After looking up churros on Yelp and finding that this place offered churro waffles, we decided to check out Seasalt Fish Grill. It helped that it was a seafood specialty stop because we both favor fish-based diets. We expected to be walking into some busy and posh new spot in downtown Culver City, but that isn’t the case. It’s easily accessible and even has free parking. The spot itself offers both outdoor and indoor seating with your very casual order and take a number system. Again, this wasn’t what we were expecting and while I thought there was going to be a small, specialty menu, I was wrong again.
Fit’s plate (the garlic fries were for both of us)
The menu was vast and offered seafood favorites from across the entirety of the country: Hawaiian poke, New England chowders, southern catfish, and SoCal fish tacos. We saw the shelves decorated with both Old Bay and Furikake, which would provide quite the intriguing seafood fusion. When presented with such a tantalizing menu, we couldn’t help but order more than we expected, which led to the inevitable fear that we’d be going over budget.
“$25.69”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right. We just ordered a ton of food. That can’t be right.”
Unreal and we even had leftovers to take home… and we never have leftovers.
I want to rip the band-aid off and take care of something immediately. We came for the churro waffles. As soon as we saw them, we knew that they’d be bad. We saw the oil saturation that happens with deep-fried fare far too often. Still, we each took one bite to confirm and it was such a shame. The flavor was there, the cook was right… they were just soaked in oil. I really hope they can fix that.
Just too saturated–we wanted them to be good so badly!
Now that we got that out of the way… everything else. Another spoiler. It wasn’t all good. It was around-the-back-through-the-legs-360-blindfolded good. It was amazing. The two of us (if we lump our travels together) have been to 6 of the 7 continents. (We just missed Antarctica.) We’ve had seafood around the world. We know and love seafood. This is good seafood. Here’s why.
Seafood is all about complimenting the freshest fare from the sea. Whether it’s clams, catfish, or cod, seafood has a beautiful texture when treated properly and an amazing natural flavor that is so easily masked when too heavily seasoned. They respected the seafood and it shows.
Yes, the fries were cooked well and the garlic fries have that near-perfect amount of seasoning. Yes, the slaw was fresh and robust, with a little heat and a lot of crunch. Yes, the tartar sauce and cocktail-ketchup tasted like it was homemade, passed down for generations. But the fish. BUT THE FISH! The clam chowder has this beautiful richness. They’ve accomplished making it thick without making it grainy. What completed the experience was serving it the 8oz (I think) deli dish. That made it for me. While the salsa served with the chips could have been a little more developed in terms of flavor, the fish tacos were sensational. Piping hot on delivery and oh-so-flaky, the cod fell apart in your mouth. It was a complete bite… so well-balanced in flavor and texture.
The star, however, was the catfish. I had dreams about it last night. I can’t stop thinking about it. As soon as they dropped it off at the table, it commanded your attention. Two huge pieces arching over the fries…X marks the spot. It didn’t need lemon. It didn’t need anything. The corn meal based crust was flawless. The fresh and flaky fish was perfectly yet simply seasoned and corn meal crust gave you just the right bite that you wanted.
Hungry’s verdict: The vibe, the value, and the catfish. The best meal we’ve had in LA in a long time.
You need to try this place. We need to go back. We haven’t had this strong a reaction to a meal out in a long time. We weren’t going to review this place. We didn’t bring our fancy camera. But wow. Wow. Eat at Seasalt Fish Grill to say hungry and fit!
When do you want to go? My mouth is watering….”The best meal you’ve had in L.A. in a long time.” Yay!
Let us know. We’d have this any time of the day!