Duke Ocean Grill

Come on, admit it, if you haven’t already checked it out, you know you’re curious about Tappan’s latest addition, the Duke Ocean Grill. Owned by Alvin Park of Manhattan’s Cafe Duke, this mega restaurant has swallowed up the former site of the Food World supermarket and is Rockland’s most ambitious eatery to date.

With seating for 600 plus and a something-for-everyone approach, Park appears ready to wow most of Rockland and a good chunk of Bergen.

But is it good?

It’s big. The stone-clad entrance sports a wall of cascading water that says Hilton hotel lobby and hints at the steroidal scale to come. Inside, the vast space is divided up by shoulder high walls of opaque glass and warm wood vaguely defining a drinks bar, a pizza station, a raw bar, wine storage, an aged meat case and a conveyor belt sushi bar. A boat shaped lighting fi xture suspended over the sushi bar launches the lavish décor into Disney territory. Upstairs, two private event rooms seat another 200 and a karaoke room seats 50. Did I mention that it’s big?

After two weeknight visits I can say there are a few standout dishes, but most of the menu ranges from mediocre to downright bad. The lobster special with a half-dozen steamed clams (we had the clams fresh) was delicious and a steal at $20. The free-range chicken breast with couscous was moist and tasty, but a grilled scallop and shrimp plate arrived cold and the mahi mahi with mango salsa and barbeque glaze was inedible. Complimentary miso and edemame are a nice touch at the sushi bar, but the sushi was acceptable at best. A molten chocolate cake was pleasurably decadent and the figs-four-ways dessert was imaginative and yummy. If the food were better, the average of $45 per diner including a glass of wine and a shared dessert would be fair, but given the quality, it feels steep. The service was friendly and attentive, although I’m told the staff can get overwhelmed on weekends.

The Duke Ocean Grill tries to do too many things to be able to do any of them very well, but if you’ve never been to Vegas, give this a try – you’ll get the idea.