Purposeness Meets Deliciousness

It’s rare when an ocean-view restaurant can back up the beautiful setting with tasty food. Thankfully, The Oyster Bar, which opened in May on Stearns Wharf, lives up to the name and complements the gorgeous views of the Pacific with delectable seafood. As part of Moby Dick Restaurant, a key fixture in Stearns Wharf history, The Oyster Bar is leading the way in a reimagining of the restaurant.

The newly designed bar, which features a 270-degree view of the city, the harbor, and the Santa Barbara Channel; fresh and sustainable seafood; craft cocktails; and beers from local favorites such as Draughtsmen Aleworks, is just the refresh the wharf needed.

“We are really seeing ourselves as a seafood restaurant now,” said Karl Hutterer, President & CEO of The Stearns Wharf Company. Hutterer, who is also a former boardmember of the Community Environmental Council (CEC), is a key player in the revamp of this institution and its movement toward sustainability. Moby Dick is owned by a group of investors who created the restaurant in the 1980s. One of these investors was Jim Gildea, an environmentalist and one of the earliest supporters of the CEC. When he passed away, he left his shares in Moby Dick to the CEC, and the Central Coast nonprofit group became a part-owner of the restaurant.

“When I was on the CEC board, they asked me to represent them on the Moby Dick investors board,” Hutterer said. He became president of the board and CEO in 2019.

“It was a wonderful thing for the CEC. Over the years, there was a steady flow of income from Moby Dick,” Hutterer said.

When he came to Santa Barbara 25 years ago, Hutterer noted that Moby Dick was a wonderful place to have breakfast, but over the past few years, the breakfast crowd had become pretty slim.

“When I became more deeply involved, this suggested to me that Moby Dick needed a major rejuvenation. The first step of this rejuvenation was to create The Oyster Bar,” Hutterer said. “This also drives a whole bunch of other improvements.”

Changes include hiring Chef David Campos, who was previously at the Ritz-Carlton and worked as a sushi chef. His thoughtful hand and commitment to quality are evident in the new menu offerings sprinkled with creative tartares, ceviches, and crudo dishes.

“He brought a whole new life to us,” Hutterer said. Of course, Hutterer’s perspective from CEC has spearheaded the movement toward local and sustainable sourcing as well.

“We have one of the major agricultural counties in the United States,” Hutterer said. “We have a rich channel of one of the highest biodiverse parts of the ocean on the globe. The long-term vision is to feature all of this and bring it home to our community.”

Currently, about 80 percent of what they cook and sell to customers is locally produced, and the restaurant is committed to working with local fishermen in addition to the S.B. Seafood Company.

“A guy just came in the back door, and he brought in 20 sea urchins he caught last night,” new Director of Operations Scott Howard, explained about their neighborhood approach to sourcing. Howard is part of the influx of new energy into the restaurant, bringing his wealth of experience as a restaurateur in Marin County, Beverly Hills, and Florida.

Venturing out to the pier on a summer night as the sun began to set, I couldn’t argue with the golden hour lighting fading into the sea, the warm hospitality, or the French champagne, but I knew the true test would be the oysters. Ordering one of every kind from West Coast Fanny Bays from Vancouver to East Coast Malpeques from Prince Edward Island, I was blown away. Each had just the right amount of briny crispness, as fresh as the first summer dip in the sea. I suggest ordering them all and discussing the subtle delicious nuances in each with a friend, or just watching their eyes go wide with delight at that initial slurp— as mine certainly did. They pair beautifully with a little lemon, mignonette, or cocktail sauce, but like any great seafood dish, none of their natural flavor needs to be masked.

We were also wowed by the tuna crudo with scallions, ponzu sauce, sesame seeds, and avocado — a stunning combination of flavors. The smoked fish dip served on saltines with pleasantly spicy smoked paprika and scallions also piqued our palates, while the freshly fried local halibut and chips served with a zesty tartar sauce rounded out the meal perfectly.

With hopes to provide education about seafood sourcing and sustainability along with their incredible fare and the views we know and love, The Oyster Bar is bringing a new wave of purpose and deliciousness to S.B. dining.

Moby Dick Restaurant is located at 220 Stearns Wharf. See mobydicksb.com.