RESTAURANT REVIEW: Red O

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Pali Life Editor

Once in a while, a restaurant comes along that actually lives up to the hype, as opposed to buckling under the weight of its overrated reputation which diners may shrug off with an apathetic “Meh.”

With our intrepid staff photographer Rich Schmitt, I set off on our latest culinary adventure to Chef Rick Bayless’ third and newest Red O restaurant. I’m pleased to report that this latest installment of the Midwest chef’s Mexican seafood destination not only lives up to the acclaim, it surpasses it. Seriously, a star is born in Santa Monica!

The Ocean Avenue location is in great hands under the direction of its young head cook, Chef Seth Vider, who has no shortage of A-list steakhouses on his resume. Vider used to work at Tucano’s steakhouse in Salt Lake City, opened the Mastro’s in Las Vegas, ran the kitchen at Aria in Sin City and cooked at the Red O locations in West Hollywood (the original) and Newport Beach before lending his magic touch to this new Santa Monica restaurant (opened last month). Modest and genial in person, Chef Vider struck us as a regular Joe who just happened to be helming one of the Westside’s highest-profile new eateries.

Bedazzled by a front-window view of Santa Monica Pier and surrounded by the restaurant’s slick, chic interiors, we watched as our meal launched with an array of astounding appetizers. The Ahi Tuna Tostadita ($8), tasty treats made of sushi-grade yellowfin with avocado, chile cumin oil, Napa cabbage, harissa aioli, pickled red onion and habanero, was followed by Beef Short Rib Sopes ($7), small cups of certified Angus beef short rib, white onion roasted tomato-green chile sauce and queso añejo. Deconstructed Mexican Sweet Corn ($10), with Cotija cheese melted on top, was  also a force to be reckoned with.

Upon first glance, our Grilled Romaine Hearts ($12), essentially Cotija, pepitas, cilantro, pickled onions, heirloom cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic and guajillo dressing, looked attractive but not especially compelling. However, after one bite, we were hooked on the tastiness of this starter, and this unorthodox salad disappeared as quickly as it had materialized. (We did not add any meat to this warm-up, but for another $6, you can add your choice of grilled steak, chicken breast or Jumbo shrimp.) Other salads include Red O Caesar Salad and Organic Baby Kale Salad.

Also from the Salads & Soup section: Tortilla Soup ($11)—sautéed onions, shredded chicken, avocado, tortilla strips, Monterey Jack cheese, crema all under a Pasilla tomato broth which the waiter actually pours into your bowl before your eyes—actually tasted a lot like a French onion soup (and that’s not a bad thing…).

Amazingly, even the salsas accompanying our opening basket of tortilla chips—the green tomatillo sauce, the habanero garlic sauce and especially the three chilies salsa—tasted fresh and un-cliché.

If the appetizers alone had been our entire meal, we would have been quite sated. However, that was just the beginning…

Out came a succession of brilliantly executed entrées. The Corvina Sea Bass en Caldo Verde ($36) was definitely tasty – picture a square of grilled wild Corvina, yellow corn purée, heirloom black beans, cilantro caldo, shaved vegetable escabeche. However, the rock star of this meal was for sure the 18-oz. Prime Cowboy Ribeye ($49), grilled prime bone-in steak cooked to medium-well perfection topped with crema and spicy adobo butter sauce with fried sweet plantain and traditional black beans riding shotgun. (A half Maine Lobster Tail can be added to this already complete-tasting dish.)

Libations-wise: plenty of highlights! The best beverages included the pure, strained-through-cheese cloth Alcaran Margarita ($15), alive with Sauza Hornitos Reposado, VeeV Açaí Spirit, JDK & Sons O3 Orange, house-made limonada and serrano chile syrup, served over ice in a Tajín-rimmed goblet.

Providing a certain share of Southern comfort is the Southern Sun ($13), a summery maelstrom of Leblon Cachaça, fresh raspberry, lemon and mint, Yellow Chartreuse and simple syrup, all served over ice.

By far, my favorite was the Coco-Jito ($12), a brazen concoction Cruzan Coconut Rum hybrid-ing fresh mint and lime, simple syrup, and splash of soda water served tall over ice. (I’m a sucker for mojitos and even though coconut is not my favorite fruit, this beverage was sublime.)

To recap, eating at Red O Santa Monica is like listening to The White Album: not one false note all evening. About the only criticisms one might level at this latest location are petty ones: the joint can get loud (even on a Thursday night when the place is packed) and parking on that prime tourist strip can be trying. However, we enjoyed the restaurant’s Parisian brasserie-level high energy and Red O does offer valet parking. There are also neighboring parking structures all over downtown Santa Monica and, frankly, it’s not a bad idea to stroll through the Promenade before and (especially) after dinner.

The Red O dynasty is rapidly expanding, with new restaurants opening in La Jolla in summer 2016 and in the Brickell community of Miami in 2017. While I have experienced the West Hollywood location (at the same address that was once home to the beloved, long-running French favorite, the Moustache Cafe), the Ocean Avenue location benefits from more square footage and that never-stale view of the Pacific.

Both writer and photographer agree: Red O is possibly the best restaurant we have experienced all year.