Frutti De Mar opens its downtown Monterey spot with love and family.

The big Turtle Bay sign at 431 Tyler St. in downtown Monterey is gone, replaced by a humble banner that says Frutti De Mar (747-2212).

While the banner will be supplanted by more permanent signage once the city of Monterey grants its approval, the theme of humility runs throughout the family-run operation.

The husband-wife—and chef-manager—combo of Tito and Sonia Perez never figured they'd enjoy such a prime downtown Monterey spot.

But their whole-hearted investment in their many regulars at their modest strip mall spot in Marina means that time has come. (Their former restaurant has new tenants and will become a pupuseria.)

"We never expected this," Sonia says, "but we got popular enough that it was a possibility."

She paused during a bustling friends-and-family soft opening June 27 to reflect further.

"I love serving and greeting people," she says. "I have that passion. Tito has it for cooking. It works. We like it and we're happy. We never thought it would get this far."

If hospitality is a fundamental to FDM, so too is honest Italian food.

Tito mastered his craft in the kitchen of beloved (and now closed) Pasta Mia Trattoria in Pacific Grove with Maureen Signorella and has sworn allegiance to piccata and parmigiana ever since.

Crab ravioli ($15.95), lightly breaded and grilled sand dabs ($18.95) and misti de mar ($19.95)—a combination of shrimp, scallops and crab sautéed in a lobster cream sauce—rank among the most popular plates.

Other notable items include filet mignon carpaccio on a salad of wild arugula and mushrooms with lemon, onions and capers ($9.95), grilled wild salmon salad ($14.95) and herb-rubbed rib-eye.

To help satiate those still pining for Turtle Bay's Caribbean-Yucatan fusion menu of wraps, bowls and tacos (and not willing to drive to the remaining Seaside location), Frutti has added a range of largely seafood-driven offerings at lunch.

Those include bowls with black beans, rice, Caribbean salad and salsa and proteins like grilled shrimp ($13.95), fried calamari ($12.95) or the flagship combo with rock crab, scallops and shrimp sautéed in a lobster cream sauce. 

Wraps ($10.95-$13.95) cover the same range of options, tucked into a flour tortilla.

Big tacos with filling like charbroiled steak and grilled tilapia ($3.95-$5.50) come on fresh housemade corn tortillas. 

"It's a little more work to make our own tortillas, but it makes it more of a special treat," Sonia says.

As the freshly painted restaurant filled with friends and longtime customers for the pre-opening, Tito looked around and took it all in with a big smile.

"When I got started [in restaurants] I was young and didn't have any idea this could happen," he said. "We grew in the community. Now it's nice we're doing something for the city and my family."

Hours are 11am-10pm daily.