Summer is the perfect season to enjoy seafood in the city

Summer calls for light, fresh food to satisfy pescetarian cravings. So it’s a good thing that Los Angeles is having a massive seafood boom. From Marina del Rey to downtown and West Hollywood, some of the city’s most respected chefs and restaurants are focusing on the catch-of-the-day: crustaceans. Hawaiian staple poke is also having its day in the sun.

Luckily, a slew of established seafood specialists will bring some of their best ocean-inspired dishes for dineL.A.’s Restaurant Week beginning July 13. The two-week foodie event offers patrons a selection of specially priced prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus from some of city’s best restaurants.

Chef Jason Neroni (formerly of Superba Snack Bar in Venice) focuses on fresh fish reminiscent of his childhood summers spent in Maine with Catch and Release in Marina del Rey. The creamy haddock chowder, bouillabaisse Provençal, and traditional lobster roll stuffed in a buttery Parker roll are all outstanding. The most unusual dish of the seafood craze – a chowder poutine poured over French fries, is available during happy hour. Brunch features a fried oyster omelet.

Connie & Ted’s led a plethora of seafood openings in the past several years. Helmed by Michael Cimarusti of Providence fame, this casual concept is an ode to his grandparents and East Coast seafood shacks. You won’t want to miss the fish and chips, the lobster roll with warm drawn butter or the “chowda” flight with New England, Manhattan and Rhode Island clear. Next up, Cimarusti will complete a trifecta by opening Cape Seafood & Provisions fish shop on Fairfax.

Dia de Campo in Hermosa Beach offers Mexican food in a surf lodge setting with a heavy seafood focus from ceviches to salmon tostadas and a white shrimp boil from executive chef Tin Vuong – who also brought South Bay foodies his salt and pepper lobster at Little Sister in Manhattan Beach.

If you like a little steak with your seafood, Ocean Prime is a sleek modern eatery opened only a year ago by Cameron Mitchell Restaurants group, bringing some of the freshest sea bass. The sprawling space covers a large patio, long bar and cozy back room with booths. Signature dishes include the seared ahi tuna with roasted marble potatoes and Pacific halibut with lobster gnocchi.

Sherman Oaks neighborhood bar Tipple & Brine focuses on fresh, sustainable top-shelf oysters and classic cocktails. The oyster shooter flights are a new addition. The Red Devil has a heavy splash of vodka, while the Sunset is laced with tequila. After shucking and slurping at the bar, you can grab a table for lobster terrine with smoked corn puree, or the sea bass with duck fat potatoes.

Blue Plate Oysterette is a top spot for great lobster — from traditional rolls to tacos. Even the mac and cheese is laced with the sweet meat of the crustacean. Recently, the kitchen crew added a poke dish with ahi tuna, couscous, mango and orange and white soy, helping satisfy a sudden demand in L.A. for this healthy Hawaiian staple.

At recently revamped industry favorite Hamasaku in West L.A., known for some of the best sushi rolls and omakase in the city, the poke is a Japanese-Californian-Hawaiian fusion. Tuna poke is made with ahi, shiso salsa, Sriracha dressing and taro chips.

At Roy Choi’s Hawaiian themed A-Frame, weekly poke specials take center stage. A favorite always on the menu board is the Korean version (Choi’s L.A. roots were in the Kogi BBQ truck phenomenon). The other top seller is the macadamia nut pesto flavored poke. The concept for this restaurant was inspired by Hawaii and Zippy’s — the aloha spirit, family gatherings, casual eating style and a bowl or two of freshly made poke fits in perfectly with a perpetual Southern California summer lifestyle.

Other great options to satisfy any palate outside of dineL.A. include these Southland newcomers bringing fresh, top-notch choices the city.

Jovial chef Eric Greenspan opened a Coastal Mediterranean seafood place called Maré behind his popular grilled cheese shop on Melrose. The shellfish bowls can be ordered with clams or mussels to go with the buttery noodles. Soft-boiled eggs are brought later to mix into the broth, making a secondary dish that is almost like a ramen.

Andrew Kirschner launched the Santa Monica Yacht Club just down the street from his Tar & Roses small-plates hit, serving a barbecue eel lunch box and sweet-and-sour sardines. On the same road, Bryant Ng’s new place in Santa Monica, Cassia, features a Singapore white pepper crab that is already being hailed as a standout dish, along with offerings from the raw bar.

Downtown in the Grand Central Market, Mark Peel, formerly of Campanile, opened Bombo —an unassuming counter serving bowls of fish stew cooked in kettle pots. Not far away is the shellfish master Christophe Happillon of the Oyster Gourmet shucking his prize bivalves at the seafood bar.

— Carole Dixon, Tribune Content Solutions Writer