Best new restaurant in Richmond: Winner

This restaurant may have taken more than a year to open…but it was worth the wait.

Pescados China Street won the Bestie for Best New Restaurant.

Pescados China Street has been a critic’s darling since it opened last June in Oregon Hill, winning rave reviews for its fresh fish and artful execution.

Synonymous with fresh fish, Pescados features only the freshest flown in daily from places like Honolulu and Tobago. The result are dishes like plantain-crusted grouper ($26), seared dorado fish tacos ($16) or chef’s specials that employ cutting edge cooking techniques like you’ll find on "Top Chef."

“You really get to see the chef’s creativity in the specials,” says owner Todd Manley. For instance, how does Pacific open water tuna sound, pan-seared over a smoked mushroom and leek medley, served with lemon verbena spheres and a coconut yucca gratin? Or an avocado tart with coconut-vanilla wafer crust and red wine-cinnamon reduction for dessert?

Pescados has been operating a successful location in Midlothian for nine years. But Manley says he’s been looking for an opportunity in Richmond for years. When the Oregon Hill location opened up, in the old Chuck Wagon spot, he jumped on it.

“Oregon Hill is just a great neighborhood,” Manley says. “You’ve got Mamma ‘Zu down the street. Great neighbors. Cool buildings. It’s just fun.”

The ambiance of the new restaurant is bright, quirky and eclectic with fanciful illustrations, like a Rasta-farian octopus, painted on the walls. The joyful ambiance reflects the restaurant's attitude, which Manley says is about "fun. The cooks are having a good time, people are having fun. It's like being in kindergarten and having crayon time, where you get to play, enjoy your work and your art. It makes you feel good to come to work."scados China Street won the Best New Restaurant category with 36 percent of the reader vote.