Harborside Restaurant

What a pretty view on the water and after all these years I finally made it there. I was even lucky enough to get 1 of their 4 parking spots they have, lol. Otherwise you'll need to drive around to find a parking spot.Right next to Davey's Locker. Came for OC restaurant week and it's an amazing deal! We got the oysters & poki nachos. Nachos are made with fried wontons which was a little greasy but it was tasty. Not a lot of ahi but what was there was good. The star of the meal was the cioppino and it had tons of seafood! What a variety & tast seafood in there! They did not scimp and it came with 2 pieces of garlic toast. I had to take quite a bit of it home but I do wish the Togo container was bigger. Couldn't get all the sauce in. They ran out do the crème brûlée but substituted with key lime cheesecake and that was simply delicious! Tart & sweet- soo glad I got to try this! They have a good happy hour so knowing that, I will be back too!

Went for happy hour as they sent my mom a coupon for BOGO "up to $11. The mussels and crab cakes and even the Mac and cheese were all great. But things got a little weird when we presented the coupon. They took a $7 item off the bill, instead of one of the two $11 items. When we asked the server she sent over a manager. The manager said they got to pick the lowest priced item. When I asked why it said "BOGO up to $11" he said that's just if you order those two items. So let's get this straight....I ordered four things (two at $11, one at $10, and one $7). The manager said we'd have to split the bill to get the $11 discount. Sorry bro that's just not how it works and is blatant false advertising. We've literally been joking here decades, and will continue to. But don't try to mansplain to us how a BOGO $11 coupon works.

We have been coming here many years. Dinner before our Christmas boat ride. This place fast gone downhill sadly. Front count not friendly waited for 30 mins for a server. Food did not tase good. No silverware had food go cold with waiting. Don't spend your money at this hole.

This restaurant is located in the Balboa Fun Zone. You pay for parking using the parking meter or parkmobile app. Restaurant opens at 11:30 AM. Our party arrived on time, but the gate was closed. Luckily the staff was reachable by phone to open the gates. *Happy Hour Review*Contrary to whats posted on the website, the All Day Happy Hour applies to open-seating and not just the bar which I found to be great because we had a party of 4. I love the vibe of the saloon and the indoor dining areas. I also love the view of the harbor. The windows are not tinted so people walking by for their boat reservations can see you by the way. Also great music choices as they play some country songs. As for the food itself, it was as expected for a happy hour. The portions were a little bit on the smaller side, so you don't leave hungry but you also don't leave really full. We ordered the BBQ Slider x2 (singular, there are not multiple sliders), clam chowder, side of fries, calamari appetizer, and a bacon burger. Definitely reference my pictures for an idea of the portions. This restaurant is known for their seafood, so I'll try not to be too critical. The BBQ brisket sliders were delicious and nothing tasted bad. Clam Chowder was AMAZING, but it's just a cup of soup so I wish there was more. I was not a fan of the calamari just because I didn't like the tempura over breading. Fries were fries, they're good but a little thin. Perhas I will try the actual seafood dinner options someday, but I do not expect to see a change in portion sizes.

There are seating area where you can see the view of the water. View of the water is pretty neat. It's not big but something small and unique. Read other reviews about the food not being hot enough. When our food came out, I felt that it was hot. Crispy Artichoke Wontons was flavorful without the sauce. Shrimp Linguini was good and flavorful too. The shrimp was big and buttery. The linguini sauce was perfect.1/2 Rack Babyback Short Ribs was decent too. Not too dry. Ribs can be cut with a butter nice. Ribs were tender. Solomon was our waiter. He kept checking up on us throughout our dinner. However, he gave different drinks than what was ordered a couple of times and didn't give a friendly vibe to his coworkers.They gave HAPPY HOUR Menu. EVERYDAY 11:30am-6:00pm. If it's SALOON SPECIALS, on Sunday their happy hour is only for bar seating area only.

The baby back ribs were perfectly tender, and the shrimp linguine was especially delicious... the pasta was cooked just right, and the shrimp were juicy and flavorful. The cheese bread was a nice touch, and the coleslaw was fresh and well-balanced, not too sweet or dry. The artichoke and cheese wontons were also a surprising hit... crispy and full of flavor.However, the French fries were only a bit warm, which was a slight letdown. Unfortunately, the main reason this isn't a higher review is due to the service. Our server, Solomon, seemed inattentive and a bit abrupt with the staff, and we had to deal with wrong drink orders twice (raspberry iced tea instead of regular). It really detracted from an otherwise great meal.

I'm done with this place. We booked a Christmas boat parade cruise, so this place made sense. I wish I chose someplace else. On the Christmas boat parade nights, it's $95.00 a person price fixe with the first seating at 6:00 p.m. Yer going to have to eat fast if your departure time is 7:00 ish. Our server did her best. What does $95.00 a person get you? Read on. - A decent enough appetizer plate. - Your choice of soup or salad. I chose the clam chowder. It was so so at best and needed more clams. - Your choice of entrees. I chose the Chilean Sea Bass. I found it to be mushy and in my opinion thawed too fast. If the menu doesn't say fresh, it isn't. - The deserts were fine, but I'm not a dessert guy. We won't be back.

Price is okay for what you get. It's hard to get a burger for less than $15 at a sit-down restaurant these days. I had the $8 burger from happy hour, which looked more like a slider and cheap thin fries. Also had the seafood cioppino, which was decent, but was very salty. The salmon was really good, and along with the sauce. The calamari was too thick and the crab was overly salty. Fortunately I had a $15 off coupon to offset the price. Had a margarita for happy hour, but nothing special.Generally, don't plan to come back, but servers are nice. Parking in Balboa is generally difficult.

I had a wonderful dining experience at the bar area of this restaurant. From the moment I arrived, Jillian took excellent care of me--she was incredibly attentive and made sure I had everything I needed. The ambience was lovely, with a cozy, relaxed vibe that made the meal even more enjoyable. One of the highlights was being able to watch the Christmas Boat Parade right outside the windows--such a nice touch during the holiday season.Although the menu was limited, it still offered plenty of variety, and I had no trouble finding something that caught my eye. The steak I ordered came out quickly and was cooked to perfection--tender, flavorful, and exactly what I was hoping for. The food was delicious, and the overall experience was top-notch. I'll definitely be back to enjoy another meal in such a welcoming and festive setting

Food is great service is a bit slow. My group went there for lunch and sat in the bar area and it took a long time before we ever saw any food come out. Other tables had their food being delivered just as slow so maybe they were short staffed that day? That being said all the food was delicious and the view is great. Definitely recommend the crab cake which is LOADED with crab. The happy hour menu is also very reasonably priced. You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Everything is very fresh and full of flavor.