CA, Santa Monica, Ocean Avenue Seafood

Ocean Avenue Seafood, 1401 Ocean Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90401 (310)394-5669

To stand out in Santa Monica a restaurant has to have a cachet. The Ocean Avenue’s catch is that they have a great oyster bar. The Ocean Avenue restaurant is part of the King “Signature” Group, which is part of King Fish Houses consisting of 12 fish houses and 5 ‘higher class’ signature restaurants in California.

I am not a lover of oysters – in fact I don’t eat them at all – and some may question my ability to critique a restaurant if I don’t eat oysters. My reply is that there are lots of other things on the menu apart from slimy oysters.

In this case I chose to eat sea scallops. It turned out to be four sea scallops artfully arranged around a small mound of pureed parsnips topped by leaf spinach. The impression of the diminutive size of the portion was heightened by the meal being served on a very large white plate, 14 or 16 inches in diameter with the four sea scallops and small mound of parsnips in the middle of the plate.

The scallops were delicious and the parsnip puree was interesting, there were hints of sharpness in the taste but perhaps my palate is not sophisticated enough to tell the difference between parsnip puree and whipped potatoes. And I must stop ordering dishes that include spinach. Most of the time spinach tastes like I imagine broad leaf grass would taste like. Where is the restaurant that will serve brussel sprouts or cauliflower as a vegetable?

The service was exceptional, prompt, unobtrusive and knowledgeable. The menu was extensive, lots of seafood, a selection of oysters they are very proud of, and a good selection of steaks. At night the view is of the lights of Ocean Drive – a busy thoroughfare with lots of traffic – with the lights of Santa Monica pier flashing in the distance.

Since I was driving I drank one glass of Paul Hobbs Cobos Chardonnay recommended by the waitress together with a bottle of Pellegrino sparkling water and a cappuccino. The wine was excellent, crisp and clean and easy to drink. The meal for one including 20% tip was $67.

Perhaps it was the effect of the flight plus the drive but it was a small annoyance to be expected to tip the restroom attendant and it was large annoyance to be expected to pay a charge for valet parking after the restaurant validated the parking ticket. On closer questioning it was revealed that the restaurant only paid a (small) portion of the valet parking, the diner was expected to pay the majority of the parking fee.