Paradise Bay / Salito's Crab House

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.

Note:  This restauarant is in the middle of a gradual name change.  The building still has its Paradise Bay signage, but the menu refers to Salito's.  Under either name it's the same place.

 

#9 (tied) on the OurSausalito.com Best Restaurant Views List for 2012

 

Paradise Bay / Salito's Crab House

 

Note:  You may have noticed a fresh coat of paint on Paradise Bay's (beautiful) exterior.  It turns out the restaurant has been 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 will be changing the name of the place to Salito’s Crab House, where they will feature (big surprise) crab and prime rib.   The exterior name is still Paradise Bay for now, but the menu has already changed to the Salito's version.  Andrea Froncillo will serve as executive chef.   We'll report more as we learn it.

Fast Forward Summary^TM:  Located just a few blocks north of downtown Sausalito, Paradise Bay serves American food with an emphasis on organic meats and fish.  The back deck has a beautifukl view of the marina and, beyond it, the Bay.  Paradise Bay has a dedicated base of local fans who come for their Happy Hour.  The staff here are warm and welcoming.  Lots of free parking. 

  

Paradise Bay: The Details

Lots of changes going on here, and we definitely think it's worth gkiving the new menu a try.  The deck in back is large and a great spot to enjoy a nice Bay view.  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!

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 arguably the most active club scene north of San Francisco.  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. 

  

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.

View Larger Map

 

Something else that people should know about Paradise Bay?  Think we're too harsh in our feedback?  Disagree with any of our suggestions?  Please leave a comment below so our readers get the full story.

.

Comments

[Leslie]

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

[Editors]

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.