Spend The Evening At Fishing With Dynamite L.A.

It's hard to beat the pairing of a freshly shucked oyster and chilled Muscadet when the breeze rolls in off the Pacific.

In Manhattan Beach, where David LeFevre's newest restaurant resides, that sensation alone might warrant a visit.

Styled after what seems to be a Hamptons vacation house, the seafood-centric Fishing with Dynamite is an uproarious place to spend an evening.

It's crowded, the music is loud, and reservations, at six per day, are essentially nonexistent. But once you're seated inside, sharing ice-packed tiers of Peruvian scallops ($2), Littleneck clams ($2.50) and steamed jumbo shrimp ($15 for 6), you too will toast the gloriousness of coastal dining.

But while we loved the luxurious raw bar, cooked dishes failed to arouse the same level of excitement.

New England "Clam Chowdah" ($6) didn't share the briny liveliness of another version across town, and the grilled octopus with white beans and tomato ragù ($18), while tender, was somewhat bland.

We preferred the Dungeness-packed crab cake ($16), a holdover from LeFevre's days at Water Grill, and the fork-tender Key Lime pie ($7), a silky just-tart round that would be as welcome in South Beach as it is in the South Bay.

Perhaps Mel Tormé was right: The West Coast is the best coast.