The Shores Restaurant - La Jolla Shores Hotel

Review summary

1. R

   Rami

   San Francisco

   7 reviews

   3.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   It was an average place. The place is just for the views.
   

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2. J

   Jacki

   VIP

   San Diego

   21 reviews

   4.0

   21 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Quiet La Jolla restaurant with good food, good service, and on site parking
   

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3. M

   MICHELLE

   San Diego

   6 reviews

   5.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Great experience! Having the beach close by was an amazing experience
   

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4. N

   Nicole

   San Diego

   3 reviews

   3.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   We eat at the Shores Restaurant on a weekly basis. We live close and it is convenient for my mom who is 92. We always enjoy the wonderful service and good food. We also have attended the Thanksgiving buffet which has always been fantastic in both service and food selection and quality. This year, we decided to try the three course dinner event on New Years Eve. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed! Every dish we ordered (we tried most of them) was unsatisfactory except for perhaps the beet salad and lobster bisque starters. The charred cauliflower vegetarian dish was hard to cut because the pieces were so big and tough, and apart from a few unsavory large beans was absolutely bland. My mom and I only ate half of this dish. The mixed seafood bowl did not even have ONE scallop in it (this item was listed first and was supposed to be the large scallops) and it was so full of liquid that it definitely needed rice or pasta or even bread to complement the consistency. We then were all disappointed that we could not even order a side of just regular bread for the table (all we could get was chips and salsa which didn’t go with what we ordered!). My friend ordered the duck and he said the meal was only slightly warm and definitely left him still hungry as it was a very small portion. He didn’t want to mention this because there was already so much wrong with our meals and orders. The crème brûlée was not crème brûlée but FLAN…in taste and consistency…not what we ordered! The chocolate cake was OK. The cocktails were good but my latte coffee order came when we were ready to leave. There were not many customers there when we attended between 6 to 7.30pm. However, we did feel sorry for the very few servers who were not able to cover the tables adequately. They looked frazzled and tired although were always friendly and tried to be accommodating. We did receive a 10% reduction in cost for all our issues but sadly, we won’t be attending NY Eve again.
   

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5. c

   constance

   VIP

   San Diego

   67 reviews

   5.0

   67 reviews

   Dined on 28 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Wonderful !! We have dined here for years on every occasion- menu and food getting better every time we come! Service always great and view can't be matched! a GEM!!
   

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6. D

   Doris

   VIP

   San Diego

   25 reviews

   4.0

   25 reviews

   Dined on 26 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   The food in general was good. The oysters were bad. More variety would have been better. I thought the options were very limited. The a pasta station ran out of the pasta I wanted. So better stock would have been nice. The dessert was not great. No quality desserts. Lack of serving utensils as well. You should allow longer validations for parking.
   

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7. M

   May

   San Diego

   24 reviews

   5.0

   24 reviews

   Dined on 26 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   The Christmas buffet was very good - so many choices that I didn't try everything. Service was good and attentive. I had a lovely view of the colorful sunset.
   

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8. R

   Rachel

   San Diego

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 26 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Very pleasant evening. Good food. Great ambiance. Nice waiter.
   

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9. J

   Joyce

   San Diego

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 25 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 1

   We've been coming to this buffet for years and the experience has been in a steady decline. Both elevators were not operating and I had to use the stairs, not easy for me as I am disabled and need a cane to walk. We were initially seated in the farthest back corner of the restaurant in the dining room. The food was at the other end and the heat in that section was way too high. Then we were seated in the bar where it was too noisy and freezing cold. The wine selection was ridiculous. One pinot noir and two cabernets was the entire red wine selection. We got food from the buffet and it was cold by the time we got it to the table. Over the years, the food has steadily declined. There was no turkey, gravy or stuffing this year. There was instead some dry rolled chicken and lobster mac and cheese with no lobster and very little cheese. The prime rib left a pool of blood on my plate. There was pie at the dessert table served with tongs. In order to serve yourself, you needed to pinch some with the tongs. For the price of the buffet, the food should be better than Denny's.
   

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10. C

    Chelsea

    Las Vegas

    28 reviews

    2.0

    28 reviews

    Dined on 25 December 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 1

    Never again! We have been coming here for 25 Christmas Eves, give or take a couple, as my parents love this place. Lord knows why. This year was extra bad. Arrived at hotel and elevator out of order. Okay so 91 year old grandpa takes the stairs. The restaurant had almost zero holiday decorations. Most un-festive I’ve ever seen it. And it was deserted, should have been a sign. Hostesses unwelcoming and bored. The dining room strangely had all the window tables sitting three feet away from windows. Sat for 10 minutes before a server even approached the table. Given a holiday menu with 4 entrees and no choice of starter or dessert. Asked for regular menu and was given a paired back lunch menu. Odd as the menu has generally been quite good for Christmas. One of the 4 items was already sold out at 6:45pm Food we received was good but it was all cold. Unfortunately only one dessert which was chocolate and 2 in party do not eat chocolate. We were never offered coffees or after dinner drinks. This is one of the nicest ocean front spots in the city. Prime location, yet they have a dated uninviting restaurant with mediocre menu and cold food. To be honest if it wasn’t Christmas Eve we would have left as soon as we saw the menu. We will not be back
    

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