Herb & Sea was absolutely incredible from start to finish the ambiance was lively yet elevated, and the service was attentive and seamless. The red snapper was hands down the best thing we had: perfectly cooked, beautifully seasoned, and bursting with fresh flavor. Every dish was thoughtfully prepared, and we'll definitely be back. read more

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What can I say other than mediocre. I was excited to try the filet steak and it was not what you'd expect - probably because this restaurant isn't a steakhouse- but they charge steakhouse prices at $62 (DON'T SPEND THE $!). Service was paced well but our waitress kept addressing me as "love, babe, etc" which was strange. Very disappointed in their wine menu. I feel like the wine menu is reflective of the quality of the restaurant and unfortunately this menu did not hit the mark. The appetizers were the best part of our dining experience but not worth going back for. read more

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Excellent food, quick and friendly service, great vibe. One of our favorite apps is the roasted oysters with bone marrow. For dinner I recommend the roasted baby carrots and shrimp linguini! Great spot. read more

We spent our Christmas eve at Herb and Sea. It was decked out for the Holidays and we thoroughly enjoyed everything off the 4 course pre-fix menu. It was 89 dollars a person but came with a lot of food (we took a lot home) 1st: Cajun crab legs were a little difficult to eat but very flavorful and the Poke did not taste fishy and was very filling. 2nd: Coconut shrimp was my favorite thing of the night and the Glazed Ribs fell off the bone 3rd: Skirt Steak and the chicken ( a little dry) served with Rolls, Rice, Macaroni Salad and Mushrooms 4th: Key lime Pie read more

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10-27-23 - Made reservations for 6:30p.m. for my parent's anniversary. Just note that when reserving for this restaurant, you need to secure the reservation with a credit card and they have policies about no-shows and being late etc. So keep that in mind. We had a reservation for three but my dad got sick, so since we came in, there was no "no-show" charge for the other person. I like where this restaurant is located. Pretty centralized with a lot of other restaurant places to try and even has a gelato place across to go to for after dinner treat. The restaurant is nicely decorated. Ambiance is pretty nice and have big windows that made it feel very open. They also have an outdoor patio that was pretty nice if it wasn't that cold. I think they have heat lamps out there. Staff is nice and was always going around checking on the customers. Our host was nice enough to provide us with some feedback on the couple dishes we weren't sure about. Now the food - we ordered the following: Appetizers: Spicy Baja Shrimp, Crispy Boardwalk Potatoes and Parker Rolls Entrees: Whole Mediterranean Branzino a la Plancha and Whole Lobster with Bucatini Pasta Spicy Baja Shrimp was perfectly grilled. The yogurt sauce was so good we would've licked the plate if we could. The shrimp was a good size, plump and sweet and perfectly charred. Crispy Boardwalk Potatoes were my favorite. They used small potatoes, and they were perfectly cooked and seasoned. It has a light crisp to it and nice and soft inside. I originally thought we weren't going to finish it but alas! we did. lol Parker Rolls were off of the "secret menu", thank you Yelp! It was pretty nice and had a honey butter on top. The rolls itself was pretty well made too. The tables on each side of us ended up ordering it when they saw it brought to our table. Make sure to try this! Such a nice complement to our meal. Whole Mediterranean Branzino a la Plancha was not fishy at all. It was flaky and very tasty. We learned late into eating the branzino that it had like an olive tapenade in the middle. We were able to still try it with some of the fish but it was good either way. First time trying Branzino and I was not disappointed. Whole Lobster with Bucatini Pasta was a pretty good serving and it was served with the whole lobster split in half. It had some truffle flavor in there and I didn't think it had it. This dish was great. The lobster was juicy and sweet and the claws were already pre-cut for easy access. Overall, the place is great. A little far from where I live but worth the try. It is on the pricey side but the quality of the meal speaks for itself. Great place for special occasions. I attached the receipt to show how much our bill was. read more

