Holy mackerel! 7 of the best seafood restaurants in Orange County to observe no-meat Fridays during Lent
It’s the Lenten season, and if you’re like me, a non-Catholic married to a Catholic, you take this time of abstinence from consuming meat on Fridays as a very good excuse to go out for great seafood.
Here are seven of the best seafood restaurants in Orange County, where you can eat well every Friday all the way to Easter. Because, let’s face it, cooking fish at home makes your whole house stink, and you can tolerate only so many Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.
When you want a great Mexican mariscos meal and cervezas
Ostioneria Bahia Mexican & Seafood
144 S. Tustin St., Orange
(714) 997-2010
bahiamex.com/
The term “ostioneria” translates to “oyster bar” in English. And at Ostioneria Bahia in Orange, inside a colorful and festive A-framed building, you can certainly slurp your oysters in the usual way, served on the half shell and showered with citrus. But why not gulp them from a regal-looking chalice where the quivering lobes swim in a refreshing coctele concocted from clam juice, tomato, cilantro and lime?
Or better yet, order the show-stopping platter eponymously called Ostiones a la Bahia, where a half or full dozen shucked oysters are embellished with spoonfuls of shrimp ceviche, each oyster then crowned with a slice of rich avocado — something that’s definitely meant to be passed around the table, lest you eat them all by yourself.
As good as they are, the oyster dishes should be used as lead-ins to even more elaborate seafood entrées. This is, after all, a full-fledged mariscos, or seafood, restaurant, where even the humble shrimp is prepared in at least a dozen ways. Fish has just as many different permutations. There’s even a specialty called Filete “Bahia” Parmesano, where a tender cut of fish is pan-fried with a crispy veneer of Parmesan that’s both an homage and an indictment of McDonald’s cheese-on-seafood Lenten staple, the Filet-O-Fish.
But no dish at Ostioneria Bahia simultaneously honors and rebels against the spirit of Lent than the restaurant’s indulgent rendition of caldo siete mares, the seafood soup to rule all seafood soups.
There are, of course, other mariscos joints and ostionerias in Orange County that serve their own versions of this soup, but most can be too tomatoey, others can be fishy, and some don’t even have the seven types of seafood required for it to be called siete mares, which amounts to false advertisement.
In Ostioneria Bahia’s soup, all seven kinds of seafood — shrimp, white fish, snow crab legs, mussels, oysters, octopus and abalone — are accounted for. And the broth is a balanced oceany and tomatoey nectar that supplants the best bouillabaisse or cioppino you’ve ever had. At $28, it’s one of the more expensive menu items, but it’s worth it. Besides, when was the last time you got to eat seven kinds of seafood in one sitting?
When you want a big boisterous Asian family-style seafood feast
Oc & Lau
10130 Garden Grove Blvd Suite 111-113
Garden Grove, (714) 636-2000
oclaurestaurant.com
Oc & Lau
9892 Westminster Ave., Unit R
Garden Grove, (714) 583-8100
oclaurestaurant.com
When the first Oc & Lau Restaurant opened in Garden Grove 10 years ago, it was a sensation. The parking lot was a mess, wait times were brutal and the then-inexperienced wait staff was overwhelmed.
Oc & Lau was different from anything anyone had ever seen in the States. It had a particular focus on escargots, clams, scallops and oysters. It served them grilled, boiled in soup or stir fried, but notably in small, shareable portions meant to be passed around a table full of family and friends. It functioned much like a traditional Vietnamese quán ôc, informal establishments that literally mean “snail restaurant” and whose raison d’être and vibe are more in line with Spanish tapas bars and Japanese izakayas.
One of Oc & Lau’s best bites is the grilled scallops. About half a dozen of them are fire-roasted in their own shells with garlic and butter. Once cooked, they’re transferred onto hot plates and then garnished with crushed peanuts, crispy fried shallots and a fistful of herbs. They come to your table sputtering and billowing aromas you never knew you wanted to smell.
The same can be said when your order of clams in tom yum soup arrives perfumed with lemongrass and makrut leaves. It’s so good you won’t be able to decide whether you like the broth or the protein more.
