The space formerly home to Blue Plate Oysterette in Santa Monica will receive new life this summer. Local entrepreneurs Greg and Yunnie Morena will open new seafood concept West Side Oyster Club at 1355 Ocean Avenue in mid-June, according to a release.
The team has a special connection with the Santa Monica hospitality industry. Yunnie’s Korean-American parents in 1977 founded SM Pier Seafood on Santa Monica Pier. Greg and Yunnie now operate The Albright in the same space.
“Santa Monica raised us, and we’ve been giving it back for nearly 50 years,” Greg said in the release. “The West Side Oyster Club isn’t just an evolution — it’s a lifestyle. Coastal heritage, casual luxury and the kind of soul this city was built on. We are home.”
West Side Oyster Club will offer fast-casual service designed for to-go orders, offering menu items such as a hero lobster roll, a seasonal farmers’ market salad, fish ’n chips, seafood towers, fried oyster po’boys, crispy calamari and clam chowder bread bowls. There will also be higher-priced items such as the $115 Grand Cru Caviar, as well as a raw bar stocked with West and East Coast shellfish.
Los Angeles-based Studio Alvarez is heading up design for the space, revamping the space while maintaining elements of Blue Plate. The design for the 80-seat restaurant will draw upon classic seaside elements and the West Coast surf and skate culture. It will offer a casual yet upscale design, with painted and natural wood highlights, large art, an exterior mirrored menu installation and a white, blue and yellow color scheme.
When West Side Oyster Club opens, the hours of operation will be Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
