Kim Tar Seafood Restaurant

Parking was pretty plentiful when we came at 11am on a week day. A lot of reviewers said staff was attentive but we did not get that experience. Had to constantly try to catch eye contact and wave down a waitress to order food and get a refill on tea. The wait for food took 20 min and we were so hangry from just driving down from San Diego. The crazy part is that the restaurant was not busy and only had 2 other dining in parties and 2 people waiting for take-out! I will say, their food was very tasty! The lunch specials are worth it ($14 vs. $23) and the size is still sufficient (plenty for our party of 3). We ordered:1) French Style Beef (this was the only one not on the lunch special menu)- it was delicious and flavored very well! However, the meat was tough and not easy to chew. 2) Crispy Fried Tofu- so tasty and perfectly crispy and paired well with the sauce! 3) String Bean with Garlic Sauce- we ordered this one with a request for not making it spicy because I needed some dishes to not be as spicy or it affects my stomach. They followed this perfectly and it had amazing flavor with just the garlic sauce! 4) House Special Fish Filet- THE BEST THING TO ORDER HERE!! Omg the flavor on this was outstanding!! I usually don't like fish but this was my favorite item on the menu and was flavored so well and buttery and had the perfect crispyness to it! I would come back just for this dish! My father ended up complaining to the owner about the French Style Beef being too tough to chew and he ended up making us a fresh batch on the house! That definitely bumped their customer service up for us! And yes, the beef ended up being a lot more tender.

Kim Tar Seafood Restaurant offers a solid seafood experience, though it is slightly pricey. They also charge a 3% fee if you pay with card. I visited on a busy Sunday night, and despite the crowd, the wait time was reasonable, about 20 minutes. The restaurant has a lively atmosphere, and the staff was efficient, quickly bringing tea and menus once we were seated.What We Ordered:House Special Fish Filet (3/5) - While the fish was crispy and flavorful, the seasoning was inconsistent. Some pieces were well seasoned, while others were a bit bland. Not bad, but not my favorite. Sautéed Ong Choy (4/5) - A solid dish with great flavor, pretty standard. It would've been a 5/5 if they added some spicy peppers!Lobster with Ginger and Scallion (4/5) - The highlight of the meal. We ordered a 3.5 lb lobster ($35/lb). The flavor was excellent, though the lobster was slightly overcooked. It was enjoyable, but I've had better at a lower price point elsewhere.Overall, service was friendly and attentive, and the restaurant was clean and well maintained. While I enjoyed my meal, I wouldn't say it was the best seafood I've had in the area. I'd return to try other dishes, but for the price, there are other options that might offer better value.

Kim Tar is a family friendly Chinese restaurant that has been in the Monterey Park community for decades. They offer a wide variety of Chinese/Vietnamese styled seafood and beefs. Kim Tar was my family go to spot and we've been coming here since the mid 2000's. Service at Kim Tar is mostly great! Sure, there were times where they were severely understaffed and the wait time was long but overall we never really had a problem here. The quality of the dishes here I would say is mostly consistent throughout the years. Almost every dish here is amazing. From Bo Luc Lac (Shaken Beef), Vietnamese Sour Soup, Steamed Tilapia with Soy Sauce, Walnut Shrimp, Frogs etc have been amazing!Overall: My only con about Kim Tar lately is that, it's extremely expensive now. I understand about the higher costs of supply chain and operational expenses but it really sucks because it's too pricey. For example, the walnut shrimp itself was about $26.00. Or a family meal that has 3 items is nearly at $100. Nonetheless, Kim Tar is great for families who want a higher quality Chinese food.

Ambiance: it's a Cantonese style seafood place, shared parking lot with other merchants in the same plaza, seating could be packed inside, and they have few large round tables for big groupsService: overall friendly and attentive, patient with questions and served food fairly fastFood & Drink: numerous items on their menu, with emphasis on seafood BRAISED CRAB MEAT & FISH MAW SOUP - **** tasty with vinegar and pepper, recommend SALT & PEPPER FRESH SQUID - **** crispy and and tasty, recommend STEAM CHICKEN W/ GREEN ONIONS - * the meat was undercooked, and it's literally bloody over the chicken bone, had to bring it to the kitchen to cook longer, taste was just fine YU TIU - ** soft fried doughnut stick, not crispy VIETNAMESE HOT COFFEE MILK - *** average tastePrice: moderate portions and affordable prices, expect about $30 per person including drink

Great service, very friendly and fast. Restaurant was clean and busy on a Sunday afternoon. The orange chicken was perfection! Crispy and tender at the same time. I loved that the chicken wasn't fried in tons of excess batter. It was delicious! The chow mein noodles were so good. The crunchy noodles were amazing! The sauce accompanying topped it off. The French style beef was very tasty and had good flavor. You definitely have a great selection of foods to choose from.

