Reviews for Water Grill San Diego in Costa Mesa, CA
This is a very spacious, well ventilated seafood restaurant with a visible kitchen. Our server, Javier, was helpful and... accommodating. The grilled octopus was soft and nicely seasoned. The whole black bass was nicely grilled with lemon and capers.The oysters were sweet, the uni soft and fresh. The cioppino is prepared differently than the LA restaurant but was good in itsown way. The shrimp scampi and clams with chorizo are not to be missed. We love everything we ordered especially the fried softshell crabs with watermelon salad. There was no room for dessert! Read more
A 5 star for food and service. This place is impressive. By the time you walk in to the restaurant, you are surrendered by a... Beautiful waiting area with nice decorations and an seafood bar with all kinds of shell seafoods. I know I came to the rightplace for some god seafood when I saw the king crab fish tank. The receptionist was very nice and got us seated promptly. Wegot a comfortable booth for the evening. Our waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable on the menu. With her recommendations,we had crab cake and a dozen raw scallops to start our evening. They both were delectable and fresh. Marinated with fresh limejuicy and other sauce, the scallops were so delicious. Our mains consisted of a Mexican white cod and and black cod withbroccolini. I loved the black cod with the tender and flaky meat structure. The sauce accompanied with the fish was very tastywith a bit of vinaigrette taste, a perfect complement to the fish. On the other hand, the texture of the white cod was a bithard. I was a bit surprised as I expected a soft and tender meat. Overall, the evening went fabulous where we enjoyed the foodand the dining environment. It was a perfect prelude to our broadway show that evening. Valet parking was the only option butyou can always park in the mall and walk over to the restaurant for free. Read more
Had a lovely lunch on a Monday. Overall it’s a wonderful venue with a fantastic seafood menu and quick, attentive service. We... ordered several appetizers and an entree. The photos below show the split portions for the clam chowder and cioppino, which theyhelpfully did for us without us asking. As you can see, even the split portions are quite hefty! Highlights: - Creamy,flavorful clam chowder served with clams in the shells. The soup came out piping hot, which was perfect even in the warm summerweather. - Complementary sourdough bread with whipped butter. We asked for a second serving because it was so good! It was softand moist inside with a salty, crisp, buttery crust on top. Great but not blow your mind amazing: - Bluefin toro tartare was afun build-your-own temaki that came with seasoned nori, sushi rice, and toro. It was a fun and tasty appetizer. - Cioppino camewith a healthy portion of Dungeness crab, among other seafood. Very good but nothing especially amazing, to behonest. Could’ve been better: - I really wanted to love the Mac and cheese side. Visually it looked amazing and had somenice broiled cheese on top. You could taste the cheese but somehow it lacked flavor despite that. The noodles were cooked nicelyAl dente though, which was great. - We ordered a dozen of the oyster sampler. We had a nice array of oysters and they weremostly fine. Somehow they didn’t seem as fresh/flavorful as others we’ve had elsewhere, but this could just be us. Don’tget us wrong, it was all still pretty tasty. Overall a solid bet for a nice meal out. Would recommend to any seafood lovers orfolks who want to sit in a nice, indoor space that feels like you are still outdoors! Read more
The decor and ambience of the Water Grill is breath taking. The rooms have a welcoming and stylish feel with comfortable... seating. The lights, bars, and the aquariums filled with fresh fish and lobster have an east coast feel. The food is deliciousfrom the chowder, to salad, to appetizers and the main dish - it’s all delicious. The service is excellent. I’d highlyrecommend this for any events or a fun family and friends outing. Read more
What a great place to have a wonderful meal and good conversation. We had the special of the day the spiny lobster tail... recommended by our waiter Jeff, he has to one of the last caring waiters left. Jeff is so personal and goes out of his way tointeract with you and gives his honest feedback on the menu items. I so recommend him if you go. All the food looks amazingand the drinks too. Make a special time for yourself and family. Read more
Secured a nice, chonky 9.5lb Alaska's King Crab for the table, but had to insist that the waiter rush reserve it before seating... us, with good reason. Everything delicious and on point, really mouthwatering "side" dishes. American portions. Americanhospitality. Most excellent dining experience here. Note: hamachi was reportedly the only let down if the night, but we were ina group and did not order it, so I cannot vouch for its fail. We even got a little celebratory cake at the end to mark theoccasion. December 2021 Read more
Food was great. Service was great. Decor was great. Came here for dinner to celebrate a friends birthday. Had reservations for... 14 people. They were a little slow to seat us due to delays but we had drinks at the bar so it wasn’t too bad. Ordered ALOT offood and everything was tasty, minus the “ceviche.” I didn’t eat it since I can’t do raw fish but my friends who diddidn’t enjoy it. I liked everything I ate so for my experience it was 5 stars:) Read more
It's always nice to come here and the quality from the food to customer service from the moment you arrive and the parking till... you leave will be the same time by time. Deserve 5 stars, even though sometimes it's hard to catch our server since we came herearound 4:45-6 pm which is peak time. Valet parking. Reservation in advance is highly recommended with no wait or maybe lessthan 5 mins, not sure if they are allowed a walk-in. Our foods were great and the caramel ice cream was the cherry on top. Read more