Clubby corporate restaurant draws seafood lovers with fresh daily catches and posh atmosphere.

by Contributor

In Short
Upscale and sophisticated, this chain features art deco-inspired trappings such as dark wood, shiny brass and beveled glass. Servers clad in black and white weave through cocktailing couples and businessmen at the bar. The classic American, seasonally inspired seafood menu changes daily; specialties include starters of Dungeness crab cakes and oysters on the half shell, plus entrees like cedar plank-roasted salmon, sauteed lobster with scallops and rock shrimp, and seared yellowfin tuna with wasabi, soy and ginger.

09/18/08

Great happy hour prices, if not great food

by AngelenoFoodie

Check out the review of this and many other happy hours at: happiest hours(dot)blog spot(dot)com - no spaces between words, but City Search won't allow it any other way. Best deal - 1/2 pound burger and fries for $1.95

Nope, that is not a misprint. The prices at this particular happy hour are GREAT. Wish I could say the same for all of the food (although the burger ordered medium rare is quite good).

I've been to this one twice. First time, we got the vegetable eggrolls (a bit greasy), the sweet potato fries (delicious), two glasses of wine and two lemonades for a grand total of $21. The food wasn't perfect, but you can't beat that deal with a stick. Happy hour wine is $4.50 a glass, but it's pretty mediocre wine. The lemonade was $3.25 and does NOT include free refills.

On the second visit, we had the burger (mighty tasty), the buffalo wings (very dry and tough, but decent flavor and a good-sized portion), the roasted garlic (great for putting on the burger, and with a very nice garnish of feta and roast pepper tapenade) and the calamari with fries (all fries and almost no calamari - which was average anyway). I can't remember what we had to drink, but there was no alcohol and the total was $19 and change ($25 after tip - because you should always take great care of the server). We left full, not thrilled about the quality, but when we find ourselves in Beverly Hills during the early dinner hour and want a good, cheap burger, this will be the place.

04/17/08

so so food

by dthstar

we don't get why people think this place is so great. i guess if you claim to be a 'specialty' restaurant, people would really believe that you were. everytime there's an occasion to eat here, i just order the fattest oysters they have for the day and stop there. retired old people and tourists make up the bulk of their regular clientele & neither are known for their refined palettes anyway... anyone can serve up oily fried or grilled bland seafood and that's exactly what this place is. the only really good thing is their hot sour-dough bread & sweet butter at the beginning of the meal. even the fattest oysters of the day from here will never compare to the truly fat & juicy gulf oysters (which are to die for, if you're an oyster-freak like me) but at least they do have oysters, and that's the only reason i'd even dine here (if i have to dine here at all). even their spoofed-up menu w/ more 'exotic' dishes tends to be bland and boring (& oily)- don't spare the tabasco! the desserts are nothing to talk about either- mediocre at best.

• Pros: they have oysters
• Cons: boring food

03/09/08

Poor experience

by chris4219

We visited with a party of six adults and two kids to celebrate a 50th anniversary celebration. While the appetizers were all very good (except for the crab cakes, which were surprisingly dry, as if they had been reheated or made much earlier), three diners found that their fish dinner dishes were bland and the veggies / side dishes practically unseasoned. The service was good, but the server never acknowledged the 50th anniversary celebration in any way, and when one of the diners got a fish bone caught in his throat, the waiter appeared to be completely unconcerned. Finally, the bill for dinner (which was very expensive) came unitemized, so you couldn't even confirm that you were paying for what you ordered. This might be a nice place to come for a drink if you're strolling around Rodeo Drive, but I would avoid it for dinner, and certainly for any kind of celebration or important event. For the price, there are many much better values.

• Pros: Appetizers, location
• Cons: Food, value, service, attention to detail

12/24/07

three strikes

by ashin220

My girlfriend's boss recommended this place so we tried it out. We first checked out their website which claimed two $$ marks. The prices on their "sample" menu averaged from $15.00 and up. When we got there we realized everything was double what we expected. That's not where the strikes start. First strike was bad service. We were never told of any specials. Our waiter never checked on us, asked if I wanted another drink and he forgot one of our orders. Second was the food. My girlfriend got the stew which consisted of clams, mussells, shrimps and a crab leg. The stew tasted like Campbell's tomato soup and the mussells and clams tasted very, very fishy and were unedible. I ordered the Tilapia and tempura shrimp. My meal was very fishy as well, but I couldn't tell since I was too busy picking fishbones from my throat. The raw oysters were very fresh, but rather disappointing since they were the size of quaters. Finally the third strike was when we finally got our bill, we noticed we were overcharged on two items. The oysters and our wine. They corrected it, but it put the nail in the coffin for me. One hundred dollars for two people without alcohol (one glass of wine) is one hundred too much for this nonsense.

• Pros: nice atmosphere
• Cons: poor service, bad food

05/28/06

Two words - - lobster bisque!

by tinyham

We went at about 9:45 p.m. on a Saturday evening and were just about the only couple in the restaurant. The lobster bisque cannot be beat - so rich and buttery! I had sea bass and DH had the grilled mahi. I was quite pleased. Service was great and staff was very friendly. Our bill with a relatively inexpensive bottle of wine came to about $150 for two people. A very unique atmosphere inside. It's dimly lit with dark, wood-paneled walls. A must-try restaurant when you're in the mood for seafood.

• Pros: lobster bisque, friendly staff
• Cons: valet parking, pricey

12/29/03

what a great secret!

by frankiesays

what a great secret in the heart of beverly hills! the food was better than expected and the price was the best part! great prices, great seafood! cool bar and outside patio. all they need is a sign and there would be lines out the door. the beautiful blonde haired manager really knew her stuff. she was so helpful and friendly. i'll be back!

• Pros: inexpensive, food, bar

09/12/03

Good bar, horrible food

by porchlight

Great for meeting for drinks or happy hour but the food is just plain awful!!!!