Out To Sea
PassionFish presents Serious Seafood in a Playful Maritime Interior
At 10,000 square feet, the newest restaurant in the Passion Food Hospitality family is sized like an ocean liner. With a soaring, shimmering interior in a watery palette of blues and silvers; subtle fish and bubble motifs; and vintage touches of nautical hardware and weathered wood, PassionFish creates a sophisticated atmosphere of oceanic relaxation, whether you prefer to take your ease on the high seas – or beside the seaside.
The restaurant’s décor has a quiet but unmistakably maritime focus. Upon entering the restaurant, the bar is in soft whites and light blues presenting a similar glow found when the moon radiates over a pool of water that reflects for miles. The curve of the bar makes for comfortable conversations and optimum cocktails. An artful display of chilled seafood anchors the main dining room, whose broad and soaring walls recall the curved salons of the grand old steamers of yesteryear. A dramatic glass staircase rises to the upper-level dining area; tucked beneath, between its transparent walls, is a custom temperature-controlled storage cabinet for red wines, holding over 500 bottles. Despite its monumental size, the dining area is carefully planned for acoustic sensitivity, limiting excess noise and allowing for intimate conversation.
Delicate strings of large hand-blown glass bubbles seem to float to the ‘surface’ of the monumental chandeliers. Industrial ‘porthole’ light fixtures glow from the wood banquette bases. Here and there in the restaurant’s interior walls are charming ‘peek-a-boo’ windows and delightful nooks, reminiscent of the now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t quality of a tropical coral reef. Aquatic tones of cool blue-grays and silvers predominate on the walls and on the subtly bubble-patterned upholstery of the austere, high-backed booths; while the dining and bar chairs are softened with plush cushions in complimentary earth tones. The carpet, the rugged wide-plank floors, the chair frames and tables are grounded in rich mahogany browns.
Iridescent tiles of gleaming white olive greens provide the understated backdrop for the cool, serpentine marble-topped bar, with its simple wood plank shelves. A lively pattern of blue and green glass tiles frames the open stainless kitchen – a design trademark of all the Passion Food Hospitality restaurants. An array of frosted lights creates a warm ambience and soft glow in the evening. The majestic windows that flood the grand dining area with natural light during the day are dressed simply in tailored bronze silk-like panels that cascade 22 feet down from the ceiling. Through the glass doors off the main dining room is a handsome private extension of the restaurant: two additional, large banquet rooms, completely equipped with A/V capabilities and a sweeping view through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The mezzanine is an ideal setting as well for more intimate, social gatherings.
True to its comfortable Reston, Virginia suburban surroundings, the PassionFish atmosphere has a distinctly casual elegance. In warm weather, an inviting seating area allows 50 guests to dine al fresco overlooking a tranquil community park. Servers wear jaunty blue-and-white striped shirts [no ties] and long white aprons. The tables in the restaurant’s most prominent dining areas are bare wood topped with shimmering pale blue placemats, and the sleek stainless flatware is playfully fish-shaped. Seaside holiday favorites like the Crispy Fried Ipswich Clams with Butter Pickle Tartar Sauce arrive in a blue-and-white checkered enamel bucket, straight off the boardwalk; piping hot mussels are brought to the table in cheerful blue Le Creuset cast iron enameled pots. The trio of colorful fish sculptures holding court above the entrance is created from nothing more grand than ‘found objects.’
A visit to PassionFish is like a holiday by the sea: arrive with an appetite for the finest seafood, and be refreshed by an atmosphere like a breath of salt air.