A 1920s art deco building steps from Moonlight Beach, reimagined as the coast's most complete seafood restaurant.
Herb & Sea is what happens when a serious chef decides that Encinitas deserves a proper seafood restaurant. Chef Brian Malarkey — known for his flagship Herb & Wood in San Diego's Little Italy — brought his East Coast-meets-California culinary sensibility north along the coast and installed it in one of the town's most architecturally significant buildings: a 1920s art deco structure at 131 W D Street, a short walk from Moonlight Beach, restored to something approaching its original grandeur.
The formula is consistent with what Malarkey has proven elsewhere: an extensive raw bar as the opening statement, locally sourced fish prepared with restraint, wood-fired cooking for warmth and char, and a supporting cast of pastas, roasted vegetables, and wood-fired pizzas that expand the menu's reach without diluting its focus. Day-to-day execution is overseen by chef Aidan Owens, whose kitchen demonstrates the sustained quality that Malarkey's broader restaurant group requires of its satellite operations.
The raw bar is the defining feature at Herb & Sea — the Baja Shrimp Cocktail, fish crudos, and mussel toast have all attracted consistent praise from reviewers. Signature entrees include the Wood Grilled Una Salmon, which benefits directly from the kitchen's fire-cooking approach, and the roasted half chicken that serves as a reminder the restaurant is not exclusively a seafood operation. The wine list is genuinely well-considered, with an expert sommelier presence on busy evenings to guide selections through what is a more-than-adequate cellar.
The building enhances everything. The art deco bones — restored rather than reinvented — give Herb & Sea a solidity that newer restaurants in Encinitas are still working toward. The interior is intimate without being cramped, the lighting doing the work that design ought to do: making the room feel like an event without the artifice of trying too hard. The bar seats are a particular asset — easier to secure than interior tables, and often a better way to experience the kitchen's output.
There is a specific quality that makes a restaurant work for a first date, and Herb & Sea has most of it. The building provides an immediate conversation point — historic, slightly theatrical, clearly chosen rather than settled for. The raw bar creates a natural structure for a meal: sharing, sampling, deciding together, which is a more intimate dynamic than two separate plates arriving at a table. The proximity to Moonlight Beach means that a walk before or after dinner is an option that requires no planning, only willingness.
For those taking clients to dinner in Encinitas for the first time, Herb & Sea also works as the local insider's choice — a table that says you know the town and chose accordingly. For birthday dinners in small groups, the shared format and the depth of the wine list make it a reliable host. The kitchen is consistent enough to be trusted with occasions that matter.
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