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Ambiance is great with low dim lights and great service. The food was okay maybe i didn't get the most popular dishes but the Caesar salad tasted way too fishy and the shrimp pasta was pretty basic and could use a little more flavor. I'll have to give it one more chance but was not impressed especially for the prices read more

Came here with a large group and ordered just about everything on the menu to accommodate all of our dietary restrictions. The chef decided to make us a dish from scratch on the house with some fresh pomegranates he received that day because he realized one of our friends was allergic to nuts and couldn't try everything on the menu. Talk about great service! And the food - AHhhhmazing! read more

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Food service and ambiance were stellar. We were attracted to come into urban see from the fantastic happy hour options. We read about in the San Diego Eater. It did not disappoint. Can't wait to go again. read more

Herb & Sea - Happy Meal (Smashburger, oysters, Fritz, and bubbly)! - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

This was our first time here and I've been wanting to give this place a try for some time. I have tried Malarkey's other restaurants in town but not this one yet. We live in north county so this wasn't too much of a trek. Parking was a bit hectic but so it goes. We got lucky after weaving around the block a few times getting a spot very close to the door. We had made a reservation which judging by how busy it was is highly recommended. A comfortable half booth is where we sat. I like that the tables weren't spaced too close together. Firstly, our waiter was Spencer and he was fantastic. Attentive, great suggestions and prompt. Really fantastic service from him. We kicked things off with a Razzle Dazzle cocktail and my husband had the H&S Old Fashioned. The razzle dazzle was my favorite and my husband even had one as his second drink but requested a Tajin rim which Spencer made happen. Amazing cocktails. Parker house rolls off the 'secret menu' were the first order of business. As an avid Yelper and OpenTable reservation maker I knew these were well loved and I wanted to try them badly. The compound herbaceous butter on top was incredibly. 5/5 Mahi Mahi ceviche was our app with plantain chips 5/5. Delicious, great chip and light and refreshing. Next the spicy baja charred shrimp with Jalapeno yogurt and pickled peppers. Really great. My husband doesn't love charred flavor but I do so I think he would give this a 3.5/5 and I would give it a 5. Shrimps were large and well cooked and the sauce was dynamite. As our shared entree we had the Friday night special of Lobster Bucatini. It had a lemon caper sauce and the whole lobster was split. Spencer said this was one of the best dishes and he wasn't lying. I will be honest and say that I don't know what the f to do with a lobster and a seafood cracker but I gave it the ole college try. The lobster tails had truffle on them. I realized there was a pool of the buttery pasta sauce at the bottom of the plate and we should have mixed things up a little haha. 5/5 here as well. I also knew coming into dinner that bar I needed the Budino dessert in my life. The last time I had a similar dessert was at Kettner Exchange in 2019 and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. This was even better. 6/5. I ordered a single shot of espresso as well and this was the only miss of the night. It was incredibly acidic and felt like someone needed to recalibrate the espresso machine and pull better shots but I'll let it slide because everything else is as top notch. Would definitely come back for another date night. I'm excited to try the ribeye next time at the suggestion of our waiter. 5 star night. read more

