"From the outside, Connie & Ted’s looks like a futuristic restaurant set amid Boystown. But on the inside, it’s a classic New England seafood shack. This place is good for a lot of things (including a great brunch), but their bar is best used to eat top-tier oysters while you watch the Dodgers—they’ve got an avid fanbase, including some seriously high-profile celebrities, so you can tell your friends that you technically ate oysters with Charlize Theron yesterday." - sylvio martins, nikko duren
"It's set in the West Coast, but this new-school shack still has serious East Coast vibes—even if it does indeed source its sustainable, wild-caught seafood from both the Atlantic and Pacific. With an extensive raw bar, parking lot strewn with shells and a funky interior plastered with seafaring knickknacks, it’s a fitting tribute to Chef Michael Cimarusti’s New England origins.Chowder is a must for a seafood spot and this particular one offers a tempting flight of three: creamy New England, tomato-based Manhattan and buttery Rhode Island. The lobster roll, packed with tail and claw meat, is a gem among solo diners, while chilled seafood platters and the oak-grilled fish are great for crowds. Don’t forget to grab a bit of saltwater taffy on your way out." - Michelin Inspector
"Once upon a time, it was very difficult to get into Connie & Ted's. But now that the hype around this East Coast-style seafood spot has settled down, it's become an even better version of its former self. This huge restaurant is now the kind of neighborhood staple where people go on dates, eat early dinners with their kids, and have solo lunches at the bar because they woke up craving beer and oysters. Get the burger with aged cheddar, thousand island, pickles, onion, and lettuce. They aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but it’s a classic." - brant cox
"Connie and Ted’s might be in the middle of Santa Monica Blvd., but it lets you pretend that you’re the kind of person who spends the summers in Bar Harbor (that’s a fancy term for Maine). It’s a neighborhood-y spot with a big menu of East Coast seafood classics, and it attracts a crowd that’s more interested in having a beer and a bunch of clams than anything else. The beer list includes stuff from excellent-but-tiny LA County breweries, but seeing as Craftsman’s O’Stout is filtered through oyster shells, you should probably just order that." - brant cox, brett keating
"Though Providence chef Michael Cimarusti opened Connie & Ted’s, it’s chef Sam Baxter who shapes the menu at this classic New England-style restaurant. The seafood is still top-tier with oysters, fish and chips, three types of clam chowder, a Maine lobster roll, grilled fish, and a very beefy cheeseburger. While sitting on the outdoor patio, pay attention to the weekly specials like the Wednesday bouillabaisse night, savory Gumbo on Fridays, or a platter of buttermilk fried chicken on Sundays paired with pickles and Parker house rolls. The house mix for Bloody Marys (or Marias) is one of the best in LA." - Mona Holmes