Sea Rocket Bistro

Sorry that the time I visit is the last month this place will be open.
I wish I had tried my best to visit more. Some of my friends had recommended them previously.
But sometimes you value the ones you lost sooner than you think.
Good Luck on your new endeavors and check them out before they close …

San Diego Sea Urchin is really fresh and good…
Sardine was hard to eat, there was so many little bones…
I was hoping that they still serve Sea Urchin Bisque, but they didn’t have that on menu anymore.

I had a deal to use and a good friend to use it with. The place was pretty dead on this particular night, and I’m ok with that. I remember being pretty hungry so I needed food fast.
Very cool water pitcher, delicious garlic honey butter and crusty bread, the burger was damn good-​pepperoncini aioli and bacon jam.
Very good burger. I couldn’t believe when they said no French fries! No fryer!!! I forgave them quickly and ordered fingerling potatoes in their place. They didn’t disappoint, but you still miss that French fry feeling, you know?
Our server was cool and attentive so everything was all good.
Try the burger.
Anywhoooo…I will be back to try something else, considering it’s a seafood joint, maybe I’ll try the fish. ;))

Of all places I expected to find an impressive burger it was not a well known seafood joint let me start by saying that. I had been urged by many co-​workers for several weeks to try this place out for months once they knew of my love of classic, well made, delicious and simple yet unique burgers. So when I saw the Citybeat Perks discount come out I grabbed it and made plans to come in and sample what had been said to be «the real deal» on burgers.
I came in about 730 on a Thursday night and found the place steady but not real busy. Its smaller inside with two primary dining areas and the bar. I took a seat at the bar and ordered up. I got the market fish burger ($ 14) and the grass fed burger ($ 14). Both served with marinated tomato slices, bib lettuce and pickles. Also comes with a truly awesome smoked tomato aioli which I loved on both burgers! Each was served on my #1 choice for burger buns… the pretzel bun!
In about 10 minutes from the time I ordered I had 2 amazing looking and profound smelling burgers in front of me with sides of mixed green salad (see images). The hardest part of the meal was choosing which one to attack first. I opted for fish first and dove right in. Outcome = amazing! Grilled fish fillet well seasoned, flaky and juicy, tender to the bite and a perfect blend with the aoli sauce and bun. After inhaling burger 1, I went for burger 2 and in repeat fashion took it down no problem as every bite was as good or better then the last one.
This was a culinary marriage of sea and land if I ever seen it… right between pretzel buns where it aught to be!
The two gals that were holding the place down this particular evening were awesome! Friendly, kind, prompt with serving me, answering my questions and just keeping small talk. Made me feel very welcome to be their on my debut visit.
I have had many a burger since my move to SD 6 months ago and these 2 have quickly made their way near the top of my list. I suggest anyone stop in and try these two for sure. BWT… Monday nights they have $ 10 grass fed burger specials… with bacon jam! Enough said right there!

Sea Rocket serves fresh, seasonal, local ingredients and provides a unique twist to each dish that they serve. I recommend going to this place either with people who are open to different dishes and ingredients or when dining by yourself.
THIRST QUENCHER
Although I’m a wine drinker, I find myself ordering the 4-​beer tasting flight when at Sea Rocket. On days that I do stick to wine, I have been pretty impressed with their reds (including their happy hour red) as all are pretty decent. I had the Stepping Stone Red Blend during my last visit.
DISHES
As I tend to dine alone at Sea Rocket, I can only limit my recommendations to appetizers.
Prior to ordering, make sure to look at the board for their specials or ask any of the friendly staff to describe them for you. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to try some very delicious cod liver. The texture brought me back to the days when foie gras was being served in San Diego.
One cannot go to Sea Rocket and not have their Live Point Loma Sea Urchin. It would be like going to Paris and not having a croissant. They serve the sea urchin with a little bit of lavender sea salt and lemon. I am confident that it is the best sea urchin dish in all of San Diego! Be forewarned that the sea urchin will continue to move as you eat its meat.
Other must haves are the Blistered Peppers, the Grilled San Diego Sardines and raw Oysters. TIP: For oyster lovers, Tuesday night is the night to dine at Sea Rocket. They have $ 1 oysters all night long.
Should you happen to go between 5PM and 7PM with the exception of Tuesday, try their happy hour $ 2 street tacos. You can never go wrong with their grilled sardine and grilled market fish street tacos. I will have to mention that I personally am not a fan of the grilled seitan (vegan) taco.
SOMETHING SWEET
On the rare occasions i have had a sweet tooth at Sea Rocket, I have preferred their sweet wines over the desserts. My recent find was the Summer Vine Blanc, a passion fruit wine from San Pasqual Valley. For actual desserts, I have tried both the gluten free berry cake and the vegan chocolate stout cake and barely ate either.

