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Business & Tech

Morgans Fish House Reopens With a New Style and Menu

The restaurant closed for nearly a month to undergo renovations that have made it a more casual neighborhood restaurant.

For Morgans Fish House, it was either change or swim with the fishes.

The old Morgans was an ultra cool, hip, special occasion kind of expensively sophisticated Manhattan-style seafood restaurant with a superstar Westchester chef in Mark Filippo. The restaurant's décor was equally as sophisticated, with its swirly, wave-like aquamarine and green walls, high ceilings and marble and glass accents.

After a recent major renovation, Morgans has changed into a more casual, comfortable New England-style neighborhood restaurant bistro with a new décor, new atmosphere, a creative and less expensive menu (including lots of meat dishes), and an acclaimed new chef in Ken Pulomena, formerly of Manhattan's Blue Water.

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Indeed, about the only thing that remains the same is the name.

The economy and customers' increasing desire to eat out without spending a fortune necessitated the change at Morgans.

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Though you couldn't get a table at the old Morgans on Saturday nights, the rest of the nights were the loneliest nights of the week, "blizzards" in restaurant lingo, meaning lots of white tablecloths but no people at the tables.

"The change was simply a matter of economics," Lisa McKiernan, Morgans' Managing Partner, told Patch. "We were perceived as a dressy special occasion kind of place. You couldn't get in here on a Saturday night. But we were virtually empty the rest of the week. So we knew we had to make a change."

"The renovation gives Morgans a friendly, chic environment with bright walls (tan with accents of chocolate brown and navy), exposed brick, high ceilings, blinds partially open to the outside instead of tall glass windows, high ceilings and a warm welcoming bar, all consistent with the other restaurants in the Pearl Restaurant Group (the parent company of Morgans)," according to Ms. McKiernan, who started with Pearl as a waitress at the Rye Grill & Bar, married the bartender in 1997 and worked her way into a partnership with the company.

Pearl commissioned the renovation to better align the restaurant with the image associated with several other restaurants in the group, including Ruby's Oyster Bar & Bistro in Rye, McKiernan said.

McKiernan said she and her partners, Jim Sullivan, a veteran in the restaurant business, and Jan Fabry, a construction expert, came up with a new look that included, among other things, an exposed brick wall with three blackboards listing the chef's catch of the day specialties, the different kinds of oysters available, and a "Welcome to the New Morgans" sign, all seemingly rising out of cozy booths lining the far wall, with nicely spaced tables covered in craft paper filling the rest of the airy restaurant.

The glass wall around the kitchen was removed, with the front window remaining so you can still watch the chefs at work. The side window was replaced by a bar-height marble counter for open-kitchen dining at what amounts to a chefs table. Off the entrance is a friendly bar scene, where you can drink as well as dine with various "Blue Plate Specials for $16.95" listed on a nearby sign.

Patch chatted up Ms. McKiernan about the history of Morgans –it had been a warehouse and trucking company back in the day, and had a previous pre-Pearl restaurant life as the relatively undistinguished restaurant RK. Former Morgans' executive sous chef Jordan Luchini tried to tweak the menu by adding more casual dishes once Filippo left, but a complete facelift seemed to be the best way to go to truly transform Morgans. So, the restaurant was closed for renovations from April 3 to April 30 and has come back in its new reincarnation.

After the reopening, Patch decided to check out Morgans' new décor and sample the new menu on a recent Sunday night, paying our own way and not identifying ourselves to Ms. McKiernan until after the bill was paid.

We slid into one of the new booths, studied the "Blackboard Fish" chalked in chef's catch of the day  (Montauk Swordfish $26; Norwegian Salmon $24; Halibut $29, Yellowfin Tuna $28; Red Snapper $28; Mahi-Mahi $26; Catfish $21; Sea Scallops $24, and Jumbo Shrimp $24) and perused the menu, noting 13 appetizers, from New England and Conch Chowder (both $6) to BBQ St. Louis Ribs ($10), and from Grilled Octopus & Calamari Bruschetta ($10) to Sesame Crusted "Rare" Tuna seaweed salad, crispy wontons and wasabi soy ginger ($12).

The raw bar ranged from oysters ($2.50/piece) to Little Necks ($1.25) to Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail ($14). There were various "Sliders" (Fried Oyster $9; Crab Cake $12; Salmon $10; Kobe Beef Burger $12 and Pulled BBQ Pork $9.) Salads were plentiful, from Classic Caesar ($7) to Greek ($10). The entrees included a veritable aquarium of seafood dishes in the low to high $20s range, plus Filet Mignon ($34) and Whole Roasted Baby Chicken ($21). There were even sandwiches, including the popular "Surf & Turf" (lobster roll and Philly cheesesteak, $21) and the Morgans Burger ($12). Sides were $6 each and ranged from Mac & Cheese to Sweet Potato Crabmeat Hash.  And the "Blue Plate Special" was Prime Rib ($16.95).

In brief, the menu was a moveable feast, from comfort foods like Portuguese Fisherman's Stew to Louisiana Catfish with Gumbo. We asked our waiter about the house specialty.

"Every dish is our specialty," he said. He noticed we looked skeptical. "But if you are really feeling decadent, the Seared Pepper Crusted Yellowfin Tuna 'Rossini' is out of this world," he said. "It comes with seared foie gras toast, creamed spinach, roasted portabello mushroom and cabernet sauce."

We were feeling decadent. And he was absolutely right. At $32 it was one of the most expensive dishes on the menu, but worth every cent. My wife, Stephanie, was equally pleased with her Red Snapper ($28), one of the "Blackboard Fish" which all come either grilled, pan seared, blackened or fried, served with steamed potatoes and a vegetable. Add a mussels appetizer (classic white wine, garlic, shallots and herb butter ($10) a side of spinach (creamed, garlic oil or steamed $6) and dessert ($7) for Morgans' Hot Fudge Sunday and Key Lime Pie, and it comes to a special date night meal at just under $100, not including drinks, taxes and tip.

So Morgans Fish House doesn't come cheap. Although you can keep the price down, way down, with the restaurant's selection of sandwiches and various blue plate specials, which change daily. Morgans' other specials include meatloaf, BBQ Southern Fried Chicken, Seafood Newburgh, Stuffed Trout Almondine and Pork Osso Bucco, all which are served on individual days throughout the rest of the week.

However, the generally upscale and preppie-looking crowd (even the 70-something and 80-something diners had the eternal preppie look) didn't seem to be economy-minded. There was a pleasant conversational hum throughout our dinner, although the soft country, pop, soft rock music seemed a bit loud, albeit not so loud that we couldn't help but overhear the couple in the next booth debating movie choices.

Of course, we could have opted for a quiet table in the back room, which is available when there aren't private parties at the restaurant. But then we would have missed the people-watching. And that is part of the show at Morgans, which comes highly recommended and now truly lives up to the Pearl motto: "Great food, great service, and zero pretence."

Morgans Fish House, 22 Elm Place, 914-921-8190; open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Sun-Wed) and to 11 p.m. (Thurs-Sat).

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