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I love that they source seafood meat and produce locally. My husband and I ordered a few plates to share. 1) my favorite seafood dish was Mussel Toast. I don't get impressed by mussel dish easily. Most mussel dish i had before were watery, had strong white wine taste, and mussel meat were too tight. But their mussel toast was phenomenal. Mussel was fresh and tender. Sauce was thicker, flavorful and was not overwhelmed by white wine. Half of the toast were socked in sauce while the other half was kept crispy. 2) The dish that surprised us was sun choke. I had sun choke at fine dining in small portion before, but I didn't remember too much about it. Their sun choke was unforgettable. I will go back for this dish. The texture was great. The taste combination of quite a few other ingredients were harmonious. No words can describe it. You just have to try it yourself. Sun choke has its unique flavor. It may not be for everyone. But I love uncommon ingredients. They make dining experience interesting. Please keep this dish on menu. 3) We were also impressed by Hoecake & Caviar. I would never imagine the combination of corn bread and caviar. They nailed it. They brought cornbread to a whole different level. Corn bread itself was tasty and had a great texture. Brown butter brought a touch of sweetness to cornbread. But not overwhelming. A hint of saltiness from caviar brightened the whole dish. 4) we also ordered halibut crudo, Ceviche, Spicy Baja Shrimp and scallops. They were all fresh and had great taste. 5) For dessert, we ordered Ricotta Olive Oil Cake and date cake. Both were delicious. But date cake was a little bit too sweet to my taste. Originally we wanted to try their Sunday local fish tasting menu. But dishes on their dinner menu caught our eyes. We were glad that we got to try so many awesome dishes. We are still interested in Sunday local fish tasting menu. Next time! I like that they change their menu frequently based on the availability of the local source. It will keep us going and never getting us bored. Last but not the least, our server was wonderful! We didn't order in a traditional way. We ordered three dishes from raw bar, three from appetizers, one vegetable. He arranged our order very well. He provided clean silverware ahead of time and kept table clean the whole time. Thank you! read more

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HAPPY MEAL. No further comment. One of my all time favorite places to eat in San Diego! The drinks are also incredible read more

Herb & Sea - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Excellent food and service. I feel that the service is pretty close to some Michelin rated restaurants i have had the pleasure of attended... with a personal touch. The food is always excellent here and consistently so. read more

Herb & Sea - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Good food and fab vibe...perfect place for a cocktail or a social occasion meal. The festive ambiance is exceptional.

Meh, for the price it is totally not worth it. Went on a Saturday, my wife had the swordfish, it was ok. I had the peri peri chicken, it was good (not $38 good though). The service was pretty bad. We ordered cocktails and an appetizer. The cocktails came out with the main dish. The server told us "the bar was backed up" (that should not a problem at this price point). I had ordered wine for my entree, that too came out as I was halfway finished, even though I reminded the server. When our entrees were served we had no utensils, it's always nice looking at food without being able to eat it. It's crowded and the tables are too small for more than a drink and one plate. Not worth $200+ for 2 people. read more

Went for the pre fix menu for NYE and..... was very disappointed - we are huge fans of this plans and come all the time but tonite of all nights it was a disaster - food was like a 2 star banquet on a cruise ... all courses came and went super fast - cold, and bland and like everything was sitting there in the kitchen for a while .... Not what you would expect from this place - we weren't done with wine and just got desert when we got the check - the whole experience was bad except for the service - always friendly of course and beautiful place - like I said we are huge fans and go at least once a month but.::: tonight was just an awful expensive :( felt like a diner the entire time ... read more

We drove an hour to try out a Brian Malarkey restaurant. What a disappointment. The only item that saved the evening was the chocolate mousse pie. That was excellent. We got there on Wednesday when it opened. Maybe that was a mistake going mid week and being one of the first diners there. The ambience was great. The server was excellent. This isn't a seafood restaurant as I thought it was. The old fashion drink came "out of a spigot" according to the server when asked how it was made which he didn't know for $17. It came in a beat-up looking glass. My husband said it wasn't that good but the ice cube that was huge and clear was nice looking in the glass. The pork was way overcooked and didn't resemble a piece of pork. We had to send it back. We normally do not ever send back food, but we had to this time. They did it right the second time and the meat looked totally different the second time around. The margarita pizza as so sad looking. Soggy. I've had better frozen pizza that this pizza. Not worth $23 for the quality. It is the worse pizza I've ever had in a restaurant. It belongs on a kid's menu. The carrots were cooked on the top of the plate but rawer on the bottom of the plate. The meal terrible meal experience is not the server's fault. The kitchen was not managed. Nothing else but that. They fell short and totally missed the mark with our meal. We rarely send food back, but the pork was pretty bad. That just ruins an evening out for dinner. Not what I would have expected from a Malarkey restaurant. I would not go back again. read more

