Oyster Loft

Cuisine	Seafood, American (New)
Price	$$$$ (51-100)
Rating	9/10
Last Visit	June 22, 2025
Location	Other: Central Coast

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General Notes

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Possibly the best overall restaurant experience I've had. The view, vibes, and atmosphere are incredible. It's been voted "most romantic restaurant in California" and for good reason. Surprisingly, the food is actually really, really good. Interesting dishes executed to perfection with vibrant flavors. The chef at this place has been running the helm for around 9 years, and apparently he took a decent amount of influences from Japan; you can see the influences in the menu. It's pricey but definitely worth the experience. I would highly recommend booking a reservation here for around sunset time; if you get lucky with the weather the views are incredible. Oh and the service is excellent -- we had three or four different people ask if we wanted a picture together when we ventured onto the patio.

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★★★★ Local Sablefish -- miso glaze, grilled mushrooms, green onions, cauliflower puree, butter dashi broth. The other components are not particularly noteworthy but the sablefish is INCREDIBLE (it's just like your typical miso-marinaded black cod), and the accompaniments are amazing.
• ★★★☆ Pan-Seared Scallops -- grilled corn succotash, fresno chilis, pork belly, potato gratin, sweet corn puree. I like how all the components in the dish have a hint of sweetness, it comes together quite nicely. The succotash in particular is amazing. The pork belly is actually just bacon.
• ★★★☆ Roasted Brussel Sprouts -- cherries, bacon, goat cheese, balsamic port gastrique. The brussels are fried PERFECTLY. The flavor combination is also nice, could use a touch more acidity and a little less hardness on the fry for the bacon but overall amazing.
• ★★★★ Seared Tuna Tataki -- shaved garlic, jalapeno, red onion, garlic ponzu, tempura flakes. Amazing flavor combination, I like the texture contrast from the tempura flakes.
• ★★★★ Oysters -- 6pc grassy bar -- very briny, rich and robust, watermelon flavor. I love the richness, almost creaminess of these oysters; they were my personal favorite. 12pc beau soleil -- bright clean mild brine complimented with slight notes of cucumber from Negauc, New Brunswick, Canada. Also amazing, nice complement, very light.