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Soaring views, food at Sea 180˚

Cohn empire makes a splash in I.B.

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The Cohn Restaurant Group is like Starbucks, without the bitter aftertaste. Both chains are ubiquitous, consistent and often harbingers of an area’s up-and-coming status.

Sure, CRG is in Balboa Park and the Gaslamp, Liberty Station and Hillcrest. But from Oceanside to La Mesa, to Escondido and now to Imperial Beach, David and Lesley Cohn also venture into places — atop a car dealership, anyone? — other restaurateurs wouldn’t consider.

Take their latest venture, Sea 180° Coastal Tavern, at the new Pier South Resort in Imperial Beach. When was the last time a splashy restaurant opened in Imperial Beach?

Already a hit with hotel guests and I.B. locals (two tables were celebrating a birthday on a recent night), it’s an audacious salvo the Cohns are lobbing at the rest of San Diego. Beyond, perhaps, a longer-than-usual drive south, there’s no excuse not to try it.

Where else in the county can you sit literally inches from the sand, and be in a sophisticated restaurant? Choose between the sleek, pretty patio, outfitted with heaters and a fire pit, or the contemporary beachy blue and brown dining room with spectacular water views from every table.

If the setting isn’t reward enough, many of the dishes coming out of chef Ken Irvine’s kitchen soar to culinary heights that put Sea 180° on the same level with any of the county’s best restaurants.

(It’s impossible to determine the impact the recent loss of sous chef Jack Fisher has had on the kitchen; both of my visits came after his departure for downtown San Diego’s JSix.)

A carbaholics dream: Sea 180's calamari on zucchini "pasta" ribbons. — Michele Parente photo
A carbaholics dream: Sea 180’s calamari on zucchini “pasta” ribbons. — Michele Parente photo
( / Michele Parente photo)

One of the best pasta dishes — make that one of the best dishes — I’ve had in a while, didn’t have pasta at all. Spaghetti-thin “zucchini noodles” make a healthy bed for pillow-soft calamari rings gently blanketed in garlicky green olive pistou. I’d drive hours for that.

Roasted black mussels came with a metal sand pail for the empty shells. Eschew the pail and use those shells to drink in heavenly broth perfumed with house-made chorizo, lager, Thai red curry and melted leeks.

Sea 180's mussles come in an intoxicating broth you'll want to drink. — Lori Weisberg photo
Sea 180’s mussles come in an intoxicating broth you’ll want to drink. — Lori Weisberg photo
( / Lori Weisberg photo)

Even if you’re sick of Brussels in this Brussels-crazy town, don’t pass up Sea 180°’s fire-roasted version. Smokey and sweet, they’re good enough to extend the trend even longer. The same goes for the black truffle mac ’n’ cheese, creamy, perfectly al dente elbows with a light, crispy baked cheese top. Had it 100 times before? Make it 101.

My Wagyu cheeseburger was also memorable, though more for the sweet bacon jam and crispy, thin herb fries with lime aioli. Vegetables and salads don’t get any fresher than from Suzie’s Farm, practically right down the street. And Baja-Med influences extend from the menu to the pleasing, global wine list.

Not all goes swimmingly at Sea 180°, however. Several dishes came out of the kitchen underseasoned (pulpo flatbread, for example), some were shy on sauce (like the otherwise tasty gingered pulled pork empanadas), a handful completely lacked flavor (such as frozen Meyer lemon mousse).

These are inexplicable lapses for an operation that produces such stellar food. It’s like the kitchen is holding itself back. And there’s no excuse for that.

Sea 180˚ Coastal Tavern

Address: 800 Seacoast Ave., Imperial Beach

Phone: (619) 631-4949

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