Shell Restaurant - Rochester (NY)

5 /5 Kelly MacCracken: wow. what a fun, unique elevated dining experience unlike anything in Rochester. We were blown away with every bite, each dish was perfectly executed: flavor, concept, texture, presentation. We loved the open kitchen design. We sat at the bar watching the master chefs at work adding an element of entertainment to the night. We felt like we were treated as there special guests that they wanted to impress. Chef Cruz & Marko sent little surprise tastings, explanation of dishes, honest recommendations and cared about the occasion we were celebrating: a cancer free screening. It’s a pretty place, with some pretty cool, caring and talented people thats what made Shell so special. ...

5 /5 Brittany Eick: I was excited to try out this new fine dining experience. It’s not the full experience of an 8 course meal and wine pairings, but the atmosphere is pretty much the same. My husband and I were celebrating our two year anniversary! The dinner starts with an amuse-bouche. Ours was a salmon crostini. We then opted to start with the oysters and the lobster roll. It was my first time trying caviar and it was delicious! Our main course was the shrimp ragu and the duck. Again both were so delicious! For drinks I had the night light which was light and refreshing and not too boozy. Then I had a glass of Chardonnay from Sandhi. Honestly one of my favorite Chardonnays that I have tried. We skipped on dessert because we had a cake waiting for us at home. If you are looking for a fine dining restaurant in Rochester, this is as close as it gets. Be prepared for the price and the portion sizes, but it is so worth it!

5 /5 Victoria S: I’ve visited Shell twice now, and both experiences have been delicious. The oysters were a highlight—fresh and flavorful—even if I’m not a big fan of the pebbles used in the presentation. The duck, while tender, could have used a bit more seasoning to really shine. The cod was cooked perfectly, though the red sauce gravy wasn’t quite to my taste. On the other hand, the pork belly was absolutely spot-on—rich, balanced, and memorable. One unexpected standout was the cornbread with its topping—phenomenal. Honestly, it deserves a place on the menu as a dedicated appetizer. The wine list may look short at first glance, but don’t let that fool you. Ask for what you typically enjoy, and chances are they’ll have it. Overall, Shell delivers a refined dining experience with standout dishes and attentive service, making it well worth a visit.

3 /5 Col Raimond: We were super excited to try Shell! We saw Chef Cruz in Food Fight last year and he was super impressive. Unfortunately, Shell didn’t hit the way we hoped it would. We ordered several things to share. The absolute best was the “steak frites.” It was a lovely and creative take on this classic steak & fries dish. It was a steak tartare over potatoes = a delight We started with the bread & butter. We were told it was the chef’s take on scallion pancakes served with miso butter. Honestly, these were solid rolls: fresh, fluffy, flavorful. Basically what you want from a roll. We didn’t get scallion pancake though and the miso was lost in the butter. $12? A bit steep for 4 small dinner roles to be honest. Next was the tartare (great!) and crab empanadas. The presentation of the empanadas was on point. 10/10 for the tiny Tabasco! We tasted the crab flavor but the citrus was a bit overpowering. At $10 per empanada, this, like many of the offerings, felt unnecessarily weirdly pretentious. Up until this point, things were nicely paced. Next was a flurry of everything else we ordered all at once: the cabbage, lobster rolls, and raviolo arrived all together. The cabbage was creative with a bit of heat - we liked it! The raviolo was one big ravioli. It was unique! Unfortunately, the sauce was super sweet and we got a chef boyardee vibe. Oof. Either way, $26 for a ravioli is a stretch. It was short ribs. Nice. But not $26 nice. The lobster roll was actually 2 tiny sliders. For $36 you can get a full lobster roll stuffed with fresh buttery lobster meat. These two small bites were topped with caviar. Maybe that’s why it’s so pricey. But, um…I’m gonna take a beat here and ask why you’d top a delicate lobster slider with caviar? Is it extravagance for extravagance sake? It was def unnecessary. At the end of the day, this was the theme of our experience: it was pretentious. It is what someone who has never visited a wildly good Michelin star restaurant imagines as fine dining. A couple of final notes: our server was walking through the dining room like a nervous parakeet. It was sorta distracting. Plus, he didn’t notice that it took over 20 mins for a cocktail to arrive or that water glasses were empty. The gentleman who brought out the food was INCREDIBLE. He described the dishes beautifully and even chased down our missing cocktail. Not for nothing, but our receipt listed an amuse bouche for $0. We didn’t receive that. The overall experience was probably 3.25 based on overall experience and value. Old stand-by’s like Good Luck still hold the standard for excellence in the Roc.

5 /5 Cindy DeLee: Though we love the Rochester food scene, we hadn’t come across anything that rivaled our favorite restaurant in Boston until now. The intimate setting, attentive service, and immaculate decor… Amazing work! Chef Cruz has his hands in everything, and you can really feel the love he put into the whole place. It’s gonna be our new special occasion restaurant. My favorite: oysters. Cocktail: root & stem. Husband’s favorites: lobster roll and the mezcal apple cocktail.