Connie and Ted’s brings New England to L.A. with its lobster roll, top, and themed decor.
THE swooping front patio canopy constructed during the pandemic’s darkest months has been disassembled, and customers have returned inside Connie and Ted’s curvy, Atomic Age building — an ode to the Googie coffee shops of midcentury Los Angeles — that is now a West Hollywood icon in its own right. As for the last nine years, the simplicity of the restaurant’s New England-style seafood stands on its own merits. When I disengage from automatically ordering milky-porky chowder and the fish and chips, I delight in the freshness of the New England clam boil; grilled Rhode Island swordfish with only a lacquer of herbed oil; and bouillabaisse, a frequent Wednesday-night special, served with rouille properly buzzing with garlic and saffron.
• 8171 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-2722, connieandteds.com
THE swooping front patio canopy constructed during the pandemic’s darkest months has been disassembled, and customers have returned inside Connie and Ted’s curvy, Atomic Age building — an ode to the Googie coffee shops of midcentury Los Angeles — that is now a West Hollywood icon in its own right. As for the last nine years, the simplicity of the restaurant’s New England-style seafood stands on its own merits. When I disengage from automatically ordering milky-porky chowder and the fish and chips, I delight in the freshness of the New England clam boil; grilled Rhode Island swordfish with only a lacquer of herbed oil; and bouillabaisse, a frequent Wednesday-night special, served with rouille properly buzzing with garlic and saffron.