Hold the beef. Here comes the fish. Alexander’s Steakhouse, a luxury steakhouse with locations in Cupertino and San Francisco, plans to open The Sea, a high-end seafood restaurant on the site of Trader Vic’s on El Camino Real in Palo Alto.

Chef and partner Jeffrey Stout is aiming high. “I envision this being the premier fine dining seafood restaurant in the Bay Area,” Stout says. “Essentially, we want to do what we did with steak but with different protein.”

Alexander’s already features a number of creative seafood dishes and the new venue should give Stout an opportunity to further develop his repertoire. He points to top-of-the line restaurants like Providence in Los Angeles and Le Bernardin in New York City as his inspiration. 

“I think that this is something which has been missing from the Bay Area food scene since the demise of Aqua with its elegant presentations and luxury products.”