Santa Monica Seafood Market & Cafe - Santa Monica

Bel

When we first arrived, we weren’t sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised! The food was absolutely delicious and looked wonderful on the plates. The staff was attentive and friendly, which made our visit even better. I’m already excited to go back! I’ve included some pictures to share the experience. We also got to try some tasty fried calamari and a great carrot cake!

G Merceron

What a great selection of ready to eat seafood--it was so hard to choose, so we got a nice spread including the squid salad, baha ceviche, candied and peppered aalmon, and their oak smoked salmon. Each was absolutely delicious and we ate most of it on our car ride back to Ventura. We also grabbed some of their clam chowder, which was very hearty almost as thick as a pot pie and next level in terms of flavor. Next time we plan to try one of their other types of ceviche, their cioppino, and also pick from their oyster variety.

Frank Finding

We really enjoy the food. The setting isn’t fancy, it’s literally in the fish market/shop and smells of fish, but food is great. You can’t get more fresh fish and the preparation and flavors are awesome.

Katherine Pacpaco

If they have a lobster roll on the menu, I'm ordering it and so glad I did. I got the Connecticut lobster roll, which is with warm butter on a buttered toasted roll. It's making my mouth water as I'm writing this review. It was so delicious. Although the sandwich was not that big, they stuffed it with a lot of lobster pieces. The lobster was so sweet and fresh. I also got the clam chowder. It wasn't my fave a little too thick for my liking. This restaurant is not just a café, but it's also a market where they sell a lot of fresh seafood, and other items so you can cook your meal. They also have an oyster bar. Service was excellent. They have parking in the back, but they also have metered street parking if the lot is full.

Meagan McCall

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: 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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 back for more!