Chart House

It’s all about the view. Food isn’t all that great. Ordered filet mignon, breaded chicken, steak with pasta, lemon drop martinis and lava cake. Nothing really stood out except for the lava cake. Informed them we’re celebrating a bday. They seem to not care about special occasions. Not even a happy bday writing on a plate… For the overpriced items on the limited menu, you’d think they’ll allot a scoop of ice cream for the celebrant… You’d think…

I had dinner here with my company and the service was excellent, food was great. Had no reason not to like it, only that the place is a bit small and dark. I truly enjoyed my meal, I ordered the filet mignon, it was cooked perfectly. The spinach dip was delicious and the warm bread they bring out was perfect!

We came on our honeymoon and got a nice table with a view. There were some cute little bunnies hopping around on the grass outside our window, which was fun. The architecture of this place is really cool. The food was very good, too. I had some doubts after reading other reviews, but the prime rib I ordered was perfectly cooked and really delicious. It’s pretty expensive, but a worthwhile dining experience for a special occasion.

Took my wife for Valentine’s Day dinner. Had reservations for about a month for 5:30pm. Arrived at 5:20 and informed by the valet and needed to find a spot on the street. Dropped wife and drive around for 10 minutes finally found a spot. While walking through the lot with another patron we noticed a number of spots in the lot. We asked the valet and we were told they would only valet SUV’s and we got a big laugh
Inside we spoke with a manager who informed us the valets were not his employees and that was about it. I tried to example to the manager the valet is a reflection on the Charthouse. I then spoke with the GM and he would look into what happen. While sitting in the bar he came up and apologized indicating the valets were young and lacked social skills.
When I finally got to our table we ordered the crab cake. About five minutes later we ordered our meals which include a soup and salad bar. The crab cake arrived after the soup and the finishing of our salad. While getting the salad I heard the person at the pass inquire about the crab cake. The crab cake was very good
Salad bar at $ 9.00 for an add on with a meal is over priced
My wife’s soup (lobster bis) was excellent
My wife’s salmon was very good
Oh yeah they forgot my wife’s wine

Talk about bad service and bad food. Made a reservation for Valentine’s Day. Arrived 15 minutes early for our reservation and they told us it would take 35 minutes to sit us. Finally sat down. Took the server 10 minutes to just stop by and take drink order. Took another 20 minutes to bring drinks and some bread. We placed our order and also asked for water which we ended up asking for it 3 more times till we got it. I ordered 9oz and wife ordered 7oz filet. Food came and they had the orders backwards (mine was medium and her was supposed to be well done). So they end up taking the food back to the kitchen to redo it. It comes back our after another 15 minutes. Her steak is medium and mine is rare. I don’t mind rare so I kept mine but they took hers to cook it longer and by this time the night was pretty much ruined. Her stake came out when I was done with mine and now it was over cooked and dry. They took one steak off the bill Which was helpful but when I decide to go to a steakhouse I am willing to spend money to have a great night and great food. This pretty much ruined the night and our Valentine. Awful service and food. Wouldn’t go back

I have been to many weddings at the Chart House. The event crew has always been helpful and the views for the ceremony are amazing. The food is always top notch as you would expect from a great restaurant.
Keep up the great work. See you guys soon.

My bf surprised me with an anniversary dinner here.
He made the reservation for 7:45pm on a Saturday. And we weren’t seated until 8pm. Which kind of turned us off to the rest of the meal. Why make reservations if we still had to wait?
We were seated at a booth next to the window overlooking the harbor which was a really good view. Prob 4 or 5 stars for that.
At the top of the menus was written: happy anniversary from chart house. Very nice touch.
Service was fine.
We ordered the crabbed stuffed shrimp. Filets for entrees. Asparagus as a side. And the lava cake for dessert.
The app had small pieces of crab shell in it. The steaks were chewy and didn’t have much of a grill flavor. And the lava cake wasn’t lava in the middle. Just a tad overcooked. Overall the meal was just ok. Nothing that was bad but nothing I would
Come back for. For the prices you are probably better off going to Ruth’s Chris or even Flemings for a better steak. You are definitely just paying for the view.

View is amazing, unless of course you, get seated in the back with no view. The food was ok, but over priced.

