Surf Seafood: New At The Woburn Village--First Impressions

At the Woburn Village, a number of restaurants have opened, mostly fast casual spots, from Shake Shack to Cava Mezze Grill, with new spots coming in the near future. One of the newest restaurants, a full service restaurant, is the Surf Seafood Restaurant. This is its third location, with others in Nashua and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Nashua location having opened with Chef Michael Buckley in 2002. The Woburn location is open seven days a week, for both lunch and dinner. 

I haven't been to either of the New Hampshire locations but have twice dined for lunch at the Woburn location. Overall, I've been very pleased with the restaurant, including enjoying a dish that is likely to be one of my favorite dishes of 2023. I'll definitely be returning to the restaurant to check out more of their menu, and recommend my readers check it out as well. 

It's a large and elegant restaurant, with a good-sized bar, with booths, high-tops, and other tables. 

There's also a Raw Bar/Sushi, where you can observe displays some of their seafood as you sit and enjoy your meal. 

The food menu is fairly extensive, concentrating on seafood but with some non-seafood options as well.  On the menu, you'll find Small Plates (15 choices, $8-$22), from Chourico Braised Mussels to Rhode Island Style Calamari; Salads (3 choices, $8-$12); Sandwiches & Tacos (7 choices, $16-$34), from Lobster Roll to Surf Bacon Cheeseburger; Nigiri Sushi, Sashimi, & Maki Rolls; Raw Bar, from Oysters to Tuna Poke; Surf Classics (entrees, 14 choices, $26-$42), such as Surf Ramen, Sesame Seared Tuna, Korean BBQ Scallops, Surf Style Fish & Chips and Buttermilk Fried Chicken. 

They have a full bar, with cocktails, beers, and wine, as well as four different Sakes ($15-$45/tokkuri or small bottle)

For Nigiri, they offer Tuna, Salmon, and Yellowtail, priced from $12-$14. Although that may seem pricey, the menu fails to mention that you actually receive three pieces, not the usual two, making the dish more reasonably priced. The server also didn't inform me that there were three pieces and I didn't know until the dish arrived at my table. The Tuna Nigiri ($14) was very good, tender and fresh.

The Roasted Brie & Bacon Oysters ($16), topped with garlic crumbs, were tasty, with a nice blend of flavors, briny, smoky, and garlicky, with some creamy and crunchy textures. Even if you dislike raw oysters, you may enjoy these treats. 

This was an excellent dish! The Lobster Fries ($22) may remind you in some respects to poutine, but it blazes its own trail. The dish is made with crispy fries, garlic butter, Maine lobster, lobster bisque, and queso fresco. Bisque instead of gravy, and no curds, just queso fresco. The french fries were great, thick and sturdy, with a crisp coating and a fully interior, and stood up well to the bisque. There was only a small amount of flavorful bisque so the fries weren't drenched. There was plenty of pieces of sweet lobster, and the queso fresco was a nice addition, enhancing the dish. Overall, it was a delicious and well-balanced dish which I would highly recommend. 

The Crispy Shrimp Steamed Buns ($12), are made with a sweet and spicy dragon sauce, cucumber citrus slaw, and bibb lettuce. The sauce was quite nice, with a mild spiciness, adding to the crunchy shrimp. 

This Portuguese Seafood Stew ($34) will likely be one of my favorite dishes of 2023! It's made with haddock, mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp, chourico, an aromatic tomato broth, potatoes, garlic, and herbs, and was accompanied by some grilled ciabatta. There was so much delicious seafood, including very plump mussels, tender haddock, and large scallops. The broth was complex and intense, utterly scrumptious, and perfect for dipping the ciabatta. The chourico added a pleasing spicy element too. Everything in this dish worked so well together, creating a delectable unified dish. It was also quite a large dish, and I ended up taking some of the broth home. 

The Miso Marinated Salmon ($31) included seared salmon, a sesame-jasmine rice cake, seared asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, and a ponzu sauce. The salmon was cooked perfectly, and was tender and tasty, enhanced by the bright citrus of the ponzu. The rice cake was also a nice addition, and the veggies were fresh and delicious as well.

On one visit, I split the Fried Fisherman's Platter ($35) with my dining companion. The dish included fried (with a house breading) haddock, shrimp, scallops, and sweet clams, accompanied by coleslaw, fries, and tartar sauce. The fried seafood was very good, with a tasty coating, and my companion stated the cole slaw was one of the best she had ever had. 

On my first visit to Surf Seafood, service was a bit lacking, but on the second visit, it was excellent. As the restaurant is fairly new, allowances should be made for some minor service issues, which hopefully will be worked out soon. The food is quite good, sometimes rising to excellence, such as the Lobster Fries and Portuguese Seafood Stew. I'll be returning soon to check out more of their dishes, like maybe the Korean BBQ Scallops or the Pastrami Smoked Salmon BLT.