La Dorada

The reason La Dorada has been a mainstay of Giralda Avenue for so many a year is the availability and quality of exceptional seafood from Spain. Thrice weekly fish are flown from the ports of Malaga, including merluza (hake), urta (red-band bream), lubina (striped sea bass), cuttlefish (calamarilike), and dorada (royal sea bream). Golden, greaseless fried fresh anchovies is a good way to jump onboard, as would be any number of simply prepared shellfish, such as razor clams spruced with olive oil, parsley, and garlic, or fresh anchovy fillets pooled in nothing but a simple tomato coulis. The signature entree (for two) is pescado a la sal, in which the fish you choose gets baked in a solid sea-salt crust, cracked and filleted tableside, and served with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, and homemade mayonnaise. The restaurant's namesake fish -- with white, moist, mildly sweet flesh boasting buttery, slightly nutty accents -- works well with this treatment. This Spanish seafood restaurant isn't perfect -- the prices are quite high, and a few fish dishes won't quite hook you -- but an excellent wine list, solid service, and delicious, exotic seafood are the norm.Read our full review.