I love it when you don’t make any plans and one thing leads to another and you end up by the beach gorging on a seafood platter during the golden hour. That’s exactly what happened when I ended up at Neptune’s Net on the Malibu and Ventura border.
I actually had never been to Neptune’s Net – a casual roadside seafood heaven with a gorgeous view of the Pacific that’s been around since 1958. My friend was in shock and my other friend and I were coerced into going — no regrets though.
Neptune’s Net reminds me of the little food shacks that Frankie and Annette would go to in their beach movies. You choose either the boiled seafood line or the grill seafood line. Make your order. Pay. Get your number. And sit on under the covered patio and wait for your number to be called as you look across the street and see the ocean.
My friend and I split Neptune’s Sampler.
Don’t you love the lighting? We got our order right at the golden hour. Neptune’s Sampler is mostly fried. Fried calamari! Fried fish! Fried shrimp! Fried clam strips! French fries! Oh… and there’s the crab cake that’s not fried but grilled instead. My favorite was the shrimp and fish – perfectly fried with a great crunch. I tried to stay away from the fries (even though they were tasty) because it was filler food — I needed to spare the space in my tummy for the seafood goodness.
Right when I thought I couldn’t eat anymore, my friend who had driven us here said we couldn’t leave without trying the crab and ordered a Dungeness crab. Before I could slip into food coma, the dungeness crab had arrived in front of me.
The crab came pre-cracked with a side of melted butter. It was perfectly cooked. And the best part is I didn’t have to crack the shell because it was already done.
If you’re headed up the Pacific Coast Highway towards Malibu, drive a little further to Neptune’s Net for a sunset meal – it will be well worth it.
angela is here... 