FORK ON THE ROAD
REVIEW
GOLD STAR FLAVOR Recently opened Leesburg restaurant offers fresh to order top-notch seafood and other tasty dishes at affordable prices. STORY: ROXANNE BROWN
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≈ PHOTOS: NICOLE HAMEL
L A K E A N D S U M T E R S T Y L E .C O M • M AY ' 2 2
ernell Parker says she has eaten at Five Star Seafood many times since it opened in December 2021. In fact, she’s declared it one of her favorite seafood restaurants in the area, especially when it comes to one dish she swears by. “I order the shrimp rice bowl, but with a piece of grilled tilapia on top. It’s my favorite,” Vernell says. “The food here is so fresh and delicious and seasoned very well. It’s also very fairly priced, and everyone who works here is extremely polite and friendly.” For Five Star Seafood’s owners Marwen Chalghoumi and Mohamed Gharsalli, Vernell’s words are exactly why they are so passionate about what they bring to the table. “We feel so proud when we hear such positive things from people about our food, but we don’t ever stop giving it everything we have,” Marwen says, adding that he believes strongly in consistency. “We feel a responsibility to make sure everything is cooked perfectly and tastes good the first time someone comes in, and always after that.” The menu at Five Star Seafood, located at 7609 U.S. Highway 441, includes many seafood options, including fried jumbo shrimp, tilapia, basa or catfish cooked in a variety of ways, oysters, shrimp scampi, scallops, calamari rings, mussels, crab legs, shrimp salad or pasta, and more. Additionally, the restaurant features other dishes including 100% beef burgers and fries, chicken tenders and wings, gyros, fried gizzards, and liver, plus Cuban Sandwiches or Philly cheesesteaks made with steak, chicken, fish, shrimp, or oysters. And, if that’s not enough, there are a wide variety of sides and desserts to choose from as well as fresh squeezed orange juice, smoothies and milk shakes to wash it all down with. Marwen says even though the menu is extensive, what guests can count on at Five Star Seafood is quality. “Everything is cooked to order. We have nothing pre-made and we follow our own in-house recipes so that the taste and flavors are always the best they can be,” says Marwen. “During lunchtime, I’m always in here asking customers if everything is good, talking with them and getting to know people in our community.” While there recently, Style photographer Nicole Hamel and I sampled a few menu items, including very delicious calamari rings with boom-boom sauce, the seafood platter, which consists of a very large portion of fried Basa fish and shrimp served with fries – the pasta Alfredo topped with shrimp and grilled chicken served with a perfectly toasted and buttered roll and corn on the cob, and a steak and grilled chicken rice bowl featuring rice, black beans, sauteed green peppers, onion, and mushrooms.
