Santa Monica Seafood Market & Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Monica

All of the fish was fresh, and it was a unique experience to walk past all the fish in the cold cases as you walk to the host stand for the restaurant side (it’s all in the same building, grocery fish store + bar + dining tables). I had gone in with high expectations for the quality of the fish. Some of the food was excellent, some was good, and one dish was just okay.

PARKING: They have a free parking lot in the back, and there is an entrance in the back. WINE: We went with a glass; for white: the Saxon-Brown Chardonnay ($20.50/glass), and for a light red that still pairs great with seafood and tastes delicious on its own, I loved the Alexana Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon ($17.50/glass).

FOOD: You have to know what to order, and I recommend asking your server for their suggestions for the day. We did this, and the only dish we don’t recommend wasn’t on her recommendation list either. We started with the Shrimp (recommend), Oysters (recommend - conditional), and Hamachi Crudo (okay), and then we added on the Peruvian Scallops (recommend), Chilean Seabass (recommend), and Crab Louie Salad (do not recommend).

STARTERS: The Hamachi Crudo ($23) came with orange, flour de sal, thinly sliced Fresno Chile, and lemon oil. While I always enjoy a Hamachi Crudo, I wish there were more orange slices so that you could have one piece per fish, and it was a little fishier than I was expecting.

SALAD: We went with the Wild Pacific Northwest Dungeness Crab Louie ($26) with romaine hearts, tomato, asparagus, chives, and SMS louie dressing, and it wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. It had very little flavor, far too much romaine lettuce, and in addition to missing seasoning, it felt like the salad recipe was missing an ingredient (I would have enjoyed it more if it had avocado or goat cheese).

ENTREES: Our server Mollie said two of the best entrees on the menu were the Chilean Seabass ($43) and the SMS Cioppino Italian fish stew ($38). We didn’t order the Copping because we were worried it would be difficult to share, but we were very glad we took her advice and ordered the Wild MSC Certified Chilean Seabass Tenderloin with black sesame, shiitake mushroom, sautéed spinach, and spicy garlic.

RAW BAR: I really like their horseradish and raw bar. From the Raw Bar at the top of their food menu, I recommend these 3 things: Wild Mexican White Shrimp Cocktail with fresh dil, flour de sal, and SMS cocktail sauce, $22 for 5 shrimp. The shrimp was delicious but I wish they had an even number to share. This is a must-order, and I recommend enjoying with with lemon and a dip - the horseradish has a perfect kick.

Raw Purple Peruvian Scallops come with a ginger-shallot mignonette, orange, and micro-cilantro. They sell the raw bar scallops individually for $3.50 each.

Oyster Sampler Dozen for $39 on the menu it lists six different types of oysters, so we were expecting to receive 2 of each oyster. On the bright side, all of the oysters were very fresh and were served over ice with ample sides and two mini forks. Disappointingly, we only received an uneven sampler with only 5 different types of oysters, missing the Petite Barachois from Canada. The oysters didn’t have a card or any explanation when they were dropped off at our table, and we had to ask for an explanation on which was which. I personally am not a fan of large meatier oysters, and out of the five only one was too large for my taste. Oysters are very personal, and we didn’t tell the server our preferences, and instead we just got the standard sampler. Going from left to right in the photo (counter clockwise). 1st Misty Point (3x oysters) from VA. 
2nd Kusshi (3x oysters) from Vancouver Island, BC - Delicious but one of mine had a small amount of shell. 
3rd Totten Virginica from Seattle, WA - very large, recommend using sauce 
4th Kumamoto from Humboldt Bay, CA - This reminded me of the Pirate’s ride at Disneyland 
5th Oishi from Skagit Bay, WA - These were my favorite and I cannot wait to come...

Waited thirty minutes for a tiny kid's order. They served people that ordered after me even though I was only there for pickup an order I made earlier than other patrons. Waitress gave me a dirty look for daring to question the fairness of it.

Much like the poor service, the food itself was disappointing. The fries were stale and oilier than McDonald's fries. I don't know why I wasted $70 but I won't be coming back here ever again

This is a trend with a lot of places that get popular. Sadly, Santa Monica Seafood is no exception. This place rides off the coattails of its 80 year history but conveniently omits decent management, service, and food quality because the pandemic gave them an excuse to double prices and cut quality in half.

I just want you to know I'm very, very disappointed with you and your shameless, dishonest, rude, and lazy staff. Having myself worked in service, I'm always very polite and considerate to service staff, being mindful of how hard they work. Today, your staff did not meet the reasonable standard of service. Notwithstanding the same, I was respectful today because I will not stoop down to their level.

You should be ashamed, embarrassed, and regretful of how unabashedly you have destroyed your formerly good reputation. There was no excuse whatsoever for your horrible, atrocious, subpar service and food quality, and no scathing review is sufficiently punitive of the reprimand you...

The fish counter is blessed with some very nice looking seafood, which I'll have to try one of these days, particularly something finicky like mussels. The day I went, I treated myself to a lobster roll. Now, being from Maine, and having spent a few seasons as a commercial lobstermen, I can speak with some authority on the subject of lobster rolls. You'll be pleased to know that Santa Monica Seafood makes a fairly decent lobster roll. The lobster is fresh tasting, has fairly good texture, and isn't drowned in mayonnaise. The bread isn't too hard, which is important. An authentic lobster roll bun is basically a hot dog bun, somewhat sweet, grilled in butter to a light golden crunch. The trick is to not have the bread's crust on the grilled outside, but a cut interior portion of the bread exposed to the grill. Furthermore, it's important that the texture of the bread not be so hard as to compete with the delicate texture of the meat itself. It's tricky!

My only serious gripe is the use of lemon in the aioli (mayonnaise) - lemon has no place near a Maine lobster. The only acceptable acid is a smidge of whole apple cider vinegar, but I'm not sure it's even required in a lobster roll. The important part of an accompaniment to Maine lobster is that it contains plenty of fat. This is because the main flavoring components are fat soluble. This fat is critical.

Overall, the market gets a '5' and the lobster roll gets a...