Fish

There is an undeniable charm to the notion that Mike Stollenwerk and his crew can produce sophisticated seafood at microscopic Little Fish, his hit BYO in Bella Vista that's so small it routinely turns away more diners than it actually feeds.

But a guy with Stollenwerk's considerable talent can be excused for mulling the possibilities of a second, more spacious home.

A walk-in fridge? That would be a dream. Enough prep room downstairs to debone a 40-pound halibut, with enough seats in the dining room to actually move it in a couple of days? Oh yeah! How about a few chef toys like an immersion circulator? Get the vacuum bags ready. And what about a liquor license to stock some interesting wines, high-end cocktails, and good craft beers? Any chef who's figured out how to squeeze a living and some acclaim from a 22-seat BYO can be hearing only one thing from that scenario: ka-ching!

Well, Stollenwerk has the answer to that wish at his new westside haunt called Fish. At 47 seats, it isn't exactly huge. But in this sleek but austerely retrofitted space of the former Astral Plane, we finally get a taste of what Stollenwerk can do with a full-service restaurant and a little breathing room. And it is promising.

Butter-poached lobster came one night over glazed salsify and snappy beech mushrooms ringed by a decadent red wine enriched with foie gras. As good as that was, I even preferred an earlier lobster app, a toothy mound of homemade cavatelli tossed in a coarse chop of lobster "Bolognese" tossed in crustacean-infused tomato ragu.

Tender sheets of octopus carpaccio, arranged like a tiled mosaic, made every garnish pop with vibrance, a sweet-tart burst of grapefruit, the peppery tingle of microgreens, the bright grassy fruit of olive oil. Crispy threads of fried chicken skin lent their distinctive crunch to classic goat cheese and beet salad.

I do wish the extra-tart Banyuls mignonette had been served alongside those gorgeous East Coast oysters from Falmouth, Riptide, and Martha's Vineyard (instead of splashed on top). But for the neighborhood surrounding the former Graduate Hospital, simply having such a great raw bar is a boon, with an ever-changing array of eight oysters drawn from both coasts served chilled atop little steel troughs of ice. The lemon-cucumber mignonette had a soft-spoken tang that was perfect for the more delicate West Coast Hog Islands.