Little Dom's Seafood

"I don’t think I need to over-explain why getting out of the city is paramount for mental health right now. While we have no shortage of great day trips around LA, I’m here to add another one to your list - Little Dom’s Seafood. Located in the tiny beach town of Carpinteria (about 70 miles north of LA), LDS is the kind of place you can either plan an entire weekend around or simply drive up for dinner and be back home in bed by 11pm. While many of the iconic dishes from their Los Feliz location appear on the menu (the meatballs, rice balls), you should definitely concentrate mostly on their excellent raw bar. Whether it’s raw oysters, live uni, or smoked albacore toast, lean into the fact that the ocean is only two blocks away and revel in the joy that you aren’t currently sitting home mumbling “There’s nothing to watch” until you fall asleep." - brant cox

"From the moment you find a seat on Little Dom’s sidewalk patio and catch the sun setting over Carpinteria’s quirky downtown, you’re immediately set at ease. Sure, you might be driving back to LA soon, but tonight, you’re a local and the biggest worry you have is where to hang your new windsock. If you’re familiar with Little Dom’s (and the original Dominick’s before that, RIP), you’ll spot old favorites like the arancini and meatballs, but we recommend skipping the dishes you can get in Los Feliz. Instead, focus on the things you can only get here: live uni and oysters from the raw bar, squid ink agnolotti, and cold smoked salmon with seeded flatbread. You’re sitting three blocks from the ocean after all—lean into it." - brant cox, garrett snyder

"While we certainly don’t recommend it for new relationships, a destination date-night dinner is a great way to change things and explore a new place together. If that’s something you’re in the market for, head to Little Dom’s Seafood. Located in Carpinteria, a tiny beach town 70 miles up the 101, LDS is the second location of the Los Feliz standby Little Dom’s, and while many of the iconic dishes (the meatballs, rice balls) made the trip, it’s the new raw bar that you should primarily focus on. Oysters, uni, and a laid-back small town atmosphere - you won’t find many escapism combinations better than that." - brant cox

"Just down PCH in Carpinteria, Little Dom’s Seafood is one of the newest restaurants along the coast and sports a big patio that can fit around 40 guests (reservations only). If you’re wondering if this spot has any relation to the Little Dom’s in Los Feliz, it does, but with a menu that leans far heavier on all things marine life. There’s a full seafood bar with everything from raw oysters to live uni to cold smoked salmon, plus big entree items like squid ink malfadine and fish piccata. That said, they also have pizza and their famous rice balls." - brant cox

"I’m still not sure if “Crossing county lines for seafood” is one of the 586,000 exemptions in Eric Garcetti’s shelter-in-place order, but either way, I recently made like Snake Plissken and escaped LA. I ended up in Carpinteria, a beachside town about 75 miles north of LA. Why? Because I read Brant’s review of Little Dom’s Seafood and got hungry. Turns out, I made the right choice. If you’ve ever been to Little Dom’s in Los Feliz, you know their rice balls and meatballs are the stuff of legend, and both made the trip up the coast to LDS, but that’s just the beginning. From raw bar standouts like ridgeback shrimp and uni (both fresh from the waters of Santa Barbara) to the smoked fish rillettes and rich squid ink mafaldine with spicy uni butter, this was a Meal with a capital M - delicious enough to forget the hellscape we inhabit, if only for a couple hours." - James Montgomery