Crudo e Nudo

Hiding in plain sight, chef-owner Brian Bornemann’s shrine to sustainable seafood and raw fish is Main Street's pearl. The Tasting Kitchen protégé and former Michael's Santa Monica chef runs a loose but steady ship at  Crudo e Nudo. First launched as a pop-up during the pandemic, Crudo e Nudo is a tiny, charming operation with a cozy built-out parklet that serves as the bulk of its seating. Its size means Bornemann is able to take in rare catches in quantities too small for bigger restaurants to justify. There's no formal menu, just a chalkboard updated daily to reflect what fishermen from Baja to Monterey reeled in. Employees have a four-day workweek (sans Bornemann), and everyone is trained in sukibiki (the Japanese method of descaling fish without bruising the flesh). You’re mainly here for the crudo, which shines with the freshest possible fish and bright, modern tweaks (think orange leaf oil) to the typically stalwart oil-and-lemon Italian raw dish. But just as much emphasis is placed on local bread (from Jyan Isaac), excellent olive oil (a blend of four types from Santa Ynez on a recent visit), and thoughtfully curated biodynamic wines. Lunch and dinner are of the leisurely, European kind—a farmers' market salad is always on offer, vegan dishes rotate in, and thoughtfully curated natural wines (available by the porrón for $40) round out a laidback gourmet experience that'll quietly upstage your everyday sushi joint. For the complete Crudo e Nudo experience, the $95 Neptune's Flight tasting menu takes you all over the map—typically kicking off with uni tacos, raw scallops and oysters, followed by the chef's crudo selection, then rounding out with vegetables, roasted seafood and housemade gnocchi. From-scratch dark chocolate almond butter cups seal the deal.