2715 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310-399-9939
knuckleandclaw.com
Price: $$
By Michael Aushenker | Contributing Writer · Photos by Rich Schmitt | Staff Photographer
Yes, here we are, back at Santa Monica’s Knuckle & Claw. Why, you may wonder?
Well, the restaurant recently significantly remade its menu, making it worth a revisit.
Now, Nikki Booth and Chloe Dahl, founders of the original Eastside location on Sunset Boulevard in early 2015, have decided that their Santa Monica location needed some upgrading—menu, back patio—and the results are impressive.
Gone, by and large, are the cutesy pun names that dogged the original menu: The Maine Event, Go Shuck Yourself, etc. (However, they do sell Knuckle Sandwiches now.) In is a more earnest kind of fare, such as Fresh Maine Lobster, cooked on a spit grill in the rear of the patio while you wait.
Of course, the famed Lobster Roll remains, yet even this core sandwich has been tweaked a tad with aioli dressing and a few other ingredients. It’s packed inside a buttery bun, fluffy, white lobster meat containing a house-made mayonnaise and lemon butter.
We kicked off our meal in style with a Raw Bar selection: fresh, bulbous and juicy Jumbo Shrimp. The “Raw Bar” section also includes selections such as Dungeness Crab, Oysters, Little Necks and Stone Crab Claws.
The soups continue to be irresistible here. No longer importing them from Splash Café, Knuckle & Claw now makes its own seafood soups from scratch at its downtown LA facility. Included in a comfort food category dubbed “Cups & Bowls,” you can still order rich, delicious soup with depth, such as the terrific Lobster Bisque or Martha’s Clam Chowder. They come with big, savory croutons. (All bread items, including sourdough bread, buns and croutons, are courtesy of Mar Vista-based baker Rockenwagner.)
There are other options, too, such as the yummy, filling Lobster Mac & Cheese. Like everything that comes topped with lobster here, including Lobster Salad—a lively medley of wild arugula, avocado, corn, tomatoes, a lemon vinaigrette and house-made croutons—the chunks of pure, fresh, white lobster meat are generous and hearty. Note: Other versions of this seafood salad include blue crab, Dungeness crab and fresh shrimp, too.
Knuckle & Claw makes its own house-made Potato Chips, which were decent, and Apple Coleslaw, adequately sweet and sour. The most unusual addition may be California Grown Artichoke, which arrives halved, grilled and scrumptious. Just like eating lobster and crab, it takes a bit of work to get to the “meat” of the artichoke’s leaves, but the reward is great.
All lobster and crab are alive when they arrive, so when they grill your order out back, you are getting the freshest crustacean possible. Whether you purchase it by the half or whole, Pacific Northwest Dungeness Crab is gargantuan and its meat succulent. The aforementioned Fresh Maine Lobster is also a must-try. All seafood can be ordered with three types of butter, including a sea salt, lemon butter and a cherry tomato butter option.
And, if you’re feeling really ambitious, tackle the Banquet for Ballers, a greatest-hits package that includes a half Dungeness crab, six little necks, six oysters, four stone crab claws and six jumbo shrimp.
Some of the same drawbacks persist. Parking, of course, is supremely challenging (this being Main Street, after all) and there is no parking lot in back (try the side streets around nearby Hotchkiss Park). There is still no liquor served here (although they are working on fixing that), so for the moment, it’s soda and seltzers. Dessert is still not really a thing here.
However, two areas that have improved dramatically pertain to atmosphere. Instead of a grinding alt-rock, the restaurant had ambient music, lilting softly in the background. (Much better, especially when trying to talk to your dinner companion.)
The patio has been upgraded substantially so that it appears less like someone’s backyard and more like a restaurant space; a sleeker, friendlier and ultimately cleaner-looking and more expansive-feeling area. Also worth mentioning: Hospitality here remains top-notch. Our general manager, Miguel, and our waitress made for terrific hosts.
Let’s face it: Santa Monica is awash in formidable seafood establishments, as Ocean Avenue attests. Yet if you enjoy eating lobster and crab as much as these folks enjoy preparing it—and, importantly, if you want to dine on lobster and crab on a budget—plan ahead, brave the journey to this touristy stretch of Santa Monica, stake out your parking and swing by for dinner.
Knuckle & Claw offers
quality seafood that is inexpensive in a nice, informal setting—well worth the logistical inconveniences.
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