This is such a fun hipster restaurant in the heart of downtown Redlands. It’s off the beaten path on The Orange Alley which is adorned by umbrellas in the sky. It is festive and the best part – the food is just spectacular.
Redlands Oyster Cult opened its door in 2019, to a bustling audience of like-minded young Redlands folks. Owner Emanuel Jacobsen, haling for Turkey, has really created quite the phenomenon. His customers know a good thing when they taste his super fresh seafood dishes. His oysters get flown in every day.
Here’s What I tried:
Cocktails:
Calypso, with tequila, pineapple, orange, and lime. A nice fun cocktail that hit all of the right notes.
Sea Hag with dark rum, cacao, pineapple, orange, and coconut. For the tropical drink lover, that would be me, this one is for you.
Part time love, vodka, Aperaol, elderflower, sparking. A nice effervescent cocktail, with some great rounded out flavors.
Cult Shooter, oyster in a half shell, vodka, and spicytomato with essence of clam. Now this is my kind of shooter, the oyster is so fresh and the small shot is just wonderful.
Oysters on a Half Shell, Aphrodite – broccolini cheese goddess, Blue Pool – lemon burst, and Dunbar – prosciutto mignonette and cocktail sauce. I really have never tasted oysters so fresh and delightful.
Oyster R-O-C, grilled with spinach, shallot, cream, Parmesan Reggiano, panko and Pernod. This is an oysters Rockefeller type baked oyster dish, and it is heavenly.
Oyster Butter Bomb, grilled with miso shallot with seaweed butter atop house bread. They’re really spectacular, the butter coats your palate and the rest is history.
R-O-C Clam Stew with clams, cream broth, potato, celery, onion, parsley, house bread. This is a clam chowder type stew at its best, one of my many favorite menu items.
Aguachile, chilled jumbo scallops, jalapeno,avocado, radish, citrus juice, and herb oil. The scallops are cut super thin and are sweet and tangy, just a terrific combination of flavors.
Shrimp Cocktail, with jumbo wild Mexican shrimp, and house cocktail sauce. These are huge shrimps; the presentation alone is enough to order these little lovelies.
Chipotle Shrimp Linguini withjumbo wild Mexican shrimp, and cherry tomato on linguine with chipotle cream sauce. The tomatoes are the best part, they pop in your mouth with a candy sweetness that you just can’t get enough of.
Hen of the Woods Mushroom with Polenta, Parmesan Reggiano, miso butter, and thyme with parmesan tuile. A nice rich hearty dish that will make you want to come back for more.
Spring Sea Bass, with asparagus, chimichurri, and tomato. This is by far the best Sea bass I have ever tried, it’s flaky and moist, just an amazing rendition of this very popular fish dish.
Steak Frites, 10 oz. New York strip steak, with compound herb butter, and shoestring fries. The steak is medium rare, I didn’t even have to ask, it just came that way, and is super tasty with the perfect grill marks. Their fries are also very delicious.
Dessert:
Pecan Tart with bourbon and honey whipped cream, this dessert is the perfect way to end my extremely wonderful experience.
Wine :
Chardonnay, Deux Roches, Macon Villages, France. This wine went so great with any of the seafood dishes.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Tyros, Silenus, Napa. You must pair this wine with the steak, it’s a perfect combination.
With Chef Hector Bueno at the helm, everything that came out of the kitchen was delicious. Their oysters are farmed oysters and shipped overnight; their lettuce comes from local farmers as well. My server Jesus was very accommodating. Its focused Turkish flavors at its best.
The design is timeless, its neoclassical style reflects that era. Painted ceiling, a kind of time capsule. The vibe is very cool. The décor gives off a chill study-chique vibe, as if the consumer was in 1920s New England instead of modern-day Southern California, but a fun nightlife spot in Redlands. At approximately 1,000 square feet, there are brick walls, gold light fixtures, marble countertops, and brown leather seats that offer a relaxed yet sophisticated atmosphere. Redlands Oyster Cult’s horseshoe-shaped bar makes for excellent conversation over Jacobson’s inspiring liquor menu, creating a more personal feel than the average head-down, eyes-up, bar. The space used to be a dance studio. There are 36 seats total in the restaurant.
Owner Eman Jacobson is a truth seeker. During COVID he didn’t buy into all of the closures and stayed open, he attracted like-minded people. He calls himself an anarchist meaning, no master’s, no rules – choose right over wrong and only the truth. His philosophy is that his results are tried and true, He comes from t right place. Afraid of nothing, Eman is a truth seeker.
First-time restaurant owner Emanuel Jacobson is bringing fresh seafood from around the world to the Inland Empire’s quaint little town. After working for his family business Ozell Jewelers, also on State Street, Jacobson says he wanted to create a place where he could have unique cocktails paired with stimulating food. “We are trying to capture what the whole world is doing, like a worldwide scene with what is happening with wine.” Jacobson says his menu will not be extensive but will instead be made up of six or so items that may evolve and change as the months go on. A night at the Redlands Oyster Cult is as much about a fulfilling dining experience, as it is with a fulfilling human experience.
Jacobson says he wants his restaurant to compete with the best oyster bars around the world. “If you go to an oyster bar in Japan, I want us to be at that level. If you go to South Africa or New York, I want this to be up there.”
Whatever the occasion, Redlands Oyster Cult provides a totally new take on fresh seafood, dishes that are well thought out and delightful, I highly recommend this fun experience.
Redlands Oyster Cult
16 E State St.
Redlands, CA 92373
Hours:
WEDNESDAY – SATURDAY 5:00PM – 10:00PM
NO RESERVATIONS
- Note Some Content was taken off of their website.
