1200 Bridgeway, Sausalito CA 94965 (See Map Below) Phone: 415-331-3226
Neighborhood: Caledonia St. (New Town). Website is here. Use these links to see menus for lunch and dinner, as well as small plates and salads. Wine list is here. Chef bio is here. Open for lunch and dinner. Free parking in lot.
Insiders Tip: Just in case their lot is full, check out our special page on Parking Near Caledonia St. Without Getting a Ticket. It explains how to avoid the no-parking zones that catch some visitors by surprise.
Note: This restauarant is in the latter stages of a gradual name change. The building signage has now been changed To Salito's Crab House, but many online sites still refer to it as Paradise Bay. Under either name it's the same place in Sausalito.
Salito's Crab House (Paradise Bay)
Note: The restaurant recently was bought by Jerry Dal Bozzo, Dante Serafina and Andrea Froncillo, who are partners in several other successful restaurants (Boboquivari’s, Calzone’s, Crab House, Franciscan Crab Restaurant, The Dead Fish, Stinking Rose). They have changed the name of the place to Salito’s Crab House, where they now feature (big surprise) crab and prime rib. Andrea Froncillo serves as executive chef.
Fast Forward SummaryTM: Located just a few blocks north of downtown Sausalito, Salito's Crab House is gradually completing its transition from the old Paradise Bay name. The back deck has a beautifukl view of the marina and, beyond it, the Bay. The staff here are warm and welcoming, and there's lots of free parking.
Half the dining room can be opened up with sliding glass windows/doors, so on a warm summer day you're really eating in fresh air, either inside or outside.
We are just starting to get a feel for their new menu, but the theme of very fresh fish is coming through loud and clear. The clam chowder, however, was over-thickened on our last visit. When we added the crackers the soup became more of a gelatin. That said, this is a group of restaurateurs and chefs with a long track record of success, and we expect them to get the kinks worked out shortly.
This location is an historic site. In the 1970's it was called Zack's by the Bay, and in addition to being a restaurant it was the most active club scene in Marin. A lot of the locals from all over the North Bay have stories about this place and how certain youthful rituals and rites of passage were lived out here. Or in the parking lot. Or just up the street in the park. Or...
In the late 1980's and 1990's it was Margaritaville, a nice but unremarkable California-ized Mexican food place. It was reshaped into Paradise Bay in a Tommy-Bahama-style makeover a few years ago, and the architect did a fabulous job on the exterior and retained the great openness to the Bay. That strong architecture has been maintained in the transition to Salito's Crab House.
Google Map Instructions: Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.
Something else that people should know about Salito's Crab House? Ready to confess your personal sins from your days at the old Zack's (after first consulting an attorney)? Think we're being too crabby in our critique of the chowdah? Disagree with any of our suggestions? Please leave a comment below so our readers get the full story.
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Think you've missed the mark on this restaurant. Yes, it can be expensive compared to other Sausalito restaurants but as someone who goes fairly often I'd say the food is better and more consistent than a number of other restaurants that rank higher on your list. I also think the service is much better - in general - than you describe. Lots of locals go here and it is a welcoming place. They have also made an effort to offer some "value" - this includes Wine Down Wednesdays. Every week from 5-7pm, one has the opportunity to enjoy wine from a different winery (these range from good to great). You have a selection of 5 different wines, both white and red and can taste as much as you like. No wimpy 2 ounce tastes. They have the same wonderful live jazz each week too.
Other bargains: each evening a happy hour offers special mixed drinks, beers and wines and appetizers. They have a very nice wine list and the markup is very low - something designed to attact people who love good food and wine.
I'd much rather go to Paradise Bay - a very pretty place with warm staff and consistently good food than other destinations that have better views but mediocre and inconsistent food, poor wine lists and too many tourists.
Leslie
Posted by: Leslie | 04/21/2009 at 06:14 PM
Leslie --
Thank you so much for taking the time and showing the strength of purpose to add this comment to our page and disagree with our review.
First of all, nobody has issued any decrees yet that say we're always right. If 100 people check out Paradise Bay (and we hope they will) 75% may think you're the one who represents their point of view, not us.
This kind of dialogue is what we founded this website to create. The give and take of different opinions, moderated by a human being rather than a computer, will give our readers the best perspectives.
Your post contributed to that quality dialogue and is exactly the kind of input we want.
I have two small points to make:
1. The editors unanimously agree with you on the staff being warm and welcoming here. I'm going to re-read the article and see if we need to edit a little because we may not have made this clear enough.
2. "5 Sea Lions" is not a bad review, and I want to make sure our comments are not taken that way. I do understand, however, why you'd feel that the score should be higher.
So please count us as delighted to hear your opinion, and please keep them coming.
As we go back to places we do revise reviews where we see fit. And part of this job -- at least for our crew -- is that it's a lot more fun to raise the score on a review than it is to lower it.
Posted by: Editors | 04/21/2009 at 10:43 PM