In a quest to go to CVS around the area, I stumbled onto this restaurant purely by accident. My partner wanted seafood, and I saw this had pretty positive reviews and was on the way walking. Having done some research after eating there, it turns out this restaurant has some acclaim for both its food and its wine options. The restaurant comes from Alex Raij and Eder Montero, whom both were involved in reinventing Spanish tapas in NYC. This restaurant particularly focuses on global maritime internationalism drawing inspiration from seafood ports around the world. We walked in for 2 around 5:00 PM on a Sunday evening.
Ambiance & Service
The interior felt like an intimate restaurant with a J-shaped stainless steel bar and plenty of glass brick windows. It’s fairly narrow front to back, and we were seated towards the back facing the wall. There is a J-shaped table that lines up against the wall and against the kitchen. Space for your food is relatively small, and you sit on a stool.
Fortunately the meal wasn’t too long, so we weren’t that uncomfortable. The sound was decent though if you have a rowdy group of people, it can get loud.
The service was definitely great until it got really busy. I had asked for my second glass of wine, but it took a while for them to serve it.
Food
The Division 2025 ($18) was a skin contact wine made of pinot gris, roussanne, and riesling from Willamette Valley, OR. This organic wine had very good notes to it that has very nice flavors to it without becoming overly aromatic and perfume like. It finishes super clean, and it was a great complement to the seafood dishes.
The Head on Shrimp ($16) came flash fried with salt & pepper and yuzu mayo on the side. The entire bodies of the shrimp are edible, but you need to be careful of some of the spiky parts of the shell. If you eat quickly, you could easily tear up your mouth. Aside from this precaution, the shrimps were delicious, and the yuzu mayo was balanced and wonderful. If you’re a fan of shrimp especially eating shells, this is a must-get.
The Amberjack ($23) came with raw kampachi, tomato water, crispy shallot, and shiso oil. I’ll be honest that I wasn’t expecting much from this. Surprisingly the amberjack was very fresh and tasty, and the tomato water complemented it with that tomato-flavored sweetness. I was expecting the shiso flavors to be bold, but they turned out more delicate and subtle. It was definitely a very balanced dish flavor-wise.
The Octopus ($23) came with pipián verde, roasted tomatillo water, cucumber, and serrano peppers. Pipián verde is a green mole sauce with a lot of herbs. The tomatillo water added a bit of tart and brightness to it. The serrano peppers gave it a touch of heat. The octopus itself was very tender, and all the flavors of the dish were very harmonious and delicious. We did feel that we’ve had better octopus dishes elsewhere, but we were left pretty impressed by the construction of the flavors here.
The Boudin ($29) came with seafood sausage, Thai chili mayo, pickled daikon, crispy shallot, and herbs. The sausage is made of various seafood “things”, but it flat out reminded me of fish or shrimp paste. Regardless, all the other condiments and ingredients were very delicious and fresh. It came out distinctively Thai flavored.
The Antonio Lopes Ribeiro 2022 ($19) had vinhao and loureiro grape blend and came from Douro, Portugal. As a natural wine, it had some nice, refreshing acidity coming from red berries, currants, and minerality. It came chilled and was very tasty.
The Jerked Hamachi Collar ($27) came with mango-pickled mayo and lime. Our final course was this wonderful yellowtail collar. The marinade on top was very full on flavored and reminded me a bit of the Egyptian seasoning that we got at Hamido Seafood. This one had a little spice to it, but nothing too intense. The meat was very moist, and there was plenty of it.
Overall Impression
Saint Julivert was an unexpected delicious restaurant that accepted walk-in and had a delectable medley of seafood offerings. If you’re around the Cobble Hill area, this is definitely a very pleasant and sublime restaurant to check out. The price points were not too astounding, and the flavors were very memorable. The wine beverage program was distinctly natural and pretty good. I’d love to come back and try other things.
Yelp & Google Jabs
Cod Pot Pie: I love the idea of this one and with the sauce it was pretty good, however the cod pot pie was on the dry side. Without the sauce it would’ve been a miss.
And that’s why they gave the sauce.
While they are currently Michelin Recommended, I truly believe they deserve a Star. If you’re looking for a seafood-forward menu that is both creative and expertly executed, highly recommend!
They’ve been in the neighborhood for a while now. They probably need to develop a more stable set of dishes, so that it can be consistently prepared and served. The food itself tasted great, but I’d argue that the techniques aren’t anything that would connect it to a Michelin Star.
Revisions
- Oct 18, 2026 - Initial revision.