Herb & Sea is a beautiful spot in a great location, and the food and drinks generally taste good. But every time I go, I walk away a bit disappointed. For me, the value just doesn't quite match the price. It's very easy for the bill to hit $100+ per person, and at that level I expect a little more. Everything is à la carte, and for the price point I'd expect at least some sides included. The ambiance could also use some attention. The lighting is extremely dim -- maybe intentionally -- but it feels more like half the bulbs are missing or just aren't working. Hard to tell, but it makes the space feel darker than it should. My wife is gluten-free, and options were surprisingly limited for a restaurant at this level. Most comparable places offer simple swaps (like GF pasta), and it would help if GF items were clearly marked on the menu. Overall, it's a good restaurant, but for the price and reputation, it falls a little short. I want to love it, but it hasn't quite hit the mark for us yet. read more

my friend told me about their happy hour deal and although this place was a 40 min drive for me, it was totally worth it! they offer happy hour at the bar from 5-6pm and it was packed! the happy meal comes with a smash burger, 3 oysters, fries, and a glass of bubbly, all for just $20! the smash burger was delicious, perfectly crispy and seasoned. the fries were so crispy and salted, and the oysters were so fresh! love the little squeeze bottle of hot sauce they give you on the side. note to management, make sure the bottles are actually refilled before you give them out. 2 of the 5 bottles we received were basically empty. my only small gripe is that you can't customize the burger. my friend and I asked for our burgers without onions or mustard respectively and our waiter said that wouldn't be possible bc those are both mixed into the burger dressing. understandable bc it was still delicious but they also didn't list that it included pickles on top of the cheese - and if I had known that, I 100% would have removed it. instead I was scraping out the pickles before I could eat. definitely make reservations bc they fill up for HH fast! read more

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Stellar meal - beautiful restaurant, great service, and awesome dishes all around. Portions were great for sharing and our courses were paced perfectly. Mussel toast was one of the best bites I've had all year. read more

Sadly one of the best things on the menu, the ceviche has been reimagined to something not as good, pretty fishy.

Parking: plenty of free parking around the area and in the neighborhoods. If you're lucky, you can park on the Main Street but you do have to pay for it Food: from starting off with the Hawaiian pizza and oysters as appetizers, I was very pleased. We did have one bad oyster to which the server was nice to give us another one to make up for it. When the main course of the rib eye with sides of Brussels sprouts and baby carrots along with salad came out, my family and I were impressed by how delicious everything was. Our favorite sides was the Brussels sprouts and the endive salad! So I highly suggest others to order as well Overall, I would dine at this restaurant again whether it's for a date or family dinner. Reservations are easy to be made and the servers/host are nice! read more

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Nothing but fabulous things to say about this amazing restaurant. Chef Aidan has gone above and beyond with this menu. Still dreaming of the beef carpaccio and the delicious chocolate dessert (not pictured -- devoured too quickly). Perfect laidback atmosphere combined with knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend making the drive up to Encinitas for this delicious experience. read more

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Surprisingly mediocre ... no real welcoming vibe .... Just arrived in town & had Sat night reservations for a bday celebration ... was truly looking forward to trying Herb & Sea as their sister restaurant, Herb & Wood, was extraordinary! Arrived at Herb & Sea a bit early & had to stand around despite the table that we were eventually seated at being empty from the time we walked in. At the reco of the distracted & disinterested hostess who suggested we wait at the bar, we headed over there & snagged seats only to be told that there was a line for said seats despite the hostess just saying seating at the bar was first come first serve ... hmmm - not the greatest first imptession. Once we were seated at table, the waiter was fine & tried to be helpful. The highlight of the meal was the mussel toast appetizer - great flavors & decent presentation. Unfortunately the restaurant had already run out of the blue fin tuna that the waiter had strongly recommended by 8:30 pm on a Saturday night ... too bad. The yellow fin that was subsequently ordered instead was good & nicely plated. The sea bass, however, was unusually seasoned, sat in a sea of rice doused in some sort of unflavorful sauce & was mediocre at best which is a hard thing to achieve when serving such a wonderful fish - not at all the level expected . Despite the waiter knowing a birthday was being celebrated, no complimentary dessert or champagne was offered. Nada ... again quite surprising ... perhaps he forgot ... Overall, a somewhat flat experience with less than stellar food & service ... definitely did not live up to expectations read more