The best sardine maker!
I had the $ 2 happy hour sardine fish taco, it was grilled to crispy inside out, including the bones, which contains a lot of calcium. Even the garden salad was delicious, not marinated with dressing but well mixed.
My date really liked his half chicken with Kale as well.
We caught the last bit of the happy hour $ 5 wine and champagne

I stumbled on this place by accident after the Farmers Market. My roommate, at the time, didn’t like crowds and wanted to come in here because there was no crowd. I’m a sucker for the industrial feel of places. I guess you can call it «Urban». Although the egg carts that were put on the ceiling were def. falling apart and coming lose. (They may have updated it since)
I got the Homemade granola with whipped greek yogurt, citrus and wildflower honey. It was awesome. I loved it. It’s been probably close to 2 years since I’ve been here and I STILL remember that dish.
I also had the oyster shooter with cactus jelly, or something along those lines. It was great. And the chef comes out and chats with you as well. I enjoyed it. My only regret was not trying one of their cocktails. That should have been first on my list.

I think I’ve eaten here another six times since my last update!
Since then I’ve tried the happy hour vegetarian tacos, fresh fish and sardine tacos. Kale pesto gnocchi — beyond amazing! Soup, curry scallops, sea bass, bread pudding and again the amazing choc stout cake (which I believe is vegan!).

Sea Rocket Bistro
SD: North Park
6:45pm Thursday 14^th March 2013
Four Stars
My little brother was in town from Kentucky, so we decided on some delectable seafood at Sea Rocket Bistro. The place was a little smoky but the design was really cool. I loved the cardboard fishes.
We slipped in just before happy hour ended. We got a cold glass of not-​too-​sweet white Sangria ($ 5) and an oyster shooter ($ 3) with a blood orange mignonette (more liquid than I expected but not bad at all). They had a tasty looking blood orange menu but I want to try their more classic dishes.
The Baja Shrimp ($ 22) had 6 Jumbo Interlocking shrimps on top of a pea purée with pea tendrils cooked with Pancetta and Sunny Side Up Quail Egg. The Shrimp were plump and delicious; the greens were nicely seasoned; and you can never go wrong with pork fat and egg yolk. The platting could have been better. The bottom left quadrant was left completely barren which made the dish seem smaller. I would have done a rectangular plate instead.
The White Sea Bass ($ 20)0 had a big piece of fish with a golden brown sear and accompanied by buttery halved fingerling potatoes and mixture of kale, frisee, and arugula with 2 spoonfuls of whole grain mustard. The Fish itself was excellent but slightly undercooked for Sara’s taste. I dislike when plates have that much mustard on the plate, it just overpowers everything. The leafy greens were over salted.
The Seafood stew ($ 18) with Mussels, Clams, and Fish Sausage was delightful. The flavorful tomato based broth paired nicely with the fresh bivalves and tasty sausage bits. Plus the slightly grilled bread was a perfect addition to sop up that delicious liquid.
Overall: The service was great. The Seafood was great. The flavor was there. The portions were a bit small.

Much better then the curb appeal would lead you to believe.
After being told to come back in an hour at another restaurant we stumbled upon the Sea Rocket. We were seated immediately and were treated to a cozy meal with friends.
We started with the brie mac and cheese. Tasty, but the brie was toasted on top, not really made with brie, unless our taste buds are off? The salads were really good and the apples were crisp and fresh. I had the red pepper tomato soup to accompany my salad and it was really tasty. I wouldn’t really call it red pepper as there wasn’t really a spice or kick to it, but none the less, it was good!
Not sure I’d really seek this place out to go back, but I’d still recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy spot with some good food!

