Sea - Of Madness...Steer Clear

Sea - 114 North 6th Street, Brooklyn NY 11211
718.384.8850
L Train to Bedford Avenue
www.seathainyc.com/

Peter and I went to Williamsburg last week and stopped in for Thai food at Sea Restaurant. We heard good things from friends and family, so we were excited to try it. Sadly though, after our miserable experience we will never go back. Ironically, only after we ate there did I find out that Sea is a Williamsburg tourist trap. We fell right in.

Atmosphere:
What draws you to Sea are its cool surroundings. The building that it's housed in is industrial-looking and spacious--it's very Williamsburg. The ceilings are high and the effect is larger-than-life.

Immediately upon walking in, your eye focuses on the beautiful reflecting pool in the middle of the room with a large Buddha statue protruding from it. There's a wooden boat with gorgeous flowers that swims around peacefully--and if you're lucky enough to sit pool-side as we did, you can watch it float throughout your meal.

Although the aforementioned scene sounds serene, Sea itself is not. Describing it as bustling and loud doesn't do this restaurant justice. Throughout your meal, you'll be distracted by various goings-on, such as frazzled waitstaff, parents running after their toddlers or a loud birthday party.

Food:
Since Sea is sister restaurant to Spice in Manhattan, we had positive expectations about the food. Overall, the food delivered and while not phenomenal, it was tasty and worth the price. Our lunch consisted of:

Tom Yum Seafood Soup - This is my favorite Thai soup and from the description, it sounded like it was packed with seafood. I've only had it with shrimp before, so I was looking forward to this version. It was flavorful and included jumbo shrimp, squid, scallops, and scallions in a lemongrass broth. The seafood was very good, although the shrimp tasted a little fishy. I loved the squid the most and would definitely recommend this starter. Peter got it as well and seemed to love it too.

Black Bean Ginger with Beef - My main dish was a stir-fry of mushrooms, pineapples, scallions, peppers and beef. Overall, I enjoyed it very much but didn't like the way it was thrown at me by a frantic waiter. The beef was on the lean side, the veggies were fresh and the sauce that bound everything together was a little spicy.

Pattaya Noodle with Chicken - Peter's choice was also tasty and consisted of broad noodles, scallions, radish peanuts and chicken. The noodles were especially delicious because they were thick and gentle on the palate. Again, the sauce was wonderful and the nuts provided a nice crunch.

Service and Cost:
This is where everything fell apart. Our waiter seemed confused from the first hello to the last miscalculated check. We ordered things that were never brought to us--like Peter's tea--but annoyingly we were charged for them. Our entrees were thrown at us in confusion and the service overall was so heinous that we sat there with our mouths open in exasperation. And though the food was good, I would never go back due to such disorganization and serious service malfunctions.

The cost of the food was very reasonable at a mere $7-$8 for an appetizer and an entree. While this price is hard to match, we were overcharged on our bill. Being that we were so fed up with the service, we didn't tip at all. The experience was despicable. Steer clear.

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