When Hyatt purchased the Peabody Hotel on I-Drive for more than $700 million back in 2013, the decision to retain chef Jared Gross (who was then the chef of Peabody's signature restaurant, Napa) to helm its new restaurant was a good one. Napa was great, but under Gross's leadership, Urban Tide has become one of the city's best seafood-centric restaurants, thanks to a swell of stellar compositions, most notably his cioppino.
The seafood stew was a no-brainer on Napa's menu (the dish hails from the Bay Area, after all), and it's a perfect fit at Urban Tide. The finest fishes from the Atlantic — calamari, grouper, rock shrimp and blue crab — wade in a seasoned broth kicked up enough to cause a stir, but not to overwhelm. A dollop of rouille is the proverbial feather in the cap of Gross' statement stew. It's a dish to make you doubt the adage "There are plenty more fish in the sea" — not like this, there aren't.
9801 International Drive, 407-345-4570; $$$$
