Fresh out of water

A sizable raw bar is located near the kitchen, serving icy-cold creatures of the local waters, including oysters, a half-dozen for $8. We tried them and found them salty and succulent, with a deliciously smoky flavor. Watch for Maryland crabs this summer, said co-owner Nick Jeppi.

The calamari ($8) made with cornmeal batter was good, not great, and neither was the Buffalo shrimp toast ($10), a soggy brioche with flattened tiger shrimp in the middle and served with Gorgonzola aioli that was more toast than shrimp.

But that’s as bad as it got - everything else was superb, especially a signature appetizer, crispy lobster ($8), generous hunks of lobster meat made crispy in tempura batter and served with Cuban marinade and caper remoulade. Eat one of these and you’ll want more.

We also tried a stuffed quahog ($2), absolutely loaded with quahog chunks in a sweet, moist batter that is a major cut above some of the less clam-heavy, drier stuffies that many restaurants in New England serve.

Sit at the bar with a couple of these and a Pirate Juice cocktail ($7), made with seven kinds of rum that stew in a jar of fresh fruit, the resulting brew poured into a glass and topped with Sprite and acai juice. Be forewarned: It is a sneaky drink; it doesn’t seem strong until you’ve had one. Or two.

The bar is also home to jars of other fruit-infused vodka for the daring, all of them good. And though a pair of TV screens hang at the bar, don’t expect them to be on much, unless customers request it.

“I always leave them off unless someone wants to watch something,” says Billy Hughes, Jeppi’s business partner. “I think that TV gets in the way of good conversation.”

Our party of six tried a couple of salads, both good, cold, and crunchy, particularly the Caesar with shrimp ($13), the greens bountiful, the shrimp nicely seasoned with a delicious house dressing.

Then we turned our hungry attention to the heartier dishes such as the seared scallops ($16), two sizable sea scallops seared crisp on both sides and with a sweet, moist middle - the fat, succulent meat served atop a fantastic potato cake and surrounded by a sea of creamed spinach.