Delzano's by the Sea, Redondo Beach, CA

Delzano's by the Sea
179 N. Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Located at the far northern end of the Intl Boardwalk of the Redondo Pier.
310-374-7525
http://www.delzanos.com/
Plenty of pay parking in several nearby lots; validation available.
Higher end. Full bar. Reservations recommended.

Visited: May 2009, Lunch, Dine-in


Well, being a Saturday at a higher end restaurant, it was pretty empty. We sat in at a tall bar table with a very lovely view of the International Boardwalk and watching small boats, ski-dos, etc being loaded onto the launch. There were also some rather ornery looking sea gulls waiting for handouts from returning fishermen.

A lunch menu was available in addition to the full dinner menu. The lunch menu offered more choices of salads and sandwiches. We stuck to the dinner menu, and ordered, what soon became, two favorites.

Frutti Di Mare ($19.95): an incredibly generous portion of pasta with a matching incredibly generous portion of lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams and fish. You have your choice of garlic cream sauce or marinara, and we chose red. The sauce was also a bit chunky, and the entire dish could easily have been shared. There were also a couple little ramekins of freshly shaved parmesan, which seemed so un-Italian - cheese with fish?

By the Sea Cioppino ($19.95): The cioppino comes in a large lidded bowl with a heaping, and I mean heaping, amount of seafood. The bowl was full of crab (partially cracked to make things easier), many kinds of fish, a ton of clams, huge shrimp, and huge scallops. It was all cooked well, very fresh, and the the spicy tomato broth was a perfect match. Again, this dish can easily be shared, and you would both be full.

The meal also came with fresh hot crusty and chewy bread - all the more decadent to soak up the broth.

I also had their special iced tea - a homemade blend of tea infused with citrus and rose. The flavor wasn't super strong, but for someone who usually doesn't like flavored tea, it was quite refreshing.

All in all, the meal was delicious. With tons of leftovers, and the service was great.