While my review is high, because I felt the food was on point, I do have some bad with the good mixed in with my experience last night at Sea Rocket
I came with my food partner in crime Toonces. SHE had seen the Tuesdays Oyster special (1.00 a piece on Tuesdays all night) and decided that is where we would partake in food. The oysters to me tasted fine, and they picked out the smaller ones for us, because the ones on the bigger side can be a little hard to swallow (for me). The oysters come with some sort of citrus liquid you can pour all over them,. It was a welcome change from the red sauce they usually come with. They were not on ice which was a bummer. Apparently you need to order a big amount at a time to get the frosty presentation. In all we ordered 18 oysters during our stay. Toonces felt they were a tad fishy but me being a novice didn’t notice. and I am still alive
Still hungry I ordered the burger with bacon jam. $ 14.00 is steep from the start and much to my displeasure I learned later my cheese cost an extra $ 1.50 on top… A great burger (#2 on my list of recent bites) but a little high in price point for the area. The burger was cooked to my rare preference and was FAT. A bit of a mess but a highlight on the evening
I decided let’s eat more. So I went for the pesto ghnocci. I got the side size for $ 8.00. Once again the flavor was good but the portion was way too small for the price.
We also ended with a urchin shooter. Both of us chicken sh*ts we managed to get through it. It’s not my bag, so I can’t say if it was good or bad
Both also sipped on a glass of «house wine». At $ 7.50 a glass once again I feel is a little steep for what you are getting. $ 5.00 I think would have been more on par with a wine that is probably a notch above menage a trous
All and all I may come back when the burger is on special, but I don’t think it would be a regular spot. Price, portion and sort of blasé service (Not really all that attentive) keeps me from wanting to come back for more

I’d been wanting to try SRB for a while now and just moved back to SD. What a great little place! Cute, hip – but unpretentious, with great food, service and beautiful presentation. Not on the cheap side, but a nice way to treat yourself once in a while or to celebrate a special occasion.
I heard about their ‘Salsa Sushi’ happy hour night and went this past Thursday to check it out. The name was a bit interesting… is it dancing? Are they putting salsa in sushi (ew!) Nope, neither. Basically they take the concept of sushi and give it a little twist. They jam pack sushi rice and Mexican inspired ingredients into a thin tortilla, roll it up then slice it into rolls like sushi. They then top that off with an interesting sauce (varies by roll).
We tried all three rolls – the oyster, beef heart (don’t be scared!) and veggie – and we loved them all. See my pic for the specific ingredients. Plus, we ordered the Baja Shrimp appetizer off the regular menu, which was delish. That came with a jalapeño jam, which was surprisingly more sweet than spicy. We were pretty stuffed after all three servings of rolls and the shrimp.
Overall, really dig this place and will be back for more. Have my eye on the burger and mac and cheese (come to mama!)

Sea Rocket Bistro was recommended to me by a co-​worker as they are known for serving delectable local seafood that has been sustainably caught. Scrumptious food with a conscience? YES, PLEASE!
We started off dinner with a Sea Urchin Crostini. The Sea Urchin was harvested right in Point Loma and was served on grilled bread with lemon and smoked salt. A few bites of lightly dressed greens and onions were served on the side to accompany the unctuous sea urchin. The urchin was wonderful fresh and although I appreciated the texture contrast the smoked salt added, I thought it was not needed. Delish, nonetheless.
We took advantage of one of their Happy Hour specials by ordering a plate Grilled Halibut Street Tacos. These were a pleasant surprise as the halibut was perfectly grilled – moist and the charred flavor from the grill was awesome. The corn tortillas were tender and light – and for only $ 3 a pair, these tacos are a must!
And what is a dinner without cocktails? My choice of the night was their house sangria – colorful with a good amount of fresh fruit and basil. I thought the sangria was refreshing but a tad on the lighter side for my preference.
My sister ordered the Mixed Seafood Stew — a stew with clams, mussels, fish, piperade, leek, and fennel. The stew was served with warm ciabatta – which I was happy to polish off for my sister. I’m a sucker for fresh, warm bread.
I chose one of the specials for the night for my entrée– Seared Scallops served on top of a corn purée with additional corn and English peas. The veggies were wonderfully al dente that featured the sweet flavors of the corn and peas. And as for the scallops — perfectly seared! They were naturally sweet and were harmonious with the veggies.
The décor of the restaurant was funky yet modernly-​minimal. As for the staff, they were quite friendly and helpful.
Sea Rocket Bistro is an establishment that leaves you feeling great after dining there. The seafood is well prepared and with a firm commitment to sustainable practices. And with that, you can be sure that both your tummies and conscience will be well taken care of.