Stopped by one afternoon with my best friend and had a great time. It was around 4pm on a Tuesday and we were able to sit right away. I loved hope open and clean the restaurant felt. Our server was super nice and knowledgeable. He definitely knew the menu and had great suggestions for us. My favorites were the roasted carrots and tuna crudo. Everything was super fresh and flavorful. Or drink of choice was a nice Sauvignon blanc that went perfectly with our meal. I can't wait to come back and try the hoecake + caviar and the seared local seabass!

Excellent cocktails, beautiful atmosphere. The secret menu bread is to die for! The main courses were very good too, but quite heavy and too many flavors going on...We had the oysters/bone marrow (good but rich), embered beets, bluefin tuna, and the fennel sausage pizza. I prefer simple and fresh, and these dishes were overly complicated. But still yummy and many people may like the inventiveness of the menu.

Great staff at this Herb & Sea with the trendy crowd. We were seated right away, with reservations. The noise level was high, but luckily we were seated in a corner of the restaurant and it was less noisy. The staff was so friendly and professional. She guided us, and knew the way everything we asked about was made, in detail. That is the sign of a good restaurant. Order the Secret Rolls. They are not on the menu, but you will see them in yelp reviews. Delicious but filling. The Smoked tuna donuts are very fishy, so remember to dip them in the sauce. It cuts down the fishiness. They were something we wanted to try. The menu changes often, so who knows what will be on the menu next time we come. My boyfriend ordered the Tuna which came with a light dressing salad. It was delicious. He ate every bite. I ordered something heavy, the Seabass served on top of Orzo Chorizo risotto and fennel and tomatoes, which was heavy with what tasted like tomato paste, and it was salty. It was overwhelmingly flavorful. I could not finish the Risotto. Then we ordered desserts. That was a delight! Oh I love sweets, and they are light and fluffy and sweet. Yum. Light like a mouse, sweet and the semifreddo was also salty.

Nothing but fabulous things to say about this amazing restaurant. Chef Aidan has gone above and beyond with this menu. Still dreaming of the beef carpaccio and the delicious chocolate dessert (not pictured -- devoured too quickly). Perfect laidback atmosphere combined with knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend making the drive up to Encinitas for this delicious experience.

Very, very good meal. Extremely creative and many items brought out of the box. The pickle and pita appetizer was unreal good. The level of heat was fantastic and everything had really great individual flavor. The smoke tuna donuts were a little weird to think about, but they tasted good. Very light donut with some cheese and the tuna inside. Sauce was good with it. The shrimp appetizer was also very spicy and you had to use the to it down a bit and give it a really nice balance. Both pasta dishes were good although the shrimp on the linguine was cold. My husband said his steak was delicious but also a touch on the cool side. Seabass looked beautiful. Overall a great dinner!!!

I was really impressed with this restaurant. I've been to it, sister restaurant, Herb and Wood in San Diego. this restaurant is more seafood forward than the former but cooks food the way, wood fired. The result is similar. Simply amazing food. The mussels over sourdough bread was probably my favorite part of my meal. Sourdough bread covered in white wine, cream sauce with parsley, capers, and mussels. There is one carryover appetizer from urban Wood that I love, which is the carrots. It's a very reliable go to vegetable that works perfectly for the seafood. I also ordered a pork chop, which while fatty was very flavorful. I also recommend the rum cocktail. Our service here was very good and our waiter took very good care of us and did a good job recommending appetizers and main courses.

My girlfriends took me here for my bday and we ordered a lot! So let me just say we didn't really like where we were seated (same size table on the other side was empty the whole time) because it was close to a corner, where a group of people met up and brushing up on us (that close) and were really loud and at a point where we could barely hear each other. Good thing they only stayed for a short time. We started off with the Baja shrimp, beef carpaccio, mussel toast and oysters and bone marrow for apps. I'm not a raw beef kind girl cut that carpaccio was cut so thin and the way the rest of the dish was done up that made it so good. Could be the carmelized onion dip or maybe the caprese vinaigrette? Either way it went well with the arugula. Baja shrimp and mussel toast had great spices and really good, just the mussel toast became soggy after a while. But of course, it was saucy. The oysters and bone marrow slapped too. For entrees we ordered the Filet, ragu, Plancha branzino, and a pizza I forgot the name of it but I think it had figs. My least favorite was the filet. It sat in a sauce that had an almost bbq flavor that I did not enjoy. The branzino was perfectly cooked and the skin was super crunchy, this was my favorite. The ragu was also good. The pizza was ok but the fig gave it a nice sweet flavor so it was different. Our server was great and patient with us. Also checked up on us when our drinks were low. She was great. I love the fact that she acknowledged my bday and picked a dessert that we didn't order for my "cake", for us to have options. The desserts were so good. The one that looks like an ice cream bar, I don't think it was ice cream but had a salty sweet flavor.

Wanted to try this restaurant after eating at their sister restaurant, Herb & Wood. So my expectations for this restaurant were quite high. Everything tasted great, but there was nothing special or stood out to me which was a little disappointing given the price point. Herb & Wood is superior on food, ambiance, and drinks. There is no parking lot so you will need to find street parking which may take some time. I wish the ambiance of the restaurant had a more intimate and a darker feel, especially since it's a dinner only. As it stands the restaurant feels like a brunch spot. I would definitely recommend getting the potatoes, sumac tomatoes, jidori chicken and the goat milk pesto pasta. Those were my favorites. In terms of service, they are great about being interpersonal and friendly. Very knowledgeable about the dishes and always made sure our glasses were full and clean plates for different courses.

Herb & Sea in Encinitas brings fresh Mediterranean in a fine dining establishment. Located on D. Street blocks away from the beach sits Herb & Sea with an expansive dining room, bar and open kitchen. Here is what the table ordered: Starter - Hoecake & Caviar A sweet panckae like brown butter corn cake, smoked striped sea bass rillette, honey butter. A nice sweet starter with the creamy rillette. Raw Bar - Beef Carpaccio Filet mignon, caramelized onion dip, arugula, pecorino, caprese vinaigrette, breadcrumb. Thinly sliced beef full of flavor mixed with a zesty lemony flavor topped with a generous amount of pecorino. I would order this again. Vegetable - Embered Beets Pistachio butter, date vinaigrette, crispy mediterranean oil. I usually never eat beets but these were tender and seasoned well. Main - Whole Mediterranean Branzino A La Plancha castelvetrano olive, calabrian chili, citrus, fennel. My first time having Branzino and it was wondeful with its chunky meaty white meat. Served in a paella style the citrus and tomato flavors shined and complimented the fish well. Service was excellent as our waiter recommended popular dishes as well as checking up on us frequently. Parking can be found on side street as there is no direct parking lot. Highly recommend Herb & Sea for simple tasty Mediterranean meals filled with zest and flavor.