FOOD REVIEW: Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Contributing Writer

Photos by RICH SCHMITT | Staff Photographer

Now here is one restaurant I was chomping at the bit to hit.

Over the summer, while dining at Sushi Roku Santa Monica, photographer Rich Schmitt and I caught wind of the new Plan Check opening in Santa Monica this fall.

Well, fall is here, and after a long incubation period going back to July 2015, Santa Monica’s Plan Check (the fourth location) is finally here as well.

I was already familiar with the original Plan Check, which I love. Back in 2012, Terry Heller pulled a pretty ballsy stunt, carving out a quiet corner of Sawtelle/Japantown to plunk down a non-Asian eatery. That first restaurant took off, and now, with a Fairfax District Plan Check (opened in 2013) and downtown LA location (2014) later, we’re finally getting one coast-side.

Soft-opened on Oct. 11, the new Plan Check stands right off the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, and literally next door to Innovative Dining Group’s Sushi Roku/Robata Bar/BOA Steakhouse trifecta. Plan Check Santa Monica is in great company—and also strong enough to hold its own.

Two days after the restaurant opened its doors, we were invited to partake in a number of plates created especially for the seaside location. We started innocuously enough with a Pickle Plate ($3)—cucumber, kombu and dill spicy cucumber with Sriracha sauce and sesame egg in pickle juice with jalapeño. It was a nice starter; the equivalent of a plate of Kosher pickles at the deli or some edamame to nibble on before the real food arrives.

Then came the waves of Santa Monica-inspired dishes.

Perhaps it’s a personal preference, but Plan Check’s seafood items scored the highest with me when not so deep-fried in batter. The Hamachi Crudo ($15) is pitch-perfect, if a bit pricy for just four pieces. Nevertheless, this is sushi-grade yellowfish, expertly accented with apple, cucumber, candied ginger, crispy shallot, radish and a lemongrass serrano ponzu.

One of the most epic orders you can place here is the Seafood Platter (small, $39; large, $75): an excellent smorgasbord of lobster, shrimp, calamari, mussels, clams, a yuzu cocktail and tartar sauce. A standout at the center of this abundance of riches is the Dynamite Crab Dip, which, for $14, can be ordered independently with masago, charred tomato, nori and toast.

Normally, cioppino is a fish stew of Italian-American origin. Here, Plan Check puts a Far East twist on it, presenting the Korean Cioppino ($28), mussels, calamari tossed together with gochujang (a red pepper sauce), soju bomb and kimchi to give it Asian cred. The result is delicious: like a smaller version of their Seafood Platter but saucier and spicier.

If you’re going down the fried path, consider the Nashville Hot Fish Sandwich ($16), with a hearty piece of crispy mahi-mahi at its center—the inside alive with tasty, fluffy white meat and not greasy—plus a kaffir lime slaw, spicy pickles and cayenne.

Also quite winning: the generous pan of Fried Calamari ($13), which packed sweet and spicy chiles, Thai basil, a Sriracha lime cream and garlic. It’s not spicy to a detriment and the quality of this fried calamari is more or less on par with equivalent orders at the better seafood restaurants lining Ocean Avenue.

The lobster items are where the plan doesn’t check out. I wanted to enjoy the Plan Check Lobster Roll + Fries ($24), kewpie mayo, gochujang, shallot, key lime, chive, more than I did, but in the end, I found it just passable. Perhaps the evening’s biggest disappointment was Lobster Pot Pie ($25), a skillet of curried lobster bisque, beets, green beans, corn, carrots and potatoes baked within a golden crust. Simply put: just not enough lobster meat inside once you get past the fancy hood ornament.

On the plus side, there’s the creative Chowder Fries ($12), a hearty pile of French fries blanketed in a housemade clam chowder with steamed little neck clams, celery and juicy, savory chunks of bacon. This epic side order is kind of a twist on poutine with the clam chowder a much more welcome substitute for gravy. Easily a Plan Check guilty pleasure.

Also on the fried side is dessert—Key Lime Pie Donut ($10), which is as sinfully sweet and decadent as it sounds. It’s nice to see that Plan Check is honest enough not to disguise this under the “beignet” designation. Straight-up donut!

At the Sawtelle location, I’ve always enjoyed their craft cocktails, like the Ginger Grant ($12), made up of a pisco brandy, aperol, sake, blood orange and ginger—which they also have here. Two new additions featured for us were winning: El Pomelo Rose ($15), a concoction of Mezcal El Silencio, grapefruit rose liqueur, Campari, agave, lime and egg whites. With its edible decorative miniature bouquet floating on the surface, this drink is bright, colorful and satisfying. For an edgier experience, order the Pimm’Sin Ain’t Easy ($15), a borderline bizarre-tasting libation made of Pimm’s (a fruity English liqueur) and Kin white whiskey, with cucumber, watermelon, radish, lemon agave, and a hint of mint and sea salt.

Keep in mind that the above seafood-centric plates are new to “the Plan” and unique to this Santa Monica locale. The original’s old reliables, including the blue cheese-informed Blueprint Burger ($15) and the sumptuous, Swiss-adorned Pastrami Nosh ($15), are here, too.

So anyone seeking to replicate the original’s plein-air Sawtelle Boulevard experience, only closer to the Pacific (and to the Palisades) won’t be disappointed. When you consider the quality menu, the solid drinks, the excellent hospitality and the sleek, inviting atmosphere, this Plan Check is very definitely worth—to paraphrase the Beastie Boys—ch-ch-ch-ch-checking out!