The Yard/Cleo’s Seafood Legend Experience

He Said

Parking is difficult. Let’s begin with that statement because it will be the last negative one you see in this experience. Luckily on the day we went we were ok, but it wasn’t very busy and the valet was still open so we were able to find a spot across the street. But it was clear that it could be easily jam packed quickly. Beyond that it is on my short list of places I feel like I could bring out of town friends or local friends for either a nice seafood dinner or hang out all day in the next door neighbor (Culinary Drop Out) Yard portion of the complex. Let me explain, the Yard is a complex with multiple restaurants that all share a really cool outdoor space. Another reuse project, it was a motorcycle garage, and now it is 2 upscale restaurants (one more to come) with a crazy fun outdoor space. You can sit on nice couches and watch one of the many TV’s or go to the yard area and play corn hole, ping pong or a few other options. You can also order food from Culinary Drop out to enjoy on the yard or head over to Cleo’s which is where we headed this particular evening.

It’s a smaller place on the Fox Concepts scale of things. It makes you nostalgic for the days when travel was a first class affair even in coach and you’d expect a grand staircase to be hidden around the corner. Cruise décor aside it is a casual place with the usual friendly and knowledgeable staff you come to expect at all of Sam Fox’s restaurants. It’s a small menu but our server for the evening still helped with suggestions and we definitely made some right choices. We started with a blue crab toast, smashed avocado, orange-chili aioli which quite frankly steered us in the crab direction for dinner. In my humble opinion, right sized for an appetizer, we both ended up with 2 pieces each. We had a hard time deciding after the starter so we both ordered an entrée and shared it. King crab legs and a Créole Spicy Shrimp. Delicious. The crab legs were huge and came with a garlicy, herbed, drawn butter. The shrimp was in a just spicy enough Cajun broth with corn nibblets and red potatoes. The nibblets were super sweet and when mixed with sitting in the Cajun broth was incredible. I was so happy we decided to share because I would have been so unhappy had I only had one foodgasm that evening. Instead I got 2. We topped off the evening with the doughnuts trio. A Fox staple, it was good but you could get it at lots of his concepts, so I’d focus on the seafood. Let’s hope this new concept is around for awhile. I mean who doesn’t love foodgasms?

She Said

Going to the Yard can be a bit confusing and overwhelming. (See the top portion of “He” review) But once you are inside Little Cleo’s Seafood you feel like you have stepped into an intimate restaurant and traditional oyster bar in some city by the sea. The interior is very welcoming with a clean Art Deco nautical/deep sea diver vibe. As you can tell it is hard to describe but I liked it! The metal fixtures, white tiled walls and stainless steel bar made me wonder if they took some inspiration from Neptune Oyster restaurant in Boston.  I wanted to steal the orb shaped lighting fixture that hung over our table. It looked like something out of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. I kept asking “He” if the lighting fixture would be awkward in my home… “He” said yes.

Our waitress was very friendly and helpful throughout our dinner and off the bat suggested the Cleo’s Fish House Punch (st. george gin, black peach simple, fresh lime & grapefruit.) I got it and I loved it. Light, refreshing and great for a hot summer evening with a nice blend of sweet & sour flavors.

As an appetizer we decided on the Blue Crab Toast (crab, smashed avocado & orange-chili aioli.) Creamy and cool with a hint of citrus on toasted bread.  I love when you can actually taste crab in a crab spread and boy could I! It had tempted my palate and made me crave more crab.

Soooo we ordered The King Crab Legs and The Cajun Shrimp and shared the feast. The crab was superb. Fresh, meaty and perfectly cooked accompanied by a jar full of garlic butter. Oh yeah! So worth the buttery messy fingers!  Now about the Cajun Shrimp. Well, this could be one of my new favorite dishes in the Valley. It has it all. Spicy shrimp with sweet corn nibblets and red potatoes all soaking in a bath of delicious Cajun broth. Two pieces of toasted bread are on top to lap up the mouthwatering broth (of course we had to ask for more so I could get every last drop.) It was just spicy enough to warm ya up but not too overwhelming where your mouth was on fire. Very hearty and filling with that comfort food feeling.

Just when I thought I couldn’t eat anymore, we finished the meal with The Donuts. I wasn’t going to pass up a Fox Concept dessert staple. Made to order they are hot, doughy and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. To make it even more naughty it comes with caramel apple butter to dip it in…yes, more butter.

This dining experience was a real seafood treat!  I’ll definitely be back to Little Cleo’s… and no not to steal their lighting fixture.