Chez Melange Introduces Sea Change

My wife recently celebrated her birthday. On her special day, she selected Chez Melange in Redondo Beach for dinner. Chez Melange recently reinvented itself, renovating the dining room and introducing a new menu. It is now called Sea Change.  

The menu is varied with an emphasis towards seafood. Under the burger selection, you won’t find an angus beef burger. Instead, they have interesting options like a Tuna Burger with wakame, Fried Shrimp Po boy and a Lobster Roll on brioche.

Diners looking for traditional seafood fare prepared to their liking will find fresh fish like ahi tuna steak, barramundi and coho salmon. They include a choice of sauces and sides. Sea Change also has fish entrees prepared with the chef’s vision in mind.

The Seafood Stack consists of 6 oysters, 6 shrimp, 6 crab claws and tuna poke. Since there were 6 in our party, it was easy to divide everything. Everything was fresh and tasty, but the head nod for me went to the Hood Canal oysters from the state of Washington.

The final portion of the Seafood Stack was a colorful serving of poke. Cubed fresh tuna was combined with white sesame seeds, fresh cubed avocado and cucumber and mixed with a soy sauce and sesame oil dressing and topped with microgreens. The freshness, presentation and flavor was quite pleasing.

Pita and freshly made hummus

We selected their Pita for the Table as our second starter. This was an attractive dish lined with warm triangular slices of pita, greek olives and sliced cucumbers. The creamy hummus was perfect for dipping.   

Pacific Ono Kung Pao Style

The Pacific Ono Kung Pao Style caught my eye and I chose that for my entree. It was combined with mushrooms, peanuts, chile, garlic, bell pepper, onion and micro radish sprouts served with steamed rice. It was definitely colorful, creative, and best of all, delicious.  

Surf & Turf: Filet Mignon, Crab Cake and Sauteed Mushrooms

Steak and crab cakes are two of my wife’s favorite things to eat. Coincidentally, that was the day’s “surf and turf”. She immensely enjoyed the filet mignon and she appreciated that the crab cakes were chock full of crabmeat. It also included a side of sautéed mushrooms.

Spanish Seafood Stew

The Spanish Seafood Stew was my second choice on the menu. I was impressed by the offering: shrimp, lobster, clams, calamari, mussels and fresh fish. I was able to taste the sauce and it was absolutely delicious – a sherry cream sauce combined with seafood broth. This was the type of sauce you wanted to mop up with a piece of bread.    

Grilled Ribeye with au gratin potatoes

The Grilled Rib Eye Steak was topped with a balsamic reduction and accompanied with au gratin potatoes. While I didn’t taste my friend’s steak, he said it was really good.

New England Dry Pack Scallops with Lentils

New England scallop fans know what “dry pack” means. It is the best way to preserve these jumbo scallops. Sea Change grilled them perfectly and paired this with a bed of lentils. Our friend commented that even the lentils were delicious. With the number of health benefits derived from lentils, I’m surprised that it hasn’t become a superfood.

A complimentary Tiramisu Cake to celebrate my wife’s birthday

Chez Melange’s new concept, Sea Change, fits in well with today’s trend towards fresh, sustainable seafood. They do this in a way that will bring in new customers, while at the same time not alienating their existing customer base. Fish is prepared “your way” or their way which allows the diner some additional control over their meal. Even some of their classics like Chicken Parmesan are still available on the menu.  

Sea Change by Chez Melange, 1611 S Catalina Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
http://www.chezmelange.com/