Herb & Sea

I've went here a few times already and I always had a great time. The food is just affordable and exquisite. The staff is very cooperative and professional. The ambiance is very cool and relaxing.5 stars, for sure.

Very, very good meal. Extremely creative and many items brought out of the box. The pickle and pita appetizer was unreal good. The level of heat was fantastic and everything had really great individual flavor. The smoke tuna donuts were a little weird to think about, but they tasted good. Very light donut with some cheese and the tuna inside. Sauce was good with it. The shrimp appetizer was also very spicy and you had to use the to it down a bit and give it a really nice balance. Both pasta dishes were good although the shrimp on the linguine was cold. My husband said his steak was delicious but also a touch on the cool side. Seabass looked beautiful.Overall a great dinner!!!

I was really impressed with this restaurant. I've been to it, sister restaurant, Herb and Wood in San Diego. this restaurant is more seafood forward than the former but cooks food the way, wood fired. The result is similar. Simply amazing food.The mussels over sourdough bread was probably my favorite part of my meal. Sourdough bread covered in white wine, cream sauce with parsley, capers, and mussels. There is one carryover appetizer from urban Wood that I love, which is the carrots. It's a very reliable go to vegetable that works perfectly for the seafood.I also ordered a pork chop, which while fatty was very flavorful. I also recommend the rum cocktail.Our service here was very good and our waiter took very good care of us and did a good job recommending appetizers and main courses.

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!

Wanted to try this restaurant after eating at their sister restaurant, Herb & Wood. So my expectations for this restaurant were quite high. Everything tasted great, but there was nothing special or stood out to me which was a little disappointing given the price point. Herb & Wood is superior on food, ambiance, and drinks. There is no parking lot so you will need to find street parking which may take some time. I wish the ambiance of the restaurant had a more intimate and a darker feel, especially since it's a dinner only. As it stands the restaurant feels like a brunch spot.I would definitely recommend getting the potatoes, sumac tomatoes, jidori chicken and the goat milk pesto pasta. Those were my favorites. In terms of service, they are great about being interpersonal and friendly. Very knowledgeable about the dishes and always made sure our glasses were full and clean plates for different courses.

My girlfriends took me here for my bday and we ordered a lot! So let me just say we didn't really like where we were seated (same size table on the other side was empty the whole time) because it was close to a corner, where a group of people met up and brushing up on us (that close) and were really loud and at a point where we could barely hear each other. Good thing they only stayed for a short time.We started off with the Baja shrimp, beef carpaccio, mussel toast and oysters and bone marrow for apps. I'm not a raw beef kind girl cut that carpaccio was cut so thin and the way the rest of the dish was done up that made it so good. Could be the carmelized onion dip or maybe the caprese vinaigrette? Either way it went well with the arugula. Baja shrimp and mussel toast had great spices and really good, just the mussel toast became soggy after a while. But of course, it was saucy. The oysters and bone marrow slapped too. For entrees we ordered the Filet, ragu, Plancha branzino, and a pizza I forgot the name of it but I think it had figs. My least favorite was the filet. It sat in a sauce that had an almost bbq flavor that I did not enjoy. The branzino was perfectly cooked and the skin was super crunchy, this was my favorite. The ragu was also good. The pizza was ok but the fig gave it a nice sweet flavor so it was different.Our server was great and patient with us. Also checked up on us when our drinks were low. She was great. I love the fact that she acknowledged my bday and picked a dessert that we didn't order for my "cake", for us to have options. The desserts were so good. The one that looks like an ice cream bar, I don't think it was ice cream but had a salty sweet flavor.

Herb & Sea in Encinitas brings fresh Mediterranean in a fine dining establishment. Located on D. Street blocks away from the beach sits Herb & Sea with an expansive dining room, bar and open kitchen.Here is what the table ordered:Starter - Hoecake & CaviarA sweet panckae like brown butter corn cake, smoked striped sea bass rillette, honey butter. A nice sweet starter with the creamy rillette.Raw Bar - Beef CarpaccioFilet mignon, caramelized onion dip, arugula, pecorino, caprese vinaigrette, breadcrumb. Thinly sliced beef full of flavor mixed with a zesty lemony flavor topped with a generous amount of pecorino. I would order this again.Vegetable - Embered BeetsPistachio butter, date vinaigrette, crispy mediterranean oil. I usually never eat beets but these were tender and seasoned well.Main - Whole Mediterranean Branzino A La Planchacastelvetrano olive, calabrian chili, citrus, fennel. My first time having Branzino and it was wondeful with its chunky meaty white meat. Served in a paella style the citrus and tomato flavors shined and complimented the fish well.Service was excellent as our waiter recommended popular dishes as well as checking up on us frequently.Parking can be found on side street as there is no direct parking lot.Highly recommend Herb & Sea for simple tasty Mediterranean meals filled with zest and flavor.

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

Service, ambiance, and food are all five stars. Hard to achieve! We made a reservation but they were running behind, so we got drinks at the bar. The razzle dazzle was amazing. Since our table was so late, they brought us complimentary glasses of sparkling wine and two appetizers. The shrimp appetizer was delicious, and we loved the focaccia the most. They also have Jordan Chardonnay, which was excellent. I had the barramundi for my entree, and wow. It has a rich and fresh tomato sauce and orzo rice. Cooked perfectly. Definitely impressed with this place and I can see how it has such rave reviews.

SO GOOD AS ALWAYS!!!! My boyfriend have a special place in our heart because we had one of first dates a few years ago here. Go to orders: carrots, beets, crudo, ceviche, shrimp, seasonal pizza, filet or seafood entrees! AND WE MISS THE BUTTERSCOTCH BUDINO (please bring it back ).Most importantly, our server, Miguel was fantastic as usual. We have had the pleasure of having him a handful of times. We are restaurant connoisseurs and we really have had every server under the sun and he surpasses all expectations! He needs a raise ASAP!!!! Thank you Herb & Sea for all the memories.... please never take carrots off the menu or I will cry.