A Seafood Day at Redondo Beach

A bowl of seafood chowder with a little sherry floated over the top is a fine way to settle into a table beside Puget Sound. At Redondo Beach, this waterfront restaurant puts the water right alongside the meal, with views across the Sound and enough outdoor seating to make a clear day feel like an occasion.

The setting has range. You can come for a full seafood dinner in the dining room, settle into the bar for a cocktail and a few savory bites, or take a patio table and let lunch stretch a little longer than planned. The large patio and seaside deck are especially inviting when the weather cooperates.

It is an easy place to fold into a low-key waterfront outing. Have a meal, take a walk on the nearby beach or waterfront walkway, and wander out toward the short pier afterward. The small park across the street adds another simple stop for families, picnickers or anybody who would rather not make the day all about sitting at a table.

Seafood is the reason many people come, and the choices move comfortably from familiar fish-and-chips territory to richer, plate-filling dinners. Oysters, chowder, crab cakes, coconut prawns, lobster, halibut and seafood pasta all have a place in the mix.

The chowder comes in a version ordered “Salty’s way,” finished with sherry on top. It is a small flourish, but a useful one for diners who enjoy chowder with a little more depth than a straight cream-and-seafood bowl.

For a more elaborate pasta order, the seafood fettuccine has included clams, scallops, salmon, cod and shrimp, with sherry noted in the sauce. It is the sort of dish that saves a seafood indecisive person from having to choose just one fish.

The crab cake appetizer puts the emphasis on crab rather than a thick layer of breading. Coconut prawns arrive jumbo-sized, making them substantial enough to share before dinner or to pair with a drink when a full entrée is not on the agenda.

Fish and chips remains one of the straightforward pleasures here. The two-piece order offers an unfussy route to a seafood meal, and it has earned particular appreciation from diners with plenty of West Coast fish-and-chips experience.

At the other end of the meal, a large lobster tail with mashed potatoes and asparagus turns dinner into more of a sit-back-and-stay-awhile affair. Grilled asparagus and artichoke offer additional vegetable counterpoints to the richer seafood plates.

Not everyone at the table has to be committed to the sea. The menu also includes New York steak, burgers, salads and prime rib sliders. A salmon salad is a recurring choice for diners who want fish without going all the way into a buttery pasta or lobster-tail dinner.

One nice table detail is the fresh bread served with butter and lava-rock salt. It gives the start of the meal a little more character than a standard bread basket, and it is hard not to pause over the dark salt before turning back to the menu.

This is also a restaurant where a shared opening course makes sense. Oysters, crab cakes and coconut prawns each take the meal in a slightly different direction, from clean and briny to crisp and sweet. A group can sample around without making the table feel overrun.

Happy hour offers another reason to drop in without planning a formal dinner. Seafood-oriented small plates sit alongside other savory snacks, while specialty cocktails give the bar and patio crowd something more interesting than a quick drink before heading home.

Blackened cod tacos, prime rib sliders and coconut prawns make a particularly appealing spread for the table. The tacos bring a little spice, the sliders cover the land-based craving, and the prawns keep the seafood theme front and center.

The drinks carry some vacation-minded notes without requiring a vacation. A tropical pineapple cocktail and a Tropical Tea are among the options, and the waterfront does a good deal of the atmospheric work on its own.

Sunday brunch takes a broader approach, using a buffet-style format with a large variety of seafood and additional dishes. Fresh, locally sourced seafood has been a notable element of the brunch spread, giving the meal more distinction than a standard eggs-and-pastries buffet.

The format is useful for a mixed-age family table or a birthday gathering: people can choose at their own pace, then return for another favorite rather than negotiating one shared entrée decision. Staff continue to provide table-side help, so the room does not feel like a hands-off buffet hall.

Celebrations fit naturally here. Birthdays, anniversaries, family meals and meals with out-of-town visitors all suit a restaurant that can offer a view, a long meal and enough menu variety to keep a group happy. For at least one birthday brunch, confetti on the table also gave passing servers an easy cue to offer good wishes.

Redondo Beach gives the visit some useful flexibility. The beach, pier and waterfront walkway are close enough that a pre-lunch or post-dinner stroll does not require a separate plan or a drive across town.

The surrounding waterfront is also used for boardwalk walks, cold plunges and diving, though simply walking near the water is plenty rewarding for most diners. On pleasant days, the restaurant’s patio can make the meal feel connected to all that activity without requiring you to leave your chair.

For occasions when the weather turns, indoor dining and the bar remain available, and the dining room is quiet enough to support easy conversation. Outdoor seating, naturally, depends on the day’s conditions.

Reservations are recommended, particularly for outdoor seating and popular dining periods. The restaurant has an on-site parking lot, though how plentiful it feels can vary with the timing of a visit.

With indoor tables, bar seating, patio space and the seaside deck, the experience can be as casual or celebratory as you make it. A drink and coconut prawns after a waterfront walk works just as well as a lingering brunch or a lobster-tail dinner.