Comments (0) By Stephen Lemons Thursday, May 27 2004

Of course, I wasn't enamored of everything on the menu. The seven seas soup seemed tantalizing on paper, with its mix of clams, fish, black mussels, crab legs and calamari. But the reality was a tad dreary. I liked the shrimp lining the bowl, but as for the soup itself, it was watery and flat, as if someone had simply dumped all of these ingredients into a weak vegetable stock. And dessert was an out-and-out bummer. The flan was incredibly mediocre, almost perfunctory, as if given short shrift in its preparation. Somewhat better were the sopaipillas, those puffy pillows of fried bread with syrup, but a flan the equal of Serrano's tostadas or cocktails would have you dancing out the door, crooning like a mariachi. Better not to have any dessert at all than spoil the alimentary buzz from Serrano's main offerings.

Speaking of mariachis, Serrano's has a troupe of them performing every Saturday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., and during that time, Coronas and Tecates are only $2 each. During the week, there are no mariachis, but the 4-to-7 p.m., two-for-one happy hour is guaranteed to make you sing, at least until the cops arrive to drag you away.

Jackie Mercandetti

Seafood, eat it: Chef Ricardo Serrano with his briny bounty.

Location Info

Map

Serrano's Fishmarket & Restaurant

3131 E. Shea Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85028

Category: Restaurant > Mexican

Region: North Phoenix

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Details

Octopus tostada$2.99
Mojarra (whole fish)$7.99
Shrimp and octopus cocktailsmall, $6.49; large, $10.49
Seven seas$11.99

602-765-6140. Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

3131 East Shea Boulevard (32nd Street and Shea),

More About

There are dozens of other goodies on Serrano's menu, with an entire section devoted to typical Mexican fare, such as tacos and chimichangas, and another given over to various pastas like linguini with clams, shrimp or chicken. But until more folks begin to take advantage of this culinary pearl in their midst, it will remain a lovely place for me to enjoy a good book, a michelada, and as many oysters as I can swallow. And if I'm a little lonely doing it, such is the price of contentment.