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Boca-Boca (Closed)

9610 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK
(405) 755-2622

Boca-Boca Restaurant in the Collonade center

Note:  Boca-Boca has now been changed to Sean Cummings' Irish Restaurant and Pub and is still operating in the same location.

Boca-Boca is recognized as one of Oklahoma City's fine dining destinations, but the food is a little hard to categorize. It is known as possibly the premier restaurant in the area for seafood, but the seafood dishes take up less than half of the menu. Steaks are served, but the variety is limited so that the highest quality can be maintained. There is a little bit of everything, and as far as I can tell, everything is good.

Boca-Boca is really the work of chef Sean who is behind all the creations on the menu, and who single-handedly prepares meals during the evening hours when the restaurant is open. The dining room is rather small--just the right size for an intimate dining experience. More importantly, it is the right size for each diner to receive the kind of personalized attention that would be expected with a fine dining experience.

Salad at Boca-Boca
Salad at Boca-Boca

Boca-Boca is not expensive compared to similar restaurants in other cities, but it is pricey by Oklahoma City standards. Part of what you get for the money, though, are appetizers that are clearly some of the best in the city. The Greek Salad had a freshness that was hard to match, and I could not imagine any of the ingredients not being the best that was available in Oklahoma City. The feta cheese was probably the highlight of the salad, and everything else served as a good compliment. The dressing had a strong flavor (a good flavor, of course), and I found strong flavors to be the theme of all the food served here. When everything is fresh and good quality, there is certainly nothing the chef would want to hide or mask.

Half order of a cod dinner
Half order of a cod dinner at Boca-Boca

Oklahoma City has traditionally had a different take on seafood than a lot of places. Being away from the ocean in the heart of beef country, most restaurants have seemed to do best with fried shrimp and whatever types of fish could be shipped into the area without losing most of their flavor. I think Boca-Boca may suffer from the perception many people have of the typical mediocre fish that is dressed up by breading or other preparation styles that make it somewhere between palatable and enjoyable.

What I found at Boca-Boca was fish that was fresh enough that it really could have been served in good restaurants just about anywhere in the country. Specifically, the Poached Cod tasted like cod should taste, and the fact that it was poached would have highlighted any lack of freshness in the fish (but I did not perceive any). Whether Oklahoma City gets the same variety of fish found in other areas is another matter, but I think the varieties served at Boca-Boca will be the best available in terms of freshness.

The bowl pictured above was half of an order that was split, and I think would have been a sufficient quantity for an order in itself. I enjoyed the vegetables (all fresh), and the lemon slice was a nice touch. Black mushrooms are not really visible in the picture, but were part of the dish. The rather strong sauce permeated the fish and vegetables. Personally I find that usually the more complicated a fish dish gets the less I enjoy it, and this was probably the case here. I cannot fault the chef for anything, since this was a very good quality dish. It is only that in trying something different I probably missed out on something I would have liked better such as a simple breaded or plain fish (especially after looking at what other tables ordered).

Although I did not try the breaded fish here I think it would be a totally different experience than is usually the case at restaurants, with very good quality fish being used. This is certainly something I would like to try in the future.

Creme Brulee
Creme Brulee at Boca-Boca

Desserts are another part of the fine dining experience at Boca-Boca, with the Crème Brûlée being one of the several choices available. I like almost all the crème brûlée desserts I try, but this one was particularly impressive with the brûlée part being crispy to the point that the burned flavor was just right. I am not trying to analyze it as much as to say that I really enjoyed it.

Because of the size of the restaurant I would think reservations would be advisable on busy nights. I could tell that everything was high quality, even by looking at things served to other tables that I have not tried. This seems to be one of the fine dining restaurants where you will be assured of your money's worth, no matter what you order. I am writing this review based on one visit, but that is usually enough to tell how the food will be on later visits. I hope to have many more.

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RESTAURANT DETAILS

RATING: 23

Cuisine: Seafood & Fine Dining
Cost: $$$$
Hours: Dinner Tue.-Sat.
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No Smoking

Most Recent Visit
Jan. 30, 2008

Number of Visits: 1

Special Ratings
Poached Cod:
Salad:
Crème Brûlée:

Reviews
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