The lively scene at BPO
Because we are loathe to wait very long for a table, we have now missed out on a year and a half of great meals at Blue Plate Oysterette– and now we’ve got to make up for it– especially with the weather warming up and our appetite for seafood escalating along with the temps.
Yes, it’s shocking, but our first meal at what we are now fondly going to call BPO was just recently, a lunch on one of those rainy, chilly days. Still the place was mobbed, and that’s what had been keeping us away. Driving by many times past its splendid location, across from Palisades Park in Santa Monica, there was always a crowd outside– and apparently no convenient place to park.
But here’s a little secret. You can call the restaurant about a half an hour to an hour before you plan to arrive and put your name on the waiting list. Because the policy is still, a year and a half after opening, absolutely no reservations. Damn.
But you’ll forget about all that after diving into a splendid raw bar platter with a massive serving of some of the best ceviche ever and lined with a cavalcade of shrimp, clams and oysters.
There are plenty of salads to choose from, and great sandwiches like a New England-style lobster roll and an ahi tuna. But the headliners are always the house specialty, which is oysters and their brethren from the sea.
For libations, BPO only has beer, wine and sake, but what better to go with the menu?
And now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to call them get put on the waiting list.
1355 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, (310) 576-3474
