IF YOU GO
Silverspot at Mercato, 9118 Strada Place, Suite 8205; (239) 592-0300, silverspot.net
Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Cuisine: American
Beverages: Full bar, with beer and wine
Atmosphere: Loud and exposed
Prices: Very reasonable. Only a few entrees reach the $20 mark. Most dishes on the menu are less than $10.
Vedict: The Silverspot is a great place to see a movie. But if you want to have dinner before or after, make reservations at one of the many other dining options at Mercato.
Photo by KELLI STANKO
Sugar Free Tres Leches, traditional South American Sponge Cake made with Condensed Evaporated and Heavy Cream. Topped with Fresh Strawberries. SilverSpot Movie Theater is located at 9118 Strada Place, Suite 8205 at the Mercado in Naples. Photographed on March 9, 2010.
Photo by KELLI STANKO
Tuna Tartar with Avacado with Wasabi Dressing. SilverSpot Movie Theater is located at 9118 Strada Place, Suite 8205 at the Mercado in Naples. Photographed on March 9, 2010.
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I like going to the Silverspot at Mercato to watch movies. It’s clean, the seats are comfortable and the theaters are small.
I’m guessing that a lot of people who have shelled out the extra dough to see a movie there, rather than the more cookie-cutter theaters in town, agree.
But all of the things that make the movie-going experience great are reversed at the Silverspot’s restaurant. The dining room is crowded, too open to the concession stand. Where the concessions are an upgraded version of what you’d find at the local megaplex, the restaurant’s food is a downgraded version of what you find at local eateries.
In short, the Silverspot should stick to what it does best — projecting movies — and leave the food business to its downstairs neighbors at Mercato.
Not every dish at Mercato is poor. Plenty, like the pecan-crusted grouper ($22.95) and the cheeseburger ($8.95), are passable.
There are a few dishes that are even bordering on wonderful. The truffle cheese fries ($5.95) are astoundingly addictive. Smothered in a light cheese sauce that doesn’t scrimp on the truffle oil, these aren’t those Cheese Whiz-saturated fries you get at the ball park. They’re a snack you should ask to bring with you into the theater, although they’d definitely be devoured before the previews end.
The chicken lollipops (4.95), coated in a sweet sauce and served with blue cheese or ranch, were a great way to kick off a casual meal.
Too bad most of my meals there ended up as duds. We started one with a tuna tartare ($8.95) that was beyond boring. It didn’t have any flavor at all. The tuna? Bland. The avocado? Insipid. The wasabi dressing? Weak. How do you make wasabi weak?
If you can answer that, then riddle me this: How do you make tres leches cake dry? It’s soaked in three types of milk. But the Silverspot’s tres leches ($4.95) felt like it was a leche short.
The toppings on the arugula and Parmesan pizza ($8.95) were fine. But the crust was somewhere in the neighborhood of a soggy cracker, neither satisfyingly chewy or crunchy.
A coconut shrimp appetizer ($7.95) came out more than a little burned. Its saving grace: enormous, succulent shrimp enough of a sweet sauce to bury the flavor. Sauce also masked the dryness of the free-range chicken ($18.95). But it couldn’t fix the undercooked carrots, which lived in that limbo land that has none of the pros of raw or cooked and all of the negatives. (It should be noted that the shallot-mashed potatoes accompanying the chicken were marvelous.)
The atmosphere is about what you’d expect in the lobby of a movie theater. You are treated to an endless stream of people waiting to catch a movie. One table at the end of the long banquet along the mirrored back wall is treated to the constant line of folks stopping for straws and napkins on their way in. And to get 60-plus seats in the dining room, the tables are on top of each other. A few booths along the window looking out onto the street below, look like nice seating, but the one time I went and they were empty, the hostess said it they were reserved for another party. No one showed up for it during the entire meal.
And if the middling food and mall food court atmosphere weren’t enough, there’s the bathroom. I think it’s great the Silverspot thought to add a bathroom for its dinner guests instead of making them walk down to the end of the long line of theaters. But turn on the hot water in the sink. What are you? A 7-11? Well, without the taquitos.
Connect with Jonathan Foerster at www.naplesnews.com/staff/jonathan_foerster
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Comments » 1
heffneil writes:
I have been to Silverspot for almost every movie playing there. For the first time my wife and I ate there. It was surprisingly delicious! The coconut shrimp was fantastic and as said above huge! They weren't burnt. My wife had the pizza and she really enjoyed it. I had the fillet Mignon and it was very good. Good exactly as asked. The sauce was a little too sweet for my liking but it was very good. The steak did seem expensive $25! for a good sized fillet. I don't think I could get as good anywhere else for this price. There is just a big difference for a $25 steak and an $9 burger! The atmosphere is a problem! The tables are too close and the dining room seems very crowded and we were there at the end of the night! I do believe you look like an animal in a zoo with all the on lookers as you eat your meal. That is probably the reason we never ate there. I think I would chance the atmosphere again for the good food!
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