“Ballona Restaurant” Exquisite Seafood and Sushi (5/04)

     Next time you are in the mood for some of the freshest fish around, drop by "Ballona" located at 13455 Maxella Ave. on the street level in beautiful Marina del Rey, Ca.     The ex-owner was Hans Rockenwagner, who started this establishment, and has become a neighborhood restaurant with reasonably priced seafood and other delicious items.  A new Sushi bar has been put in to attract more people and a happy hour crowd. There is a huge selection of Fresh Sushi to choose from.  A wide variety of appetizers, salads, noodles, tempura and more are available.  The Main Course Entree specialties are the fresh fish selections prepared with creative sauces, herbs and side dishes

     We loved and still remember the taste of the soft shell crab which to my recollection is the spider roll. The sushi’s chef’s special – Hawaiian sashimi with wasabi sauce was great.  The albacore and asparagus roll with spicy orange is a unique plate with a refreshing yet complementing flavor and texture.  Some highly suggested starters are the Crispy Calamari, the seafood salads (shrimp, salmon, and tuna sashimi), and the melt in your mouth Crab Cakes- not too miss.

     As for the main courses, the fish entrees (halibut with mashed potatoes lemon caper butter sauces and asparagus, salmon grilled with vegetables in a lemon/wine sauce) were fresh and prepared at an optimum tenderness allowing the flavor of the fish to reach the palette but our personal favorite was the hazelnut crusted New Zealand grouper server on mushroom risotto. Also on the menu is the tasty swordfish with grilled polenta cakes, ahi tuna steak that is seared and pepper crusted, Spicy Shrimp Fettuccini, Scallops with a mushroom sauce, and a Tomato based Seafood Stew.  For dessert, there are daily specials besides the sweet mochi flavored ice creams.

     For reservations, call 310-822-8979 or email is [email protected]     Make sure to mention you were referred by this story to the ever so pleasant, great Manager, Megan.