It’s Finders Keepers: Kincaid’s Hopes to Make Waves Near Pier

Picture this: a table by the window with a view of the waves beating against the Redondo Pier. You, sipping a chilled California Chardonnay. And instead of the burgers or fajitas served up at traditional pier-side restaurants, you are having “knife and fork” salad with Maytag blue cheese and a New York steak grilled over apple wood coals or grilled Alaskan salmon with Vermouth-garlic butter.

The place? The new Kincaid’s Bay House (brought to you by the same folks who are planning to open a Palomino Eurobistro in Westwood later this spring). The restaurant is huge and glitzy, the showcase of Redondo’s bid to bring some life back to the pier. Even so, without better signage, it’s not that easy to find for someone unfamiliar with the area, especially when a parking attendant sends a lost party in what turns out to be the wrong direction.

Kincaid’s pays tribute to the historic waterfront with vintage photos and postcards of Redondo Pier in its heyday framed on the walls. Nautically themed paintings and dramatic wrap-around views complete the decor. On a weekday night, the place is hopping with an enthusiastic crowd indulging with gusto in steamed clams and mussels in pesto or the giant combination appetizer platter. Smoked prawns with a chipotle-ancho chile rub are not bad, but the oozingly rich Dungeness crab and artichoke appetizer meant to be scooped up with little toasts may be an acquired taste.

Our designated driver that night eschewed a Martini made with his favorite Bombay Sapphire gin in favor of another Kincaid’s specialty: wood-smoked top sirloin with “martini butter”--and when they say martini butter, they mean it: It’s a blend of gin, vermouth, butter and olives, and hey, it’s pretty good. You can get that smoked sirloin in a modern surf and turf combination, this one with smoked prawns, too.

This contemporary chophouse has something for everyone. I liked the spit-roasted chicken infused with the taste of rosemary and pancetta and the rock salt-roasted prime rib of aged Nebraska beef served with pugnacious fresh Oregon horseradish. Dishes like rockfish encrusted with Dungeness crab mixed with curry powder, Thai chili sauce, coconut milk and bread crumbs should be reserved for the chronically optimistic.

For dessert, no question: Order the Key lime pie with its frothy head of whipped cream. There may be life in that old pier yet.

BE THERE

Kincaid’s Bay House, 500 The Pier, Redondo Beach; (310) 319-6080. Open daily for lunch (brunch on Sundays) and dinner. Dinner appetizers $5 to $17; main $15 to $39. Lot parking.