We tip our hats to Matt's

Matt's Casbah features Asian-accented American fare. This is the Crispy Crunchy Whole Fish, which on this night was pompano. In the background: side vegetables and the scallops. (Credit: Chris Kridler, special to Metromix)

Matt’s is back, and I love it.

I adored Matt’s Tropical Grill, back in its days in a now-defunct strip mall beachside, where Matt Nugnes’ audacious food belied the restaurant’s nondescript surroundings.

The new Matt’s Casbah has the advantage of a spectacular location in downtown Melbourne, the old Pop’s Casbah diner. Now renovated, the eatery has a big patio for outdoor seating, a comfortable bar, a sushi bar and a large dining room decorated with Nemo’s colorful art. It’s a place where hip party spot and elegant dining meet.

It’s also a place where you can get great American food with an Asian accent.

The wine list has several affordable and tasty choices. Yes, they have markups, but double retail is a lot better than the triple or more you see at some restaurants. For $17, we were pleased with our bottle of Garnacha de Fuego and warmed up for the first phase of our feast, the delicious appetizers, which followed the complimentary cone of wonton chips with sauce.

The Flash-seared Calamari in Lime Chili Sauce ($7.50) is wonderful, tender and just a touch spicy, calamari the way calamari is meant to be cooked. The Crunchy Dumplings ($6.95) were good with the sauce. But the most seductive of these was the Warm Nutted Goat Cheese ($8.95), with ginger cilantro dressing, which, after it was spread on the soft pita points, did a happy little jig in one’s mouth.

The entrees were big and beautiful, and came from a menu that offered everything from the Flamed Cedar Plank Salmon (I remember this dish, or something close to it, from the original Matt’s), to Six Spice Tuna and Garlic Shrimp with Asian Wine Sauce, to Pop’s Pot Roast, in honor of Pop’s Casbah. Lest I forget, the sides — garlic mashed potatoes and silky veggies — were very good, too, if you could find room for them.

The boys in our party ordered variations on the pork (that part of the menu is subtitled “Pig Had to be in Love to Taste This Good”): Six Spiced Pork Loin ($13.95) and the Garlic Seared Pork Loin ($16.95), with Korean barbecue sauce. Both were flavorful, as was another friend’s Garlic Seared Grand Bank Sea Scallops ($23.95). I love scallops, and few are this melt-in-your-mouth savory.

I opted for the Crispy Crunchy Whole Fish ($26.95), which, that night, was pompano. It was, indeed, served whole — a large, round fish practically spilling off the plate — and truth be told, a tiny bit intimidating. But it was more than edible, skin and all; in fact, it was moist and exquisite, complemented by a sweet sauce and a puff of crunchy rice noodles.

The four of us split two desserts, as we didn’t have room for much more. The Xango with ginger caramel sauce ($6.95) was essentially a fried chocolate cheesecake, served warm and scrumptious, while the also warm Kiwi Banana Spring Roll with raspberry mousse ($5.95) was its more delicate cousin, and an excellent finish to our evening.

I hope there are many more, whether it’s another full dinner, cocktails and appetizers at the bar, or the sushi bar, most of whose offerings are not available to regular diners.

Welcome back, Matt’s.

Contact Kridler at 242-3633 or ckridler@floridatoday.com.

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