After our recent dinner at the newly opened Salt Lake Seafood Company and Fresh Fish Market, I thought about how diners must feel when they go to a restaurant that I recommend and come away disappointed.

After reading a glowing review from a writer with whom I usually agree, we packed both our tribe and our visitors from the Northwest, where fresh seafood is considerably more prominent, and trekked south to the Cottonwood Mall. (Salt Lake Seafood Company is located in the space once occupied by Chowmeinia.)Expectations were high, the company and reunion with friends festive, and the wiggling lobsters and fresh seafood in the deli case in the entry enticing. We also had to consider that the proprietor, Ty Fredrickson, was a protegee of the Gastronomy group and had helped with both Market Street Grill and Broiler. If the fare wasn't going to be inventive it would at least be predictable.

The spacious interior is bright and the high ceilings sport fans festooned with colorful streamers. Butcher paper and crayons on the tables give doodlers a chance to scribble in between courses. Service was attentive and patient with our party of eight. It seemed the basics were in place.

An order of beer batter onion rings ($3.99) was adequate, though the amount was sparse considering the price. The crab and shrimp egg rolls ($4.99) were good, but the sweet honey mustard was overly sweet. The chowder was a creamy blend of prominent herbs and chunks of onion, yet it was paradoxically both sweet and spicy with slices of hot peppers. There was nary a chunk of clam. Interesting but not especially appealing. Our dinner salads were average and the dressings served on the side. The house vinaigrette was bland and lukewarm.

The same inconsistencies befell the entrees, from seafood to beef. The teriyaki sirloin ($9.99) was thin and overcooked. The blackened ahi tuna ($15.99) met a similar fate. The New York strip ($17.99) was considerably better; but again given the prices, portions seemed less than adequate and some preparations careless.

The scampi was buttery, but the spicy seasonings overpowered the shrimp and were out of character for a dish noted for garlic and white wine rather than more than a hint of New Orleans. Dinners also come with a choice of parsley or au gratin potatoes. Both were OK. The coleslaw, thick pieces of green and red cabbage dotted with celery seeds, had more potential, but the dressing was nondescript and, like the salad dressings, lukewarm. The loaves of sourdough bread that also come with the dinners were injected with cheddar cheese, an unusual and somewhat unnecessary twist.

Other specialties on the menu include peel 'n' eat shrimp, steamed clams, fried jumbo shrimp, lobster and shrimp pesto with cappellini, garlic prawns with pasta, alligator skewers, Chinese chicken salad, salmon fettucine, mesquite roasted chicken with Louie salads (as well as other variations with dungeness crab and albacore tuna), and fresh seafoods of the day, including halibut, Alaskan king salmon, red snapper and swordfish. Prices range from $10 to $18. A two-crab and lobster combo costs $27.

Lunch specials seemed a reasonable $4.99, and sunset dinner specials served between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. are $8.99.

Desserts include cranberry walnut tart, seasonal fruit tarts, a triple chocolate cake, and vanilla Hagen Daz ice cream with either berries or an orange custard sauce.

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In trying to reconcile our disappointing experience with a fellow critic of the gastronomic scene who had a considerably better meal, I was slightly irritated (which is, I'm sure, how some of my readers feel. I have mail to substantiate that). My 10-year-old son probably had as reasonable an explanation as any. "Maybe the chef had the night off." If that was indeed the case then for both his and our sakes, it was too bad.

Rating: * *

Salt Lake Seafood Company and Fresh Fish Market, 4835 Highland Drive, Cottonwood Mall, 272-4800. Open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 p.m. on Sunday and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Accepts major credit cards and check with guarantee card.

- Note: The Chart House at the Devereaux Mansion is now serving Sunday brunch and has introduced a new menu with some chicken, beef and seafood variations in addition to its salads, prime rib and hallmark coconut crunchy shrimp. And don't overlook the wonderful key lime pie!

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