My tenth Westport Restaurant Week visit brought me to Splash Restaurant & Bar at the Inn at Longshore.
A De Caro Restaurant Group property, Splash is a sibling of Baang Cafe & Bar in Greenwich and a second Baang located in Woodbury Commons, Long Island.
We passed a handsome fireplace in the receiving area,
and then proceeded through the entrance, past the bar
with its marine-themed tile work
and into the busy restaurant.
We were warmly received by manager Tom
and well cared for by our waiter, Bob.
We were brought lavash crisps
served with a chipotle bean spread.
Five-dollar glasses of a 2006 Añares Crianza, Rioja, Spain soon had us in a happy place.
We were so intrigued by Splash’s exotic Restaurant Week menu that we tried virtually everything on it. The appetizers included a wonderful (and loaded) New England shellfish chowder,
crisp, delicate firecracker spring rolls,
a lovely roasted chicken salad,
and the perfectly balanced crackling calamari salad
for which both Baang and Splash are justifiably famous.
I would have said that the entrées had little chance of surpassing the appetizers, but surpass them they did! Our absolute favorite was a soy-roasted half Cornish game hen with a lovely undercurrent of star anise.
My Galician companion, Juan Suarez, who is about to open a restaurant in Northampton, Massachusetts, couldn’t get enough of it. But the other main dishes impressed us too, including an Indonesian-themed Sambal shrimp and linguine,
incredible maple-glazed Atlantic salmon served with a dill yogurt sauce over a house-smoked salmon hash,
and an eight-ounce “Shanghai-style” rib-eye with a perfect salty and sweet thing going on.
We experienced no letdown with Splash’s housemade desserts. Its classic vanilla crème brûlée was picture perfect,
as was its luscious chocolate lava cake served with dulce de leche ice cream.
We were so pleased with our meal at Splash that we sought permission to enter the kitchen and compliment its talented chef.
Splash Restaurant & Bar, The Inn at Longshore, 260 Compo Road South, Westport, 203-454-7798