Dining At Redwood City’s New Swank Hurrica
![Whole-roasted dorade at the new Hurrica that's large enough for at least three to share.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/dorade.jpg)
A new restaurant has put down anchor at Redwood City’s Westpoint Harbor Marina — and done so with a big splash.
Hurrica is the newest restaurant by MeeSun Boice and Chef Parke Ulrich, co-founders of Treasure Island’s Mersea restaurant. Ulrich is also the executive chef-partner at Waterbar and Epic Steakhouse, both in San Francisco.
Admittedly, I’d never even been to this side of Redwood City until I joined friends a few weeks ago to dine at this new venture that opened in January. Finding the entrance can be a little confusing, as we witnessed a few people trying to enter through side patio doors. After parking, walk around to the back of the building that faces the marina with boats moored in the harbor. Look for the glass doors with the seahorse handles to find the front entrance.
![The entrance to the restaurant is waterside.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/restaurnat-exterior.jpg)
![The bar.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bar.jpg)
The restaurant is named for the Hurrica V, a 100-year-old yacht that was famously featured in the flick, “The Great Gatsby” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
![The Hurrica V in the harbor.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Hurrica-ship.jpg)
You can spot it anchored beside the restaurant. Mark and Maureen Sanders, who own the yacht, as well as Westpoint Harbor Marina, were the ones to sweet talk Boice and Ulrich into taking over the 8,000-square-foot space. And they have done so with gusto, creating a nautical oasis that delivers on both style and substance.
Everywhere you look, there are playful sea-like touches, most notably the 1,700-gallon jellyfish tank dividing the bar from the dining room that’s thought to be the largest in the country. Get a glimpse here.
![The private dining room.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/private-dining-room.jpg)
![Fish sculptures hanging from the ceiling.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/fish-sculpture-ceiling.jpg)
![Octopus door handle.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/octopus-bathroom-door.jpg)
The decor is a sumptuous deep blue, and even some of the lighting has been given a light blue cast to evoke the feeling of water. There are octopus door handles on the bathrooms that are outfitted with disco-like reflective lights that create an almost underwater-like vibe. Copper-wire fish sculptures hang from the ceiling, and the walls and ceiling in the private dining room, where we sat, are done up in thin, curved wood slats that mimic the bottom of a boat.
On a sunny afternoon, you’d be hard pressed to find a prettier spot than outside on the patio for lunch with a view of the boats on the water.
![The glass-fronted kitchen.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kitchen.jpg)
![Cooking over the hearth.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kitchen-hearth.jpg)
Executive Chef-Partner Justin Baade, who first cooked with Ulrich at Farallon in San Francisco then helped open Waterbar with him, oversees the kitchen that has a floor-to-ceiling glass front, so you can see the kitchen crew manning the 66-foot tall hearth and grill.
![Broiled sea scallop.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/scallop.jpg)
![Baked oyster.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/oyster.jpg)
The menu features large-format dishes cooked over the hearth, as well as small plates and other entrees. There are also “bites,” which are for the most part individual noshes that can be ordered by the piece, such as live sea scallop ($12) broiled in its shell with garlic chive butter, Meyer lemon, and ogo; and one perfect baked Miyagi oyster ($6) with truffled sauerkraut grain and champagne pearls.
![Big eye tuna sashimi on crispy rice.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tuna-sashimi.jpg)
The Big Eye tuna sashimi ($8 for one) and the hamachi sashimi ($8 for one) are actually more like nigiri, with each piece of fish draped over rice that’s surprisingly warm with a crunchy crust at the bottom. I’m a sucker for socarrat, the crispy bits of rice at the bottom of a paella pan, so I loved the added texture of this. However, it does make for more difficult eating, as the the rice tends to fall apart easily when you pick it up with your fingers, which you’ll have to do since there are no chopsticks provided.
![Hamachi sashimi.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hamachi-sashimi.jpg)
That being said, both were delicious. The tuna sashimi is topped with chili crunch, adding a delicious hit of heat, umami, and saltiness. The hamachi is imbued with the taste of spring alliums, thanks to pickled wild onion along with bonito aoli.
