O Sea restaurant opened its doors last summer in an historic building in Old Towne Orange. Owner Mike Flynn’s concept was simple: serve sensational seafood in a casual environment, where customers ordered at the counter and then grabbed a table.
That concept lasted six months: beginning in January, O Sea became a full-service restaurant.
It’s a world Flynn knows well from previous managing stints at Water Grill and other full-service restaurants, but hiring wait staff was not part of his original plan.
“I was a history major in college; everything I have learned about restaurants is from hard work and learning on the fly,” Flynn said. “We have learned a good lesson—talk to your guests. They will tell you what they like and don’t like.
“Our guests said there was a disconnect between ordering and sitting down. So, we made a really aggressive pivot, took the business plan and threw it out the window. That’s what the overwhelming feedback from our community told us to do. In some ways, that was humbling, but it’s been gratifying to see how the concept has evolved based on what the guests have asked for. It’s one of the fundamentals of business.”
Progressive, Seasonal Menu
The fundamentals of O Sea remain the same: a holistic approach to the restaurant experience that highlights the quality of Flynn’s product, and the social responsibility and inventiveness that anchors the menu.
“O Sea’s culinary focus will remain on presenting a refreshingly modern seafood experience that focuses on a progressive, seasonally driven menu and responsible sourcing,” said Flynn. “Our new service model gives us more freedom and flexibility to take our from-scratch seafood cuisine to the next level with more intricate preparations and extensive offerings.”
Helping to ratchet the O Sea cuisine up a notch or two is new Executive Chef Carla Arce, who has been with O Sea since the restaurant opened and was promoted to executive Chef in time to roll out a new winter menu.
Her new dishes include a grilled whole branzino with banchan-style condiments and tortillas, cioppino in the style of Thai red curry, and clam chowder with lemongrass that provides familiar yet unique flavors.
Her winter dishes feature wild Fijian albacore tuna poke with blood orange ponzu, grilled Spanish octopus with roasted sweet potato mole, shaved Brussels sprouts in almond dressing with avocado and Fresno chili, roasted sweet potatoes in miso beurre blanc with shiitake mushrooms and toasted almonds, and Mexican tres leches cake.
“My dad is from Chile and they have lots of seafood there,” Arce said. “My mom is from Mexico, and we have a lot of seafood there too, so I love the fact that we are just seafood, it makes us different than everyone else in the Orange Circle. I like the fact that we don’t have a lot of other options in addition to seafood.”
Not Fusion
“We wanted to open a seafood restaurant of what I call time and place,” Flynn said. “If you were to serve seafood in Southern California, in 2022, what would it look like? We serve seafood that is complemented by the neighborhood in which we are located. We have Asian influences, Latin influences. What is at the heart and soul of California cooking? To me, it’s the seasonality of the
markets and the strong diversity of cuisine. That’s how I want the menu to be reflected.”
Flynn noted that some guests ask him if the menu is fusion, but he’s not a fan of that word.
“I don’t think we are fusing anything. We’re not taking French food and Vietnamese food and smashing them together. There’s a Japanese influence on the menu, there’s a Thai influence, a Peruvian influence, but I don’t think we’re fusing anything. I think it’s reflected of where we are.”
The OCBJ Review
Among the dishes I ordered while dining at O Sea this month was the clam chowder. The bowl came with several open clams floating on top, but the surprise was the distinct flavor of lemongrass that lingered on my palate.
My tastebuds said Thai, my eyes said New England, but whatever the culinary influences, it was one of the tastiest clam chowders I have had.
The same goes for the grilled wild Spanish octopus with sweet potato mole, salsa macha, ninja radish, and pickled onions. I love octopus when it’s prepared properly, and this one blazed a tasty path thanks to the mole.
“It’s a new menu item,” owner Mike Flynn said. “We braise the octopus for two and a half hours, then char it on the grill. A well-cooked octopus should be soft on the inside and crispy char on the outside. The contrast is amazing. The sweet potato mole is a little sweet, a little spicy, a little bitter, and we add chocolate for richness.”
Also recommended for me to try was the farmed Chilean salmon ceviche with coconut leche de tigre, habanero oil and taro chips. Like the chowder, the combination of flavors and textures took simple ceviche to a new level.
One more item I sampled: spicy Fijian albacore tuna on crispy rice with avocado, green onion, and black sesame. Again, a perfect balance of flavors and textures.
I plan to go back and try their weekday power lunch—two courses for $22.95.
In addition to a well-curated menu, O Sea offers a nice variety of beers and wines. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner.
O Sea: 109 S. Glassell St., Orange, (714) 363-3309, eatosea.com
