The Lobster
1602 Ocean Ave. (Colorado Ave.) 
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Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-458-9294 | Make Restaurant Reservations
Cuisine
Open
Lunch & Dinner daily, Brunch Sun.Features
- View
- Heart-healthy dishes
- Romantic setting
- Full bar
- Reservations suggested
- Outdoor dining
- Open late
- Valet parking & parking lot
- Casual
Wine
Great Wine List* Click here for rating key
 Perched right on the Pacific, this upscale seafood restaurant is one of L.A.’s most atmospheric oceanside spots. A fixture at the entrance to the Santa Monica Pier since 1923, the original Lobster was a dinky open-air seafood market with 30 seats. That space, much renovated and featuring a colorful aquarium, now serves as the lobby for a dramatic wood, glass and concrete restaurant that holds 150 people in the dining room, bar and sweeping terrace. You'd think that with five times more seating, the restaurant would be a lot easier to get into. Wrong. The drop-dead ocean view makes it one hot reservation. You might also think that since they can attract guests just with the view, management wouldn't put serious thought into the food. Wrong again. Chef Collin Crannell now oversees the kitchen (Allyson Thurber has left the restaurant). The kitchen turns out simple yet sophisticated seafood dishes, everything from plump crab cakes with toasted corn salad and citrus sour cream, to pepper-crusted big-eye tuna with balsamic-shallot reduction and whole-roasted striped bass. Yes, there's lobster---steamed or grilled and in chowder and salad. You'll also find a good California-heavy wine list and friendly service. Thinking of dropping in just for a drink at sunset? Plan ahead. The happening bar scene gathers steam long before then, and keeps going until 1 a.m. on weekends. |
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