Connie & Ted’s

The story

Connie & Ted's – West Hollywood Seafood Restaurant | Michelin Recommended

Connie & Ted’s in West Hollywood brings the honest, briny flavors of New England to Southern California. This Michelin Recommended spot feels like a seaside shack transported to Santa Monica Boulevard—unfussy, welcoming, and deeply committed to the craft of seafood.

The menu reads like a love letter to the Northeast coast. Start with Jo’s Wicked Good Chowda', offered in three styles (New England, Manhattan, Rhode Island clear) so you can sample the region’s variations in one bowl. Josephine’s Clam Cakes arrive as Rhode Island-style fritters, meant to be dunked alongside the chowder. The Parker House Rolls, glossed with butter and Maldon salt, are a simple, perfect warm-up.

From the raw bar comes a daily selection of fresh oysters and clams, served with horseradish and mignonette. Chilled seafood options include lobster, crabs, and live Santa Barbara sea urchin. The kitchen’s care extends to every dish: the Jonah Crab Cake comes with cole slaw and tartar sauce; the ceviche tostada gets a kick from salsa macha and yuzu soy vinaigrette.

Plat du Jour specials rotate nightly, prepared in limited quantities. Wednesday brings Bouillabaisse with mussels, clams, shrimp, squid, and catch of the day in a tomato-leek-saffron-fennel-lobster stock. Friday is Gumbo with shrimp, andouille, and shredded chicken. Saturday’s New England Boiled Dinner piles on lobster, mussels, steamers, linguiça, potatoes, and corn. Sunday closes the week with Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Mary’s free-range air-chilled birds.

The mainstays are equally compelling. The Fresh Maine Lobster Roll comes hot with drawn butter or cold with mayonnaise. The Hook Burger features Hook’s 4-year-old cheddar and 1000 island dressing. For the indecisive, the “Sampling of All Three” chowders is a fine way to start.

Brunch, served Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM, leans into the coastal theme. The Maine Lobster Croque Connie layers gruyere and figaro sauce with a sunny egg. Shrimp Chilaquiles, a Crab & Lobster Omelette, and Smoked Fish of the Day Hash round out the menu. The Monkey Bread—sweet, sticky, cinnamon-laced with cream cheese filling—is worth arriving for alone.

Connie & Ted’s earns its Michelin nod not through pretense, but through consistency and character. The seafood is wild-caught and sustainable, the cooking is direct, and the room hums with the easy energy of a place that knows exactly what it is.