Aw Shucks: LA’s Top Raw Bars

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Santa Monica Seafood, Santa Monica

By Tara de Lis
For dineLA.com

Eating fresh seafood straight from the ocean can be one of the most primal pursuits in pleasuring the palate. Find a simple seafood shack and simply pluck, shuck and chuck; or opt for a more refined restaurant experience, complete with wine pairings. Either way, LA boasts an impressive bounty of raw bars.



Ironically, one of LA’s most sought-after spots for seafood is pretty far afield from the water, in spite of what the name suggests: downtown power-dining and special-occasion staple Water Grill.

Executive chef David LeFevre, a kid who grew up in Wisconsin but spent long summer stretches at his grandparents’ place at the Chesapeake Bay, presides over a first-rate raw bar.  This raw bar is literally its own draw, separate from the sensational cooked seafood fare. Given the opportunity, he will engage customers in off-the-cuff seafood seminars, and he’s trained his entire staff on the seasonality of—and variations between—products purchased.

Highlights include live uni (sea urchin) roe scooped seconds before serving and paired with an orange ponzu sauce on the side, as well as Peruvian scallops plated in-shell with citrusy, garlic, shallot and pistachio nut “pistou.”

For traditionalists who prefer a taste of the Pacific closer to the source, Santa Monica satellite Ocean Avenue Seafood is owned by the same parent company as Water Grill, King’s Seafood, and the raw bar menu mirrors that of its downtown sister. Look for such tasty nibbles as small, snail-like periwinkles and meaty mainstay King crab leg “nuggets,”—plus, a unique spin on the South American scallops, served here with ponzu and chives.

For oyster lovers, there are usually up to nine different choices; show up during the weekday happy hour for a deal on the oyster of the day, priced at $1.75 each or $16.50 for an “oyster wine sampler,” which includes six bivalves plus three two-ounce tastes of compatible wines.



Jutting out from Ocean Avenue, both literally and figuratively, there’s a nice walkable cluster of eateries in the area, which includes relative newbie’s BP Oysterette and Alain Giraud’s Anisette Brasserie.

BP, which stands for Blue Plate, itself a sister restaurant to diner-style eatery Blue Plate on Montana, is known for everything from oysters, as the name suggests, to traditional lobster rolls, soft shell clam steamers and skillet-roasted mussels.

Assistant general manager Brenda S. Black explains, “From our raw bar perspective, we take tremendous pride in our procurement process. Oysters seem like something very simple, but they must be stored at the right temperature, opened correctly … It takes great attention to detail.”

Up the street, Anisette is an architectural and design marvel; picture a high-design brasserie, and this is it. The raw bar is prominently placed adjacent to both the entry and the long main bar; its menu is broken down into shellfish and platter categories; for the latter, a “marquis” will feed a couple, and the “dauphin” up to four people. The house-smoked salmon with herbed crème fraiche on brioche makes a nice, rich counterpoint.



Formerly located on the Santa Monica Pier, where it opened in 1939, Santa Monica Seafood is in its third home, now at Wilshire and 10th; in it, a cafe and separate oyster bar have been added for the first time. Executive vice president Michael Cigliano says, “We get people who are eating at the bar, then they grab some wine and fish and take it home for the next day, or vice versa.”

The concept works much the same at Quality Seafood on the harbor in Redondo Beach, where customers can purchase fresh catch to-go, or pick and choose goodies to enjoy at the open-air tables. Selections range from prawns and crawfish to dozens of oysters, clams, mussels and more exotic picks. Here’s a tip: usually you only need to get a number and wait in line if your order includes oysters.



Located across from Topanga Beach in “Mahi-bu”—as the clever, pun-loving sign might suggest—the Reel Inn has been a beachside institution for nearly three decades. Here, Blue Point oysters are served year-round to customers who scoop them up along with other favorites like the grilled fish tacos.

Another ever-popular spot along the Coast, appropriately located “where Sunset Blvd meets the beach,” is Gladstone’s, which is now owned by hipster lifestyle specialists SBE. The look is much more sophisticated, but the menu remains much the same. Seafood towers are listed in tiers, and then priced per-person. Highlights include tangy ceviche and half- or whole lobster.

Iced seafood samplers at Paradise Cove Beach Café run roughly $20 person, a bargain considering the $25 prime real estate parking fee (sans $3) is waived for groups who spend fewer than four hours and more than $20 eating at this unbeatable locale.

Further up the road near County Line, Neptune’s Net has long been a favorite with surfers, bikers and families, who enjoy pairing a cold beer with live lobster, Dungeness crab or Pacific oysters.



Maître Écailler Christophe Happillon gets around—at least his mosaic-tiled, mobile raw bar does. Tuesday nights he holds court at Church & State; on Friday evenings, he can be found at longtime Venice haute food haunt Joe’s. At each venue, the French charmer chooses his three freshest finds to feature, and will deliver them tableside by request, as well as answer any questions guests may have.

Clearly a romantic, Happillon muses, “Oysters are like women—you can’t force them. You have to be gentle. Sometimes you find a pearl, and you keep it.”

Chez Melange co-owner Michael Franks recently transformed an old dim sum cart into his mobile seafood station. The old Palos Verdes location of the restaurant had featured a full-on raw bar, which regulars missed. Started at the beginning of summer, his solution now sells out nightly and is on its way to becoming staple. Daily selections may include everything from oysters, jumbo shrimp, Alaskan crab claws, Maine lobster tails and sashimi.



