Pacific Beach’s sand, surf, and sunshine usually gives rise to casual margarita bars and frat-boy drink-a-thons. However, the beach’s still-new Bar West combines downtown San Diego swank with a new kind of class and culinary creativity.

Leave your flip flops at home, and step into Bar West’s sleek black interior, garnished with modern fixtures, leather booths, plasma screens, and a wide, futuristic-looking bar. The creators of Stingaree and Side Bar have done it again, but their new seaside-chic restaurant/bar has a coastal advantage that begins with the menu.

Dubbed “comfort food re-imagined,” chef Larry Abrams, formerly of Thee Bungalow in Ocean Beach, has created a flavorful array of seafood dishes. Fish-lovers should prepare for a rockin’ dinner and bar experience that rivals east coast surf-and-turf, with dishes like Ahi Tuna Threeways, the West Coast Lobster Roll with Tahitian vanilla aioli, and a Shrimp and Oyster Po’ Boy with southern remoulade.

With a drink menu equally creative and delicious, and resident DJs performing every night, Bar West ensures patrons no longer need to leave PB to feel like they’re downtown.