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I had been wanting to try this place for a while now and it did not disappoint. The wait staff were friendly and knowledgeable and the service was great. Good - The mussel toast appetizer was phenomenal. Thick grilled house made sourdough smothered in a creamy caper sauce with rich mussels. One of the best appetizers I've ever had. - Carpaccio was solid. - Fresh fish from local farms. Mid - A La carte sides lacked variety. - Filet was overly seasoned, taking away from the natural flavor of the cut but this is just personal preference. read more

There's a reason this place doesn't even have 4 stars, the food is just not good, period. Oh, and way overpriced, ambience is meh and incredibly loud. Service was decent. We tried a bunch of dishes: Pita, pickles & hummus- 2/10- pita was literally raw Beef Carpaccio- 9/10- only great dish here Mussel toast- 5/10 soggy and mussels just roll all over the place Oysters- 2/10 ZERO flavor, weird, tasted like nothing, and we got a dozen on 2 different kinds Potatoes- 3/10 no salt, dry, and not hot or crispy Pizza- 2/10 absolute train wreck, cheese was a weird texture, hot honey was overpowering Baja shrimp- 5/10 meh. Small and boring, also unseasoned Filet- 5/10 zero sear or grill marks, bland, like everything else, overpriced for what you get. Ragu- 5/10 pasta underdone Drinks were decent but took forever, and the place is so loud you can hardly hear the person seated next to you. Way too many great places around to bother dining here. About $130 per person, never again read more

Great happy hour Oysters and burgers were delicious Will be back next time in town read more

went to for my husband's birthday last Friday night. It couldn't have been more fabulous. The food was amazing. We bone marrow. We loved the shrimp and the muscle toast is are very favorite. Everything was delicious. The drinks were fabulous. The waitress was wonderful. I can't say enough good things. Good job urban sea read more

My husband and I have been to Herb and Sea quite a few times, and always enjoyed it. Our last visit, on 3/7, was the exception to the rule. We showed up early for happy hour, and were near the front of the line. When we got in and tried to sit at the bar, we were told that the seats were reserved. We went to two other seats, and were told they were reserved too. A total of 5 bar seats were reserved. We then saw that a table of folks in the bar area had two seats open at the end. We asked our waiter if we could sit there. And were sternly told no, that was a reserved table. 3 minutes later two people approached them and asked if they could join that table, and were told yes. We ended up at the oyster bar, with another similarly annoyed couple, and there were only two seats, so the husbands had to stand. We asked how we could reserve bar seats in the future, and were told that bar seats cannot be reserved. If you're going to reserve a large portion of the bar, against your own rules, the least you could do is make sure that the folks in the front of the line are the ones who get seats. At a minimum, we should have received an apology and a comped drink. But nobody cared. read more

Great food, service in a nice ambiance. Had a great time. We all had different entrees and enjoyed everything. read more

This place had the vibe I absolutely adore! The lighting and table setting was great & the changing menu was a great experience! I absolutely loved the potatoes & the dessert. Service was great even for a big group. read more

Herb & Sea - Butterscotch Budino - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

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Came here for anniversary dinner, what a disappointment! Cocktail was good and was the only reason this place got 2 starts. Fish was undercooked, shrimp was over done, sauce was over seasoned, so salty almost borderline inedible. As a seafood restaurant, they should be ashamed. Crossed off the list, never coming back again. read more

Ambiance was beautiful!! We sat outside and the patio had luscious plants and ample heaters. Nicole was our server and she was incredibly friendly and thoughtful. We ordered carrot hummus, spicy margarita, kids pasta with roasted carrots, and blue fin tuna. Everything was flavored perfectly! Would definitely recommend and return. read more

