IN THE KITCHEN
Chef owner Brian Houlihan opened his first restaurant, Cohasset’s Bia Bistro, 15 years ago. Since then, he’s built a great reputation and a small empire on the South Shore, making it a better place. First he expanded Bia from 45 seats to 80 (and is about to expand it even more). In 2009, he opened the popular Tinker’s Son in Norwell, and in 2013 partnered with Erica White to open Scituate’s Galley Kitchen & Bar. A little more than a year ago, he debuted his fourth place, Trident Galley & Raw Bar, hiring Patrick Hurley, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, to head the kitchen. Each restaurant is different, but each reflects Houlihan’s love of robust flavor, careful preparations, local ingredients, and good service.
THE LOCALE
It’s been 10 years since the then-emerging Hingham Shipyard complex got hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis. I would have bet that it’d never make it and I’d have been wrong. Unlike Paul Wahlberg’s struggle to get Alma Nove up and running back then, Houlihan’s timing was better: He slid into the former Union Fish space like a smart hermit crab finding a good shell. The restaurant is a casual upscale, L-shaped place with a long marble bar, walls of windows, a lot of pleasing rustic wood, a partially open stainless kitchen, and only two small TVs! Houlihan put his touches on the space, but basically it was already great. In warm weather, Trident’s patio gets packed and its little corner of the shipyard — clustered with Hingham Beer Works, Wahlburgers, and Alma Nove — is right by the water.
ON THE MENU
Trident isn’t just a raw bar. Aside from a range of oysters there are half a dozen mains, charcuterie plates, and 30-40 smaller dishes that range in size and price ($4-$16). A lunch menu adds some sandwiches to the mix, and weekend brunch includes a few breakfast dishes. On three recent visits, the service was friendly and good, the atmosphere upbeat. The duck confit ($12) is a tender (salty) leg sided with a frisee salad dressed in a bright citrus vinaigrette that pairs deliciously. The fried fish taco ($6) is crispy and built with care: The small round is piled with very fresh micro greens, onions, frisee, cilantro, and fresh salsa. Pan-seared sea scallops ($14) are lovely atop roasted sweet peppers and served on one of the restaurant’s many pretty plates, this one a white rectangle. The good grilled Spanish octopus ($16) is a large curl of the meaty fish, served with great sautéed kale and fingerling potatoes. For dinner one night, salmon ($28) is a nicely pan-seared fillet, and the kitchen obliges our friend and serves it with rice and roasted cauliflower rather than its regular sides. The chicken avocado sandwich ($14), comes with bacon, cheese, onions, truffle mayo, and patatas bravas. The roasted root vegetables and creamy polenta that side the braised short rib ($12) are as mouthwatering as the tender meat. We said nothing about not liking the lamb kafta skewers ($12), but noticing that the dish went uneaten our waiter took the item off the bill. Extremely hospitable. What else? The good duck liver pate ($6) is served with lightly grilled bread, mustard, and pickled veggies. Of the three house desserts on tap this month, we chose the wrong one: an undercooked apple crumble ($9) without much crumble. It was, however, topped with Norwell’s Hornstra Farm ice cream, which melted over the warm apples and in our mouths. A rare miss for Houlihan and a great save from a local purveyor.
Trident Galley & Raw Bar, 23 Shipyard Drive, Hingham, 781-374-7225, www.tridentrawbar.com.
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