I have never been to music festivals at Coachella or Woodstock but have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the atmosphere – crowds, heat, very loud music, and a freewheeling party atmosphere that starts early and goes late. I’ve been to events called “the Woodstock of tech conferences,” and though the hyperbole was over the top, you know exactly what they were trying to evoke.
The South Bay’s Beachlife Festival started in 2019 and is a youngster compared to those mythic events, but it has an identity of its own – think Woodstock or Coachella, but with valet parking, no desert dust or meadow mud, and luxury hotels within walking distance. They also offer dining and drinks that are far above the food truck and plastic cups of beer that are standard at concerts.
At the Beachlife Festival, the man behind the stoves has been Chef Jacob Ramos. His creations for that event were sufficiently popular that the organizers of the festival decided he should have a year-round place to show off his skills. They took a former liquor store in the Redondo Beach Riviera Village, and turned it into Beachlife Grotto, a seafood-focused restaurant.
When I visited the restaurant for the first time, I expected it to celebrate the festival – pictures of the music legends on the walls and the sound system playing recordings of the shows on an endless loop. Instead, the soundtrack was low and chill, and the walls are adorned with nautical paintings, photos, and memorabilia. Rope sculptures on the walls suggest a ship’s rigging without going into kitsch territory. It suggests the living room of someone with good taste who likes boating.
The menu is heavy on seafood, though there are choices for those who prefer to dine on things that grow above the waterline. There is no distinction on the list between small plates and entrees – your server has to tell you that the corn agnolotti is a bowl with five small raviolis, while the mushroom chitarra pasta is a main course. The wording is terse with some fairly obscure terms used, as is often the case in contemporary restaurants, so you will be relying on your server for guidance. All the staff we interacted with were well informed, so this was not a problem.
In two experiences at Beachlife Grotto we tried six starters: aged sourdough bread, yellowtail Hamachi, a beet and cashew salad, tuna crudo, corn agnolotti, and an item called grotto ricotta in which ricotta cheese wasn’t the dominant item. This is an Indian-style fry bread spread with housemade ricotta cheese, topped with white peaches sauteed in brown butter, peach compote, and honey. The honey seemed unnecessary, adding sweetness and complexity to an item that had plenty of good natural flavors, and I’d like to try this again without it.
The beet and cashew salad with arugula, pecans, pear, fromage blanc, and honey vinegar had a more satisfying balance, the bitter greens and sweet beet a pleasure with the nuts. The fromage blanc was a smear on the plate rather than chunks of cheese and helped with the harmony of other ingredients rather than being a major flavor by itself. I would have liked the nuts in smaller pieces so they could have been distributed more evenly through the salad, but that’s a minor quibble.
I had no reservations about the tuna crudo, or “hamachi yellowtail,” though some people might point out that the last of those three items appears to be the same word in Japanese and English. It is, sort of. Hamachi is a particular variety and grade of yellowtail (sometimes called amberjack, in case you weren’t already confused). In this case the top-grade fish was served simply next to dabs of the green Peruvian hot sauce called leche de tigre and a concoction called burnt allium – onions caramelized until they’re charred to ash, with the ash mixed with oil. This sounds like a kitchen mistake that was turned into a gourmet condiment, and for all I know it might be, but the nutty, smoky, slightly sweet flavor complements the fish nicely.
The tuna crudo was a more subtle item, the tender soy-marinated fish slices on a bed of chopped tuna and whiskey barrel-aged soy sauce, then topped with crisped shallots and small chunks of avocado. It wasn’t entirely within the conventional definition of sushi or Italian crudo, but it was delightful.
Compared to these original and unconventional items, the agnolotti filled with poached rock shrimp in corn sauce with roasted chanterelle mushrooms was almost a shock. It was a conventional dish that any Italian restaurant would serve proudly, and I could have happily eaten a bowl for an entree.
On our second visit we had the sourdough bread at our server’s suggestion, and we would have ordered it on the first visit if we had known how much we’d want it. I hated to watch the bowl with that corn sauce being cleared, because I’d have liked to mop up every bit of it. It’s very good bread by itself, slathered with herb butter before being briefly broiled, and served with good butter and an oil and vinegar mix.
