A spread of dishes at Atlantic Ocean.
Madelynne Grace
Bom Dia cocktail at Atlantic Ocean.
Madelynne Grace
When he was about 14, Virgil Harper sat down to eat crab, and his face promptly swelled up. He’d just discovered a new allergy.
Years later, though, that didn’t prevent Harper from putting crab on the menu at his new Houston seafood restaurant, Atlantic Ocean. There, he pairs Southern inspiration with a long list of seafood, plus a little meat. The restaurant at 6011 Washington Ave., near Memorial Park, is currently in a “soft-opening” stage and will celebrate its grand opening April 1.
Left, executive chef Aliyah Watley. Right, chef and owner Virgil Harper.
Quit Nguyen
The endeavor marks a change for Harper, the chef and owner, and executive chef and partner Aliyah Watley. Both are from the East Coast. Harper’s most recent endeavors have both focused on breakfast: Toast on Lenox, an Atlanta Southern brunch spot, and Toast Noir Cafe, a coffee shop in the same city.
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But a regular stream of visitors from Houston stopped by those restaurants, Harper said. Friends and other restaurateurs would say: “‘You need to come to Houston. You need to come to Houston.’”
So when Harper decided to expand, H-Town and its massive food scene felt like a good fit. And seafood made sense, too. Growing up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Harper lived on it.
“Me and my uncle and my cousins and my brother would go fishing on the weekends,” he said. “We went to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean. We would catch all kinds of trout. We would go clamming, we would do mussels.”
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Exterior of Atlantic Ocean
Quit Nguyen
Watley, raised in South Carolina, ate plenty of seafood, too.
But though the two of them named their new restaurant Atlantic Ocean, in honor of their upbringings, they actually bring in seafood from all over. Lobster comes from Maine. Redfish from the Gulf Coast. Chilean sea bass will soon arrive from the Pacific.
Lemon pepper prawns and white chocolate carrot cake at Atlantic Ocean.
Lemon pepper prawns and white chocolate carrot cake at Atlantic Ocean.
A butterflied branzino, grilled skin-down and topped with chimichurri and citrus mojo, is a particular favorite of Watley’s. So are the lemon pepper tiger prawns. Clams, spicy mussels, fried snapper, dover sole, cornmeal-crusted crab cakes and char-grilled oysters fill the menu. Entrees range from about $25 to three times that, though happy hour Wednesday through Friday offers $16 garlic butter crab claws, $5 seafood gumbo and $1.50 oysters.
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But it’s not just fish: Moroccan lamb chops with sweet potato, fried green tomatoes and okra and 16-ounce soy-marinated ribeye help round out the offerings. So do the white chocolate carrot cake and croissant bread pudding for dessert.
Customers can sip cocktails like the tropical Bom Dia, with Chinola, mango and tajin, or mocktails like the Blueberry No-jito. Wines and beers are also available, with wine bottles half-off on “Wine Down Wednesdays.”
Interior of Atlantic Ocean
Quit Nguyen
The restaurant has space aplenty: The high-ceilinged room, dressed in shades of beige and tan, seats about 200. It includes a private event room for 21, and as soon as the furniture arrives, patio seating will be on offer too.
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