Servers stood behind the bar, shucking oysters and explaining different varieties of seafood to diners as they watched, enjoyed their dinners and listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole.
No Coast Reserve, or Noco, opened in Bloomington in December 2013 on the east side of Bloomington and moved to their new location downtown in December.
Owner David Schell and head chef and general manager Seth Elgar met when Elgar was working at Upland Brewery and turned to the Butcher’s Block, also owned by Schell, to source fresh meat in Bloomington. The two partnered shortly after.
“He and I understood each other from a business standpoint, and we’ve been on good terms from there,” Eglar said. “He and I both appreciate a little bit fresher, lighter food.”
Noco’s main focus is on keeping everything incredibly fresh and making food from scratch, Elgar said.
Many people assume seafood in the Midwest is not good or very expensive, Elgar said. The average entree price at Noco, according to prices listed on the menu online, is about $29.
Elgar emphasized the food is reasonably priced and very high quality.
Noco sources much of its produce from local farms and all of its fresh seafood through the Butcher’s Block, Elgar said. He preorders all of the seafood, which is airmailed to the restaurant.
This is most vital for oysters, Elgar said. Noco offers $2 oysters on Wednesdays and Sundays.
“There are some hardcore oyster enthusiasts here in town,” Elgar said. “They help make sure the oysters don’t hang out for very long.”
Elgar said the most popular items on the menu are the oysters and the Vietnamese meatballs, which were added to the menu because there is no Vietnamese restaurant in Bloomington.
Noco strives to offer adventurous food that you wouldn’t normally get in Bloomington, Elgar said.
Noco also offers a wide range of wine and beer, including Belgian sour beers and German Schwarzbier.
“As far as wine goes, I spend a lot of time doing tastings with reps and finding things in the corners of their portfolios that other people don’t buy,” Elgar said. “We’re going after those weird varietals and educating the customer on them.”
Kelli Huth and Garrick Brown dined at Noco for their first time Wednesday night.
Huth said she had the ceviche, which was delicious.
Brown said he appreciated the atypical, fresh menu.
“I’ve had food like this in New Orleans and Belize, not in Indiana,” Brown said.
Because of the diverse menu, customers have a love/hate relationship with the restaurant, Elgar said.
Noco changes its menu seasonally. The new spring menu starts the second week of March. Diners can expect a lot of fresh produce, Elgar said.
Since moving downtown, business has grown dramatically, Elgar said. Noco is now part of the “restaurant crawl” culture, where people may go to two or three different restaurants to get drinks, dinner and dessert.
Because of growth, Noco has expanded the brunch program to include Saturday, as well as Sunday. The restaurant is also moving into in-house catering.
The future is busy, Elgar said. They are getting ready to build a patio out front, which will increase total seats in the restaurant from 83 to 95.
“It’s a work of passion for the people who are here,” Elgar said. “We care about what we’re doing. We put a lot of effort into what we’re doing in the hopes that the customer reciprocates, that we make fans out of the people who come to the door.”