For palate-cleansing, there’s a refreshingly tart mango salad with squid and escargot that’s to be consumed by scooping it up on rafts of crunchy shrimp crackers. For a communal family experience, the “lau” portion of the restaurant’s name means the option of shared hot pots overflowing with seafood. But for inspiring oohs-and-aahs at your table, the house special Dungeness crab for $42 is actually a bargain. You get an entire disarticulated specimen that’s flash-fried in oil and tossed in a glossy sweet-and-savory sauce dotted with onions and peppers. The dish is the best argument that Oc & Lau and its newer, bigger sister restaurant Oc & Lau 2, aren’t just the traditional quán ôcs Orange County’s Vietnamese were waiting for, they’re also the greatest restaurant in O.C. for feasting on Asian seafood.
When you want the best fish and chips that don’t cost more than $20
Simply Fish
1534 Adams Ave. Suite D
Costa Mesa, (949) 393-7401
simplyfishseafood.com
It’s easy to get mediocre fish and chips for cheap at any diner chain like Norms. It’s also easy to get excellent fish and chips that tick above the $20 mark at a proper British pub. It is not, however, so easy to get great fish and chips for the reasonable price of $15. Simply Fish in Costa Mesa offers exactly that.
The fish is creamy and soft, perfectly steamed inside its craggy cocoon of batter. The thinly coated fries are crispy and greaseless. And both fish and the fried potatoes are served so hot and fresh, they scald your palate if you tuck in too soon. Cooling coleslaw is included to serve as burn balm.
But Simply Fish’s fish and chips isn’t just great fish and chips; it’s also generously portioned. Three pieces of generous size are included in an order—enough for two people to share.
Of course, if you bring someone to eat with you, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to resist ordering something else from the menu. Simply Fish — by restaurateur Derek Taguchi who also owns Fishbonz in Torrance — casts a wide net with its menu. The entrées include salmon, mahi mahi and Pacific halibut among a dozen species of fish you can have grilled and brushed with sauces such as garlic lemon butter, blackened Cajun or teriyaki.
In fact, think of anything you expect from a high-tier full-service seafood restaurant — clam chowder, fried clams, poke, steamed shellfish, even lobster — and you’ll find it’s offered here at reasonable fast-casual restaurant rates.
When you want a seafood-focused romantic date spot that operates sustainably.
O SEA
109 S Glassell St.,
Orange, (714) 363-3309
eatosea.com
Located in Old Town Orange, O SEA doesn’t look like a seafood restaurant. It’s got a dramatic exposed brick wall original to its century-old building on one side, clean lines, soft colors and strategic lighting everywhere else — the kind of restaurant space you presume could win design awards and has a killer brunch menu. But as evidenced by its founder Mike Flynn — whose previous gigs included being a general manager of Water Grill in Los Angeles — the restaurant’s DNA is in seafood.
And furthermore, it’s a seafood restaurant that has qualified to be designated as an “Ocean Friendly Restaurant” by the Surfrider Foundation. It did so by maintaining sustainable choices in its operations. But looking at the menu, all you see are dishes that would be great to impress a date, who should already be swooning that you brought them to such a beautiful place.
The meal should make them swoon further. There are dishes like the crispy salmon skin chicharron hand rolls, which are fun to eat. And the grilled Spanish octopus, whose curly-cue spiral on the plate makes you ponder Fibonacci, while the white bean hummus, crispy potatoes and preserved lemon chimichurri makes you think “Where has this combination of flavors and textures been all my life?”
And is there a more perfect dish to share with your loved one than the steamed PEI mussels? It’s served in a Thai green curry so bold and creamy you almost wish you had the option of ordering plain white rice instead of the fries that make it a Belgian-style moule-frites. Heck, you’d settle for crusty bread to sop up every precious drop.
When you want to splurge on the best sushi
Sushi Noguchi
18507 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, (714) 777-6789
sushinoguchi.com
If you want the best sushi for your money, Hiro Noguchi’s omakase is hard to top. When you sit in front of the master, he will acquaint you with fish species you’ve never heard of. One night it will be Japanese icefish. Another night, needle fish with its pointy nose as proof. For sure, you will experience how luscious premium ootoro feels on the tongue. But Noguchi’s greatest masterpiece is the sashimi plate that he will sculpt, decorate and tweeze to a state that can’t be just called food — it’s a work of art.
