It may not be seaside but this restaurant's low country boil is a winner

Lindsey McClave | Special to Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Hull & High Water: Bringing Seaside to New Albany Hull & High Water's menu is a compilation of raw seafood offerings along with plenty of fried fish, sandwiches and tacos. Check it out!

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

Price range: Moderate

Alcohol: Full bar available including a handful of signature offerings

Cuisine: Seafood

Hull & High Water may not be located within view of the Ohio River but the restaurant still manages to evoke the spirit of a waterside seafood shack. Located among downtown New Albany’s bustling dining district, Hull & High Water brings a taste of the ocean to Southern Indiana.

The menu is a compilation of raw seafood offerings along with plenty of fried fish, sandwiches and tacos. Portions are plentiful as are the flavors at hand — the team at Hull & High Water is not afraid to add an extra shake of their house seasoning here and there for good measure.

Add in an energetic atmosphere and Hull & High Water is a clear winner for those looking to get their peel-and-eat shrimp fix.

Review: The Grape Leaf's food - and patio - will take you to the Mediterranean

Based on the decor alone, it is clear that Hull & High Water specializes in the fruits of the ocean. They embrace the seaside theme completely, think life preserver rings and fishing nets strung throughout. The cinder block walls are decorated with fish, white outlines of bubbles floating toward the ceiling mimicking the feel, albeit a bit cheesily, of being underwater.

Guests are greeted by an appealing front patio with large picnic tables lined up and set with bright orange umbrellas. The orange hues continue inside where we settled into lacquered metal chairs during a particularly rainy evening. The restaurant was packed and clearly a good fit for families as several large parties with young ones filled the spacious dining room.

Appropriately, Hull & High Water offers an assortment of raw bar favorites including oysters two ways — raw with cocktail sauce and mignonette or loaded with cheese, bacon, garlic and chives and baked. Peel-and-eat shrimp by the quarter, half, and full pound are on hand and are served either hot or cold, and snow crab legs come with a side of garlic butter. A house smoked tuna dip ($10) rounds out the raw bar menu and caught our eye. This starter is thick and not overly smokey and the accompanying hot sauce adding a nice kick to the relatively mellow fish spread.

While I would argue that cheesy corn hush puppies ($9) aren’t exactly hush puppies at all, this appetizer proved to be highly addictive. A healthy dose of spiciness worked into a filling, made up of whole corn kernels and cheddar cheese which is then fried and served crispy. A chipotle aioli is presented alongside and is good on its own but added an additional layer of heat that threatened to overtake the other flavors.

Restaurant Review: Doc Crow's sets a worthy bar for successful restaurants in Louisville

The chipotle aioli was a better match for the fried oyster starter ($11), which we found to be expertly executed. The breading was present but did not overwhelm the delicate, meaty oysters folded within.

It is clear that the team at Hull & High Water knows their way around a fryer. We elected to have our fish sandwich served "‘merica style." Constructed of cod ($12.50), the fish was dredged in a well-seasoned and light flour coating. The edges offered up plenty of crunch and welcomed the slice of American cheese melting overtop. Served with one side, we found the curly fries hard to pass up and equally difficult not to like.

Along with the sandwich variations — foggy London town and reuben preparations also on offer — Hull & High Water has a small menu of po’ boys ($12-$15), compiled with seven different seafood fillings from which one may choose. The blackened grouper that accompanied ours was flavorful and tender but laden with a creamy ‘bay’ sauce, which overpowered the seasoning on the fish and could have been applied with a more judicious hand. We found the same overindulgence in sauce on the baja fish taco ($5/each, $12/three), the jalapeno tartar sauce taking over each bite.

Restaurant Review: For breakfast (or any other meal) you can't go wrong at North End Cafe

If you were to order just one item off the menu at Hull & High Water, I would advise you to splurge, treating yourself to the low country boil with shrimp and crab legs ($30). Presented in a shallow tin pail, a set of warm crab legs crowns the full to overflowing collection of corn on the cob, sliced andouille sausage, red potatoes and shrimp. It is clear all has been freshly steamed and they have managed to prevent any item from becoming over or underdone for the sake of another.

While far from the saline waters from whence the majority of its menu items hail, Hull & High Water gives diners a taste of the ocean, taking our taste buds seaside, if only in spirit.

Reach freelance restaurant critic Lindsey McClave at lindsey@foodie-girl.com.

HULL & HIGH WATER

Rating: 3 of 4 stars

Address: 324 E. Main St., New Albany, Indiana

Telephone: 812-590-2249

Web: facebook.com/Hullandhighwater

Cuisine: Seafood

Children’s Menu: Yes

Alcohol: Full bar available including a handful of signature offerings

Vegetarian: Not ideal for vegetarians

Price Range: Moderate

Reservations: For parties of six or more

Credit Cards: Yes

Smoking: No

Access: Yes

Parking: Limited parking available directly in front of restaurant (including two handicap spaces), additional parking available across the street as well as down Main Street.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4-11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday