I eat seafood probably at least three or four times a week, maybe more. Honestly, I can eat good seafood almost everyday. So for my family’s takeout day, I had to have lunch from Santa Monica Seafood.
Tableware
Since this is a seafood feast, of course I had to gather my seafood themed tableware. Set of terra cotta fish plates made by an independent artist, small skewed soup bowls for some clams and ceramic fish gravy boat by Dansk (for extra clam broth). Soup bowls are revival of Eva Zeisel’s “Town and Country” design from 1947. Eva Zeisel was a renowned American-Hungarian industrial designer and designed sleek, curvy, modern tableware. Eva Zeisel tableware collection can be purchased from Eva Ziesel Originals and vintage pieces can be found on Etsy.
Seafood Restaurant and Market
Santa Monica Seafood is a seafood processor and distributor in southern California that’s been in business since 1930’s. They have a cafe and seafood market in two southern California locations and based on what I have seen and bought over the years, their products are of excellent quality and they also have hard to find fish like arctic char when in season. Food served at the cafe is also excellent and they offer weekly specials that sell out all the time.
Our order this time consisted of clam appetizer, Cioppino with a side of lobster tail, grilled grouper, and swordfish sandwich. I ended up sampling everything. Swordfish sandwich and grilled grouper were so moist and meaty that it was quite filling even though I only had few bites.
Everything was very fresh and delicious as usual but the clam appetizer with savory broth and Cioppino were my favorite. Broth for the clams were so savory, I can just drink the broth anytime.
Speaking of broth, I can drink the entire rich, savory tomato broth from Cioppino. I love seafood restaurants that make good Cioppino and Santa Monica Seafood does not disappoint. Seafood stew was full of clams, shrimp, calamari and chunks of fish, and it was definitely enough for two people.
You may not find the same exact items that I ordered on the menu due to their availability. Sundays are especially busy for this restaurant and they may sell out of popular items like Cioppino. But if you love seafood like I do, this is a go to place to eat and buy fresh fish. I always end up with at least two large bags of seafood when I visit their market.