Team behind Dominick’s opens swanky seafood spot Ocean 44
Scottsdale residents have a new place for not only top-quality seafood, but also some of the city’s best steaks. And even if you didn’t already know Ocean 44 was opening near Scottsdale Fashion Square until now, a lot about the concept is likely to ring a bell.
To start, there’s the location. The restaurant, which debuts Tuesday, Dec. 4, occupies the high-profile northwest corner of Goldwater Boulevard and Highland Avenue. That’s the former site of the beloved Harkins Camelview 5 theaters that closed three years ago.
Then there’s the team behind it. Known best as the founders of Mastro’s Restaurants, the ownership group includes Dennis Mastro, sons Michael and Jeff Mastro, and partner Scott Troilo. They also operate two of the Valleys top steakhouses: Dominick’s Steakhousein Scottsdale and Steak 44 in Arcadia.
For fans of the team’s other restaurants, the Ocean 44 menu will feel familiar. Though they’re overshadowed by a selection of raw, wood-roasted and fresh seafood, you’ll still find a full lineup of prime steaks and chops.
The overlap is intentional, according to Jeff Mastro. While some might love whole Maine lobster, he knows there are others for whom Shetland Island salmon and Alaskan King crab legs lack appeal.
When those concerns arise when selecting a restaurant for dinner, Mas-
tro has a response at the ready.
“No, it’s those steakhouse guys,” he says to an imaginary naysayer. “They’ve got great steaks.”
Aside from the signature Mastro family steaks, the Ocean 44 menu takes the robust seafood offerings already available at the family’s steakhouses and turns things up several notches.
Diners can expect raw bar standards including fresh oysters, iced crab legs and colossal shrimp cocktail ($8 each), but also original creations such as the restaurant’s Maine lobster escargot ($26). The decadent appetizer sees lobster meat covered in Mornay sauce — the cheese-enriched sister of classic bechamel — then crowned with caviar and served in a round escargot pan.
A selection of wood-roasted shellfish for which the restaurant procured a custom wood-fired oven is a particular point of pride for Marc Lupino, chief executive chef.
Lupino oversees all of the company’s restaurants in Phoenix plus two Steak 48 restaurants in Houston and Chicago. He chose pecan for the wood oven because of the more delicate flavor it imparts on dishes like mild Littleneck clams ($27) and tender Prince Edward Island mussels ($27).
“I didn’t want it to be overpowering,” Lupino says of the smoke. “I wanted everything to have its own flavor. Some places have hot seafood dishes and everything tastes the same. The only difference between the scallop and the shrimp is the texture.”
Not to be outdone by its sister restaurants, Ocean 44 also offers the impressive, high-design interior that has become expected from Mastro family concepts. The design was done by Testani Design Group, who worked on Steak 44.
“We wanted it to feel very residential from the outside and feel residential on the inside,” Jeff Mastro says.
The massive standalone building is residential in the same sense as a palace.
Ocean 44
4748 N. Goldwater Blvd., Scottsdale.
4-10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 4-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 4-9 p.m. Sundays.
480-867-0044, ocean44.com. It swallows up nearly 12,000 square feet between the front and back of house and seats 400 guests in a single seating.
The ample space is divided into a half dozen distinct dining areas including two bars, three dining rooms and an airy atrium designed so diners can get the feel of dining outdoors without being exposed to the Arizona climate. “People want it to be exactly 72.5 degrees”, Mastro jokes.
The restaurant’s more unique seating options also include a set of six private dining suites and a reservationsonly dining bar, for those who want a more casual experience without having to be bothered by the bustle of the main bar. A floor-to-ceiling glass provides a front-row seat to the action in the kitchen without subjecting diners to any of the heat or noise.
Ocean 44 is the first new restaurant the company has debuted in Phoenix since opening Steak 44 at Camelback Road and 44th Street in 2014. While there are parallels between the restaurants, Mastro is confident customers will focus on the differences: “We built this so that you can go to Steak 44 on Wednesday and Ocean 44 on Thursday.”
Before selling the Mastro’s Steakhouse and Mastro’s Ocean Club brands in 2007, the owners started that restaurant group in Scottsdale and expanded in cities across the U.S. The pattern was similar to the expansion plans for the Steak 48 restaurants, a Steak 44 spinoff. Locations are open now in Houston and Chicago, with more planned in Philadelphia and, possibly, Charlotte.
So, is the team open to growing and ultimately selling the Steak and Ocean 44 brands? “We didn’t even want to sell Mastro’s,” he says. “We don’t think about that at all.”