Herb & Sea - Guavamente Bessame spicy margarita - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Great service, food and ambiance . From the appetizing starters to the mouthwatering main courses and the irresistible desserts, this culinary experience was a symphony of flavors that left me thoroughly impressed. The skilled craftsmanship of the chef and the attention to detail in each of our dishes were evident at every bite. I wholeheartedly recommend this dining experience to all food enthusiasts seeking a remarkable journey through the realm of taste. Bon appétit! Our order: Drink : Prosecco and non alcoholic beverage made with tumeric ( OML refreshing ) ! Appetizer : Hoecake, oysters and bone marrow Main dish : baked potatoes and fresh catch of the day ( absolutely delicious fish - large serving perfect for two) Dessert: forgot name ; it was a lemon flavor type of dessert :) loved it and wish it had more lemon tart drops - I would request extra lemon tart drips and make sure to spread toppings evenly and enjoy . * oysters and bone marrow was my favorite from the two appetizers ordered. I highly recommend you order the fresh catch of the day for main coarse and potatoes !! read more

Herb & Sea - Lemon type of dessert : delicious , just ask for extra lemon drops- thank me later :) spread toppings evenly and enjoy . - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Fabulous cocktails- get the charred pineapple tequila drink. Wonderful veggie dishes - especially the blistered peas. Don't forget the butterscotch dessert. Excellent service. Great vibe. read more

Great place for delicious food, fast service and great location. Parking maybe difficult but it is well worth it. read more

Herb & Sea - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Pricey, but had such a wonderful time, we're already looking forward to coming back! Would highly recommend.

I love Herb & Wood and was excited to try Herb & Sea. We came on Valentine's Day, which had a prix fixe menu. Despite being a holiday, tables were turning fast and we didn't have to wait too long to be seated. We had a 7:45 res and were seated by 7:55. Our server Tosh was great! There were 5 courses. The first was Parker house rolls with a honey herb butter. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th courses gave you the option of 3 items. The 5th and final dessert course gave you the option of 2 items. I opted for the kanpachi crudo, prawns, salmon, and citrus tart. My wife opted for the kale salad, prawns, mushroom risotto, and chocolate lava cake. Parker house rolls - 4/5. Wish they were warmer and the herb butter needed salt. Kanpachi - 3/5. Tasty, but could have used some more texture and salt. Kale salad - 4/5. (Not pictured) Prawns - 1/5. My prawns were lukewarm warm and over cooked. My wife's prawns were also like warm and under cooked. Just way too inconsistent. The sauce was good though. Salmon - 4/5. Really enjoyed it. Wish the skin was a little crispier. Mushroom risotto- 3/5. Liked the flavor, was too way too thick. Some of the crispy mushrooms on top were bitter (burnt) (not pictured) Chocolate lava cake - 3/5. Not warm. Still cold. Cake was dry on the edges. (Not pictured) Citrus tart - 3/5. Very very sweet. Overall not amazing or terrible. I'd like to come back and try the full menu on a less busy night. read more

Herb & Sea - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Every dish was amazing we tried a little bit of everything. Ceviche was tasty. Brussel sprouts were delicious. The inside was a little loud and busy. We sat outside everything was amazing including customer service. The mushroom pizza was to die for. The branzino was delicious. I can't wait to wait to go back. I can't stop thinking about there tasty pizza!! read more

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We made a reservation a few weeks in advance and that was the right move. This place gets packed! We each got the $20 happy meal, it includes a burger, oysters, fries and a glass of bubbly. The burger was really goo read more

Herb & Sea - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

I highly recommend this place. I got the sea bass, the ceviche, the mussel & bone marrow plus a bunch of other stuff and everything was phenomenal. I really have no complaints at all. Our waiter was so chill and nice too. The ambiance was just right. The music wasn't too loud, it smelt nice/neutral and everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. It was my birthday so they gave me a banana pudding type ice cream on the house with a little candle, so that was very cool of them. Overall a wonderful experience and I will dine here again in the future. read more