L'Escale's strawberry and rhubarb tart

A Room with a View

The idea of waterfront dining can sound better than the reality. Too often your seat doesn't have a view of the sparkling seas and the overpriced seafood is neither fresh nor well prepared.

If anyone knows which local restaurants get regular deliveries of the freshest fish and prepare it well, it would be a fishmonger. Alan Pagano of Paganos Seafood (142 Water St., Norwalk, (203) 831-9670, www.paganos.com) in South Norwalk recommends Riverview in Westport, L'Escale in Greenwich and Sunset Grille in Norwalk.

Riverview's (521 Riverside Ave., Westport, (203) 227-3399) deck gives a sweeping view of the Saugatuck River. Located on the second story of the private Saugatuck Rowing Club, but open to the public, the restaurant offers American fare prepared under the direction of executive chef Daniel Solomon (former co-owner of the now-defunct Relish in SoNo).

The lunch menu ($8 to $16) offers creamy lobster bisque; crisp beer-battered fish and chips; and a savory salmon burger (fresh salmon mixed with capers and herbs, served on flat bread with tapanade, goat cheese and salad).

At dinner, there's red snapper with wild mushrooms, asparagus and risotto croquette ($27); grouper with snowpeas, baby bok choy, and ginger buerre blanc ($26); salmon with potato latkes, braised spinach and whole grain mustard buerre blanc ($25).

As you sit on L'Escale's (500 Steamboat Rd., Greenwich, (203) 661-4600, www.lescalerestaurant.com) 600-foot covered terrace overlooking the Greenwich waterfront and share the Plateau Royale, you'll think you're in the south of France. Acclaimed chef Francois Kwaku-Dongo prepares halibut (pictured below) with chanterelles and artichokes, and tuna carpaccio with mango relish, peppers and citrus olive oil. Lighter lunch fare includes pissaldiere (French pizza with olives and anchovies) and calamari beignets. For desert, try the gracefully arranged strawberry and rhubarb tart (pictured above).

L'Escale serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lunch prices range from $11 to $24; dinner appetizers range from $10 to $19; entrees $22 to $34.

At Sunset Grille (52 Calf Pasture Beach Rd., Norwalk (203) 866-4177, www.sunsetgrille.net) you know you're in Norwalk and there's nowhere else you'd rather be. This seasonal restaurant, open mid-March through October, is the place for watching the sunset as you sit on a pier overlooking Norwalk's busy harbor. Outdoor seating is casual with plastic tables and chairs next to huge pilings and moored boats. The food is straightforward: soups, sandwiches, salads, fried seafood, steamers and a grilled fish taco with guacamole, mango salsa and chipotle mustard. At lunch, sandwiches range from $10 to $12, salads $9 to $12 and entrees from $17 to $20; at dinner prices range from $11 to $25.