![Milk bread with a browned butter and kabocha squash puree to slather on.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/milk-bread.jpg)
![Lobster ravioli.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lobster-ravioli.jpg)
![Lettuces with brie toast.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lettuces.jpg)
Although, the warm milk bread ($8) is listed as a “bite,” it’s enough for four to share. And share you should, as this glossy, pillowy bread comes with a big puddle of smooth, creamy kabocha squash puree with a center of molten brown butter. It’s a winning combination, tasting of fall, with sweetness and rich nuttiness.
From the “small plates” section, there is more luxuriousness with lobster ravioli ($21) made with supple, thin pasta in an exquisite butter sauce with aged sherry and fried shallots. Not surprisingly, it’s a very rich dish, and takes well to sharing.
![Bone marrow with garlic cloves confit.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/bone-marrow.jpg)
Although seafood dominates the menu, land proteins also come into play, such as with the bone marrow ($18), roasted and topped with garlic cloves confit, dabs of cipollini jam, and a sweet-tangy Hurrica sauce. Dig out the marrow and dollop on the accompanying grilled sourdough.
For something fresh and crunchy, there’s the mixed local lettuces salad ($16), with the leaves tumbled with thinly sliced radish and Asian pear, and lightly dressed with a honey-lemon vinaigrette. For added crunch, there’s a garnish of warm brie toast.
The four of us decided to share what’s a relative bargain dish these days: whole-roasted dorade ($48). Even though a manager told us one diner actually ordered this as her entree and somehow finished it, this whole fish, otherwise known as a gilt-headed bream, is substantial enough to feed three easily if you add a couple sides or starters.
The fish sports crisp skin, plus succulent, rich flesh kissed by delicious smoke. It comes on a comforting bed of fried rice and vermicelli studded with toasted garlic, bacon, and scallions that’s a little sweet and a whole lot savory. I would order this again in a heartbeat, especially if I’m dining with more than one other person.
![A juicy pork chop large enough for two.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/pork-chop.jpg)
We also enjoyed the slow-roasted pork chop ($45), which the kitchen was kind enough to slice for us to make sharing easier. Again, this entree is substantial enough to share between two people. You can tell the quality of the pork from the get-go, with its rosy, juicy appearance and deep sweet pork taste. It’s served with charred cabbage, chanterelles, and rings of apples.
![Wagyu beef fat powder gets sprinkled over crispy onion rings.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/onion-rings-Wagyu-powder.jpg)
![Gruyere spaetzle.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/spaetzle.jpg)
From the list of sides, don’t sleep on the impeccably crisp onion rings ($12) that come dusted with Wagyu beef fat powder a la powdered sugar on beignets. You’ll want to take a spoon to gather some of the “dust” at the bottom of the bowl to spoon over your onion ring so that you can really taste the airy, fleeting burst of primo beef fattiness that it imparts.
The spaetzle gratin ($12) comes bubbling to the table with plenty of Gruyere. It eats like a slightly chewier version of traditional mac ‘n’ cheese.
![A drop-dead gorgeous pistachio cake.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/pistachio-cake.jpg)
Desserts are no afterthought at this restaurant. They are stunning. The pistachio mousse cake ($14) could star on the cover of a magazine. A semi-circle of airy cake is done up with squiggles of pistachio mousse and candied pistachios with the perfect hit of sea salt. A touch of fennel adds an inspired gentle anise note that bring out the woodsy taste of the nuts. On the other side of the plate, there’s a perfect matching semi-circle of sour cherry sauce that offers enough tang to perk up and refresh the palate.
![The world's greatest pairing of chocolate and peanut butter shine here.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/chocolate-peanut-butter-entrement.jpg)
The chocolate peanut butter entrement ($14) eat surprisingly lighter than you might expect. The moist devil’s food cake with its caramel layer is definitely decadent tasting with a marshmallow at its very center and a peanut tuille on top. It’s utterly satisfying yet doesn’t leave you feeling as if you need to be carted out of the restaurant in a wheelbarrow.
Hooray for Hurrica — a new addition to the Peninsula worth celebrating.