At Nobu West Hollywood, the proof is in the pudding—or rather, the sauces. Here, Kumamoto oysters are offered with up to six salsas, including the wildly complex
Tiradito, with lemon, yuzu, Black Cypress sea salt and Peruvian chili paste; and a pickled wasabi salsa with white onion, grape seeds and garlic puree. By special request, there’s also the sweet kumomo, or pastel-green puree of Japanese baby peaches. Enjoy the oysters on their own, or pair them with the restaurant’s popular caviar-topped Bluefin toro tartare.

At John Sedlar’s Nuevo Latino eatery Rivera, the cocktails at the main bar are smashing, but it’s the retooled and reimagined Playa Bar where the kitchen action can be witnessed close-up. The dedicated menu includes rotating dishes such as oysters of the day with cucumber caviar and mezcal, and fresh octopus with white soy-marinated mango and Moroccan olive oil.

At Baleen in Redondo Beach, a signature appetizer is the cold-water oysters, which come with a watermelon relish for spooning onto the bivalves and an iced sangrita for post-swallow sipping. Sounds complicated, but it works.
Seafood might not immediately spring to mind when thinking of celebrity steakhouse Mastro’s, but it is actually a big draw, both for the flexibility in the fees attached—anything from $50 to $1000 is doable—and the smokin’ hot dry ice presentations.

Platters are also de rigueur at Comme Ça, and come in plateau or grand plateau sizes, which are available at lunch and dinner. Known equally for fabulous food and for helping to jumpstart the city’s cocktail culture, it should be no surprise that libations and crustaceans here go hand-in-hand.

According to manager Max Seaman, “[Our] bartenders pride themselves on [having] a pretty vast repertoire … As to raw bar pairings, I would stick to clear spirits—vodka and gin—and clean, fresh flavors such as citrus, cucumber and mint. Also, a Bloody Mary makes a great cocktail sauce substitute.”

As the name suggests, the Hungry Cat is all about seafood. And the three-tiered tower is extravagant. It may include any or all of the following: peel-and-eat shrimp, caviar or Santa Barbara sea urchin, which is served with crackers, sea salt and lemon.

Located onsite at Downtown’s esteemed Music Center, Kendall’s Brasserie, a Patina Group restaurant, offers an entire section of the menu dedicated to its “seafood display.” Pre-theater and power-lunching patrons can choose between a la carte selections of New Zealand green lips, Little Neck clams and at least two East and two West Coast varieties of oysters, in addition to the plateau prestige or royale.

Another great pre-theater spot, this one located across from the Pantages and nestled inside Hollywood’s W Hotel, Delphine prides itself on being a high-quality but affordable restaurant with a strong emphasis on seafood. Executive chef Sascha Lyon says, “I really try to source relatively affordable shellfish. The volume we go through—1,000 per day!—allows me to very aggressive with my purveyors.”

So much so that Mondays nights now feature $1 mussels, clams, and shrimp cocktail, in addition to $2 to $8 selections of items ranging from Jonah crab claws and steamed cockles to beer-battered cod and ceviche.



Fans of the San Francisco’s Ferry Building favorite, Hog Island Oyster Company, can find the signature Hog Island Sweetwater at Dish in Pasadena, one of the few outlets in SoCal serving these beloved bivalves.

For almost 40 years, Studio City’s Oyster House Saloon has been a Valley staple for seafood. Nowadays, patrons go almost as much for the live rock and roll music as for the $1 anytime oyster shooters.



Anisette, 225 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, 310.395.3200, anisettebrasserie.com
Baleen, 260 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach, 310.372.1202, hotelportofino.com
BP Oysterette, 1355 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, 310.576.3474, blueplatesantamonica.com
Chez Melange, 1611 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach, 310.540.1222, chezmelange.com
Church & State, 1850 Industrial St., Downtown, 213.405.1434, churchandstatebistro.com
Comme Ça, 8479 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, 323.782.1104, commecarestaurant.com
Delphine, 6250 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 323.798.1355, restaurantdelphine.com
Dish, 53 E. Union St., Pasadena, 626.795.5546, dishbistroandbar.com
Gladstone’s, 17300 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, 310.454.3474, gladstones.com
Hungry Cat, 1535 Vine St., Hollywood, 323.462.2155, thehungrycat.com
Joe’s, 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 310.399.5811, joesrestaurant.com
Kendall’s Brasserie & Bar, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown, 213.972.7322, patinagroup.com
Mastro’s, 246 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, 310.888.8782, mastrosrestaurants.com
Neptune’s Net, 42505 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, 310.457.3095, neptunesnet.com
Nobu West Hollywood, 903 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, 310.657.5711, noburestaurants.com
Ocean Avenue Seafood, 1401 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, 310.394.5669, oceanave.com
Oyster House Saloon, 12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, 818.761.8686, oysterhousesaloon.com
Paradise Cove Beach Café, 28128 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, 310.457.2503, paradisecovemalibu.com
Quality Seafood, 130 S. International Boardwalk,
Redondo Beach, 310.372.6408, qualityseafood.net
Rivera, 1050 S. Flower St., Downtown, 213.749.1460, riverarestaurant.com
Santa Monica Seafood, 1000 Wilshire Blvd., 
Santa Monica, 310.393.5244, santamonicaseafood.com
The Reel Inn, 18661 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, 310.456.8221, reelinnmalibu.com
Water Grill, 544 S. Grand Ave., Downtown, 213.891.0900, watergrill.com

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