Hiro’s Omakase, as it is called, can be considered a splurge at between $100 to $160 per person, but it’s still far from the most expensive in Orange County when you consider Nobu in Newport Beach charges $200 and Ootoro in Irvine quotes a per person toll between $300 to $500. But there may be no better argument that Noguchi is more than fairly priced than its offering of a $70 per person prix-fixe meal called Jun’s Omakase
It’s named after Hiro’s lovely wife and doting hostess, Jun, and it’s a balanced five-to-six course dinner which can start with a seared albacore salad, then a carpaccio of the day. Next will be a sampler plate with a trio of cooked items; among them may be fish-stuffed shishito tempura, perhaps braised pork belly with hot mustard, or if you’re lucky, crispy-fried shrimp katsu on a stick. After that, expect another raw fish dish to precede a platter with four pieces of nigiri. This might then be followed by a baked blue-crab hand roll so sweet it could double as dessert.
What’s served in the omakase meal varies according to the season. For that reason, you’re almost guaranteed not to get the same dishes described above when you visit. But one thing is certain: Jun’s Omakase shows not only that you don’t have to pay a premium for a quality sushi experience but that a splurge can still feel like a bargain.
When you want a dependable local American seafood chain
King’s Fish House
Multiple locations
www.kingsfishhouse.com/locations
If you haven’t heard of the King’s Seafood Co., you surely have heard of the restaurants they own, particularly Water Grill, which has seven locations in high-profile and high-rent real estate such as downtown L.A., San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and the Forum Shops in Las Vegas.
But with prices that are commensurate, it’s more likely that you’ve actually eaten at King’s Seafood Co.’s more downmarket (and more affordable) sister restaurant chain, King’s Fish House.
King’s Fish House is to the Gap as Water Grill is to Banana Republic. And let’s face it, for most of us these days, when you’re happy with the basics, there’s nothing at Banana Republic you can’t find at the Gap for less.
At its 12 locations, (three in OC), there’s a remarkable reliability in how King’s Fish House cooks its seafood. You can almost set your watch to it. From the delicate yet rich trout amandine to the satisfying and robust cioppino, this chain knows how to handle its fish. The fact that its parent company is a seafood distributor surely helps.
The operational consistency also extends to its front of the house staff, who are always Johnny-on-the-spot whenever you need a refill of their crusty, hot sourdough bread. Combined with the classic, leather-brass-and-brick ambiance, a dinner here always feels just classy enough to woo that potential client or romantic partner without having to drown in Water Grill-induced debt.
When you want ceviche from the culture that invented it
Ceviche 19
1721 W. Katella Ave. G
Anaheim, (714) 215-4030
ceviche19restaurant.com/
Orange County has a healthy share of great Peruvian restaurants that mostly focus on chifa dishes, such as lomo saltado, which has proven to be the gateway drug to a lifelong addiction with Peruvian cuisine. The group behind the Vox Kitchen practically created a restaurant empire by including lomo saltado in its mostly Asian menu. To this day, it’s still one of its most popular dishes.
But what about the ceviche? Peru’s actual national dish? Chances are the last ceviche you had in Orange County was either Mexican or tweaked through the lens of a Japanese sushi chef like Nobu Matsuhisa. Enter ceviche-centric Peruvian restaurants like Ceviche 19, which, yes, does a very serviceable lomo saltado but should actually be patronized for its faithful rendition of its titular dish.
There are seven different variations of ceviche on the menu. Some involve raw white fish, shrimp, squid and fried fish nuggets called chicharron de pescado. All include an acidic leche de tigre, a lime juice-based dressing that lightly “cooks” the raw out of the fish and electrifies the dish. Per tradition, there will be a chunk of sweet potato, cancha (the Peruvian version of CornNuts), and choclo (gigantic kernels of Peruvian corn) for balance and textural contrast.
The ceviches at Ceviche 19 can be a great meal on their own. Yet because of the way they stimulate the palate, you’ll want to explore other seafood entrees here, such as the fish soup that also has a fried egg and cheese called chupe de pescado. And since seafood dishes outnumber the beef and chicken ones, it’ll be easy. And that’s a good thing. The lomo saltado can wait until after Lent.
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