Takes credit card. Parking available in the plaza. Lots of tables available for big groups. Also serves beer. Staff speak English. The inside is super modern, upgraded from the old restaurant.French style beef steak ($23)- this is probably the best place I have been to have this dish. The meat is super flavorful, strong umami flavor, hint of sweetness, and meat is super soft. You can tell it was cooked at high heat to get a nice outside char. Hot and Sour Catfish Soup Viet Style ($26)- this is a heartwarming soup. If you don't like sour, don't get this soup. Large chunks of taro stem. It's not spicy. You can tell the catfish is cleaned well bc it doesn't taste like mud. The catfish cut into cuts. Teo Chao seafood soup ($26)- it's a rich broth, like Pho soup. Lots of pieces of seafood like shrimp, calamari, fish. Super filling.

At a glance, the place looks newly updated, and the space looks clean. Kind of a small parking lot but was able to find a spot easily on a Saturday afternoon. Lunch menu is offered between 11ish to 3PM everyday, except holidays. This menu is all $13.50 and there's two pages of options. Everything we got was tasty, and made slightly different than what we're used to. On the pricier side, but parent palette approved. - Clam Mint $13.50 - Kinda sour which was surprising; I didn't quite like it at first but it grew on me. The sauce is more viscous than I would have liked but parents liked it a lot and drizzled it over their rice lol - Shrimp String Bean Garlic $13.50 - I liked this a lot. Shrimps were thiccc and bouncy and the string beans were cooked just right. Sauce was great too. Would def get again. - French Beef Steak $23 - seasoned SO well. and paired with the fresh lemon and salt/pepper dip?? *chef's kiss* It also had a slight crisp which contrasted with the tender center and omg I'm craving it now. - House Lobster $31 x 3.40lbs + $14 for noodles - so decadent, juicy, and buttery. The sauce is def more glutinous than others, and I like it drier. Still a hit though. Noodles were a hefty portion and definitely filling. I would probably get this again, but maybe cooked the crispy garlic way. Kinda cool that they bring out the live lobster to the table first to confirm that the size is right. They don't even take orders over the phone until they show you it in person before cooking. Service was on point - everyone was friendly and cracking jokes. The servers seem to speak at least a bit of Vietnamese and/or Khmer (the art on one of the walls is of Cambodia). Someone always swooped in to replace our tea pot or plates as it filled with seafood shells before request. I would def come back with extended family or on occasion since it's pricier

First time at Kim Tar! Two of my girlfriends and I came here for dinner on a weeknight at 7 pm. There was no wait and the establishment was very clean. I was even surprised how clean and modern the restroom was! Onto food,We ordered the basil clams, lobster noodles, green beans, crab meat soup (my fave!), and shaken beef (Bo Luc lac). Everything was perfect. The noodles were cooked to perfection, lobster was soft and flavorful. The green beans had a nice crunch and yummy umami flavor. My absolute favorite was their crab meat soup! I probably ate 5 bowls of this, definitely a must. We also all ordered fresh coconut water that actually comes in a real coconut! Service was amazing and all our servers were very attentive. They were quick to change our plates whenever it was overfilling and came around many times to check up on us. We had the yummiest experience and it is great for family style ! We'll definitely be back :)

We discovered Kim Tar Seafood on social media and were intrigued to give it a try. We arrived around 5:45-6:00pm on a Sunday, and there was no wait, though it did get busier about an hour later. The menu is quite similar to Boston Lobster's offerings. Everything we ordered was fantastic: the Fish Maw Soup (with generous toppings), the Shaken Beef, and the Walnut Shrimp, which was AMAZING. We also ordered fresh lobster served on a bed of garlic noodles for an additional $14, and (not pictured) the fried chicken and steamed fish, which took a little while to arrive was ok. Service was average; there was no rounding for drink refills and extra bowls for the rice. One of the staff even suggested using the same bowl that we used for the soup, which we found a bit unusual. They offer a 3% discount for cash payments.

The food was delicious! Especial the lobster w/ noodles and the veggies. All very fresh and cooked to perfection. The service was also amazing, even the owner assisted with serving us! I'd return over and over. Please go check out Kim Tar whenever you're in the area!!