It is a slightly difficult restaurant to get to - the roads have strange turns and barriers making direct access not as easy as it seems on GPS. Not a big deal, just give yourself time to get there.
As much as I would have liked to order The Hungry Cat fruits of the sea platter, it was a little too imposing for just two of us. A one tier platter came with lovely fresh oysters, clams, mussels, boiled scampi and grilled prawns. We added the Santa Barbara sea urchin as a central masterpiece.
Sadly the sea urchin is quite disgusting. I've eaten uni in Japan, Melbourne, Morocco, London and New York - thus I know the creamy texture and sweet ocean flavour well. The Santa Barbara version unfortunately had a disturbing aftertaste I can only compare to the time I accidentally ate a millipede. The restaurant was gracious enough to open another one for us to sample, with similar taste. With great courtesy, the restaurant took it away and removed it from the bill.
The rest of the seafood was very tasty, no complaints about quality.
To supplement the meal, the Local Squid (stuffed with pine nuts & currants, spiced kabocha, farro verde, saffron aioli) was a nice combination of sweet and salty, crunchy and soft textures. We topped this off with a nice creme caramel dessert to complete the meal.
Next time I would order another fruits of the sea platter, and any of their delicious fresh seafood dishes. Be aware that the prices are reasonably high and that the main reason I came here was specifically for Santa Barbara sea urchin (which should be avoided). You may find similar quality seafood around Los Angeles at a lower price, but without the lovely atmosphere and the faultless service.