On both visits we tried cocktails with the starters and a glass of wine with dinner. Both were well calibrated to the experience. The bar and cellar are well but not extravagantly stocked, so don’t come here expecting 30 scotches and nine exotic mezcals. They have a good selection and know how to craft very good drinks with it. They have two mai tais, the alcohol-forward storyteller and the more fruity Aloha. We ordered both to enjoy the comparison. The wine list is similarly not long but is well curated, and the staff knows their pairings.
After dithering among the seafood entrees, we chose Thai snapper, Peruvian scallops, and branzino with chimichurri, sundried tomato, and candied fig. The branzino was the best item of both meals, the perfectly grilled fish slathered with chimichurri and topped with artfully arranged fig and sundried tomato pieces, served over an heirloom barley called Job’s tears. That gluten-free grain has a pleasant chew and delicate nutty flavor, and now that I’ve tried it, I want to play with it in my kitchen. It’s one of several elements that make this complex item a success.
The scallops showed Chef Ramos knows when to let a fine ingredient speak for itself, because you can’t improve a perfectly seared scallop. You can put something alongside it that complements the buttery, oily flavor, in this case sweet potato topped with an unusually spicy Peruvian green chile sauce. I loved this, but my dining companions found it a bit challenging, so if someone at the table is a spice wimp, ask for this on the side. It was on the small side as an entrée, but well worth ordering to share when someone else gets a more substantial item.
That might be the Thai snapper, a large whole fish that is fried and served with jasmine rice, Thai greens, and a mango-papaya salad. The fish itself is not in a spicy sauce, but the mango salad has pleasurable peppery undertones along with the fruity kick.
To sample some non-fishy delights, we also had the forest mushroom chitarra, filet mignon, and the brick-flattened chicken. The chitarra, a large diameter spaghetti, had a nicely intense mushroom, shallot, white wine, and garlic butter sauce with a bit of good Parmesan. It was again, a case of the chef showing respect for an Italian classic and executing it perfectly. The brick chicken was more multicultural, the bird itself perfectly juicy with the crisp skin you get from cooking under a hot brick, but with Peruvian-style potatoes and mustard frill greens in a garlic and chile sauce. The portion is substantial, and if two people ordered several appetizers and split this, it would be a fine meal.
The other non-seafood item we tried was the filet mignon, which arrived with roasted cippolini onion and forest mushrooms alongside mashed potatoes blended with mild aligot cheese. The steak was very tender but slightly over-salted for my palate, and my favorite part was the roasted mushrooms and onions. This didn’t approach the culinary fireworks on the other plates and felt like a dish the chef put on the menu for the one person in a party who wants simple American food. It is that, and they’ll enjoy it while their more adventurous dining companions explore more original ideas.
There are only three desserts: a mud pie with candied fig, Peruvian doughnuts with stewed peaches, and a vanilla and chamomile cake. The mud pie was the flavors of an oreo cookie glamourized with a bit of the roasted fig sauce – not quite enough of that sauce for me, because it was my favorite part. The Peruvian sweet potato flour doughnuts were more successful, the dough heavier than standard flour but the flavor more interesting, and a nice pairing with the stewed peaches. The hit of the deserts was, surprisingly, the cake, with delicate herbal and vanilla flavors bursting out as soon as you cut into it. The chocolate lace topping is a pretty garnish that adds a little flavor and crunch, and it’s completely successful.
When the restaurant manager, Matt Stumacher, came by our table on one of his trips through the dining room, I mentioned I had never attended the festival that was the catalyst for this restaurant. I was surprised when he responded that he hadn’t either – he’s new to the area and was hired only a few months before the opening.
Whether it’s the tie-in with the festival or the vibe of the place, the clientele here is younger than is typical for a high-end restaurant in this area. You should expect to pay about $100 and change per person, more if you get fancy with the wines, about typical for a high style restaurant near the beach. Beachlife Grotto is an interesting addition to the South Bay dining scene, with a chef who makes some daring culinary choices that pay off more often than not.
Beachlife Grotto is at 1711 S. Catalina Avenue in Redondo. Open Wed. — Sun., 4 to 10 p.m. Small parking lot or street parking. Full bar, corkage $30. Some vegan items. Indoor and outdoor dining. Rooftop patio. Noise level moderate, wheelchair access good. (310) 373-1200. BeachLifeGrotto.com. ER
