A working Waterman’s
Mark Huhn grills up tacos for Waterman’s popular Taco Tuesday night. Photo
With service to match an ambitious menu, Waterman’s proves itself better than it needs to be
When I say that Waterman’s in Hermosa Beach is better than it needs to be, it sounds like faint praise. It’s not, actually. There are restaurateurs that calculate what the market will accept and stop right there, either from fear of being accused of pretension or from simple greediness. Doing better than you have to is trusting that your customers will notice and appreciate the extra expense and effort.
My first experience here was just after they opened, at which time things hadn’t quite come together. While the staff members were amiable, they seemed frantic even when the restaurant was half-full.
Our most recent visit was quite the opposite. We stopped in while the place was jumping and got the last available table in the far corner of the patio. Our server apologized for the delay in delivering menus when she came by a short time later. We were impressed that she noticed that we had arrived through the crowd, and the only way she could have gotten there faster would have been to climb over tables.
A lazy owner might have written a bar food menu to suit the party vibe of the place, salty snacks to incite thirst and burgers to satisfy the vague idea that life consists of more than tortilla chips, eggrolls, and hot wings. You can get all those snacks here, but we had seen two indications that they were more ambitious – a nicely designed and diverse menu, and the sign that read “Kids eat free on Wednesdays.” The sign was evidence that the place aimed to be more than a hookup house, since scenesters aren’t usually eager to rub elbows with the family crowd. On the evening we were there the only child was a three-year-old in a sleeveless black T-shirt who high-fived everyone who would play the game with him while his dad watched proudly – not the family crowd a la Norman Rockwell, but they seemed to be having a great time.
We ordered a salad and main courses, plus a pomegranate martini and a pint of Drop Top amber ale, and watched the lively nightlife while munching chips and salsa. The chips lived down to the bar stereotype. They were nicely crunchy but incredibly salty, and we had to brush them off before eating. But the salsa was unusually good — multi-dimensionally spicy with a hit of herbs and fresh cilantro rather than the usual flat-tasting stuff.
Salads sounded delectable on the unseasonably hot evening while we were there, and we dithered for a while because there were 11 to choose from. We narrowed it down to an Italian-style tomato salad with basil and mozzarella and the Balian with multiple lettuces, blue cheese, apples, cranberries, and pecans. Our server strongly recommended the Balian, and it was indeed good – a large and prettily arranged mass of greens and apple, composed so you could mix it up yourself or mix and match flavors. No matter how you did it, the cranberries always seemed to migrate to the bottom, but that was fine with us – it saved a little fruity sweetness for last, like dessert. The balsamic vinaigrette was served on the side, as we prefer it, and the tangy sweet-and-sour flavor unified the elements on the plate. A salad with cheese and nuts isn’t big news – everyone does it – but this was done quite well.
For main courses we had ordered a surf and turf and a daily special of baked mahi mahi topped with shrimp. That fish was so good that it deserves a place on the regular menu. The light, tomato-herb sauce was lovely, the helping of giant prawns generous, the fish tender and moist, and along with the brown rice, baby carrots, and asparagus spears, it was a well-balanced and delightful meal.
The surf and turf was only slightly less successful – a filet mignon in tequila-peppercorn sauce topped with a skewer of plump tiger shrimp, with brown rice and seasoned corn on the cob as a side. The tequila-peppercorn sauce was mild but tasty, a relief after some peppercorn sauces served locally that had me picking pepper chunks from between my teeth. I had hoped to try one of the sauces that are usually served with these shrimp as a house special, but our server apologetically informed us that since both the garlic-wine sauce and spicy red sauce are made fresh with each order, they couldn’t give me a taste. This is the best possible excuse for not fulfilling a customer request, and it made me want to come back and try those shrimp.
Waterman's. Photo
The only flaw with either meal was the corn on the cob, which was overcooked and soggy, but based on the high caliber of the rest of our meals we find it likely that this was an anomaly. The serving staff managed to keep waters refilled and took care of us despite the boisterous crowd that whooped or groaned based on the progress of the football game on TV and their own lively conversations.
We were ready to see what was offered for dessert, and slightly surprised to discover that there were none. But than again, when you’re across the plaza from an ice cream shop and creperie and steps away from a frozen yoghurt bar, it makes sense to stick with what you’re best at. Waterman’s does have a niche that they fill elegantly – a fun, lively watering hole with very good food at reasonable prices, steps away from the beach and miles better than most of their competition.
Waterman’s is at 22 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach. Open weekends for breakfast, daily for lunch and dinner. Parking in rear lot not validated, full bar, some vegetarian items. Starters $5-$7, meals $8- $19. Reservations accepted. (310) 372-4462.