Pier W has been around since 1965 and specializes in seafood. Built to resemble the hull of a luxury liner as it overlooked Lake Erie. It has a large dining room for 165 as well as a large cocktail lounge/bar area and some smaller party rooms. The view through windows on the end of the dining room allowed diners to watch ships, kayaks and the downtown Cleveland skyline while they ate. There is also a large outdoor patio on top of the dining space that provided more view of the rocky cliffs on either side of the restaurant. The lovely dining room is a combination of booths and tables all covered in white clothes and napkins. Between the carpet, wood on the walls, ceiling tiles and padded wood chairs there was enough dampening that noise was not an issue. Fish and nautical art covered the walls. In the end of the room opposite the windows was the glassed in cocktail lounge that had tables as well as bar stools.
The large menu offered a fixed price 3 course lunch special. We chose that option and the portions were good sized and the price point made it a deal. Service was friendly but really slow and inattentive. Pacing was also off as our salads came out while the appetizer plates were still on the table and then there was about 30 minutes between salad and main course.
Bread had a crisp crust and large air holes in the chewy interior. It was quite nice and the softened butter also had good flavor. There was an unadvertised special on wine Monday through Wednesday when wines designated with the “glass mark” were one third off.
We added a couple of their appetizers from the regular menu. Braised Angus beef short rib pierogies were served with a caramelized Cippolini jus. The pierogies came 3 to an order and were housemade with a sour cream dough on the outside. The sauce was very savory and the meat inside was tender and juicy. They were very good.
Tempura Fried Shrimp also included tempura fried cauliflower, broccoli and carrots and was served with a siracha aioli. The coating was nicely light and crisp but I would have preferred a slightly spicier sauce and more of it on the plate as it really added to the flavor. The shrimp and vegetables were cooked perfectly and all tasty. Overall it was nice.
The Raspberry Almond Salad was a combination of spring lettuces tossed with a raspberry vinaigrette, toasted almonds and crumbled goat cheese. It was well dressed and the goat cheese blended in well. Each table was equipped with salt and pepper grinders to add to it as you wished. Some the lettuces chewed more like a kale, maybe because the stems were left on – however that gave it some texture along with the nuts. I’d call this one okay.
Grilled Jamaican Swordfish was plated with pineapple chutney, whipped potatoes, fried plantains and grilled baby bok choy. The nice piece of fish was cooked well and topped with the pineapple chutney but they forgot the plantains. I finally snagged a service person and they remarked “yes, they do seem to be missing.” Shortly she showed up with a plate and unceremoniously dumped them on our plates. It didn’t matter – it just seemed out of step. The bok choy was also nicely cooked and the potatoes had good flavor. The sauce was tasty but the seasoned fish could have used more to enhance it. In fact all parts of the plate were nice but I wasn’t sure they complimented one another.
Dessert was strawberry fried cheesecake bits which were plated with one raw strawberry and some strawberry sauce. The cheesecake seemed to have been frozen then coated and fried as the the bits were still slightly frozen in the middle. The coating was nicely light but the fresh berry had no taste. It was an okay dessert but not even approaching a good sweet fix. Go to this place for the view and snacks.