Been going to this place for some time now and it feels like a new experience each and every time. The view is breathtaking and the atmosphere is very romantic. The food is excellent with my suggestion towards the ahi tacos and the macadamia crusted chicken. Yummy! ! You won’t be disappointed I promise..

Two words… «The Shiiii…» Yep, I got them once here and the view was so awesome that I was willing to forgive and forget and I made the mistake of eating here again. This use to be my favorite date night place with my husband but now my digestive tract knows better. Besides the overpriced menu, they can only afford to give you a rolled up paper menu for birthdays and anniversaries. Your server will ask if you are celebrating special occasions so that they can give you a rolled up paper menu with a candle stuck a plate, not even a 30 cent scoop of ice cream. I still come here for the view and only order a beer on tap… BUT, you will have to wait about 20 mins to get waited on so just order at the bar. I want to give one star but a second star is deserved for the view, bartenders, and valet but not the servers or hostess.

What a great view and… that’s it! Everything else is subpar here, too bad they don’t make good use of their location. The valet and sit down service is good but after that it’s just weird. It’s like this corporate business where no one actually cared of anything, they probably get a few visits a year from their big hats that tell them some uplifting phrases and that’s all the training they get, Sat at the bar before the reservation time and they just don’t know how to approach you or talk to you if you are under 60 or so. Our bartender called us «kids» all night, they were probably expecting our parents here! The hummus plate was good and the crab cake too. The food we had was OK but the drinks were extremely sweet. I asked if they could make it less sweet but they said it’s their sweet and sour syrup makes them so sweet, not sure what to make of that. It’s probably time for them to move on and change ownership or something.

My wife and I have lived in the area for more then 30 years and always had good meal
Today was big exception we have not been there for few years and have things changed
They always had excellent prime rib but to night you needed a meat grinder to eat it I had it Medium rare the same as always but had to chew each piece for while then place it on my plate and try to tackle another No dentures all original teeth in excellent shape I talking world class tough which matched the garlic mash potatoes expect they were barely warm! There are just too many other good places in the area to go too so my suggestion is to go to any where else but here
And no one came by and asked how the meal was or I would not be writing this!

My boyfriend and I dined here for my birthday dinner. He had
made reservations the previous week for a table by the window. We arrived about 20 minutes early, and still were told there were NO seats by the window overlooking the ocean, and that they were all taken. We requested to move a few times when we were first seated to move to a window seat but were denied. My boyfriend mentioned it was my birthday at the start, and the server casually said «Happy Birthday», Yet, a few minutes later, he came by and asked us if we wanted to order the Chocolate Lava Cake, because it takes 30 minutes to make. Did he forget it was my birthday after a few minutes? or was he just being non attentive? Anyways, I ordered the Scallops, and my bf ordered a Salmon dinner. It was OK, but we have had better, For the prices, we both expected much better, although it was a nice atmosphere. Btw, after asking, the server did give us a small piece of birthday cake to share. I’m telling you if I did not see that they gave free birthday cake on Unilocal,I would not have known, and I know I would not have any given to me by my inattentive server!

We stayed at Blue Lantern Inn just 5 minutes walk from the resturant and the front desk recommend this place and even book the reservation for us.
The food was great. The price is what you expect at a restaurant with view. But what I love the most is they make us feel really special.
At first I was a little upset that we have to wait 15 minutes even with a reservation. But when I asked the host he told me that is because they want to give us the
(1) best seat of the resturant which they did.
At our table we were greeted with
(2) a vip tent card and a thank you card.
And our (3) menu was personalized with my husband’s name on it. (It was his birthday). My sever even roll it up and tie it with a little bow when I told her I want to save a copy of the menu.
They also give us (4) a free mud pie for dessert.
And because we are guests at Blue Lantern we got (5) a free chocolate soufflé.
I definitely recommend this place if you are celebrating a special occasion.

First Impressions: The first impression is perhaps what is such a let down. You drive yourself up this wonderful hill and see an absolutely breath taking view. Dana Point Harbor has a lot of charm and this spot lets you take in the full beauty of it all. The building is expertly crafted and it has romantic charm.
The Bar: The Happy Hour here would be a FANTASTIC date. The menu is small, but has a good selection and the drinks that are offered were all part of a good selection.
The Service: The people here are well trained. They know everything you would expect a fine dining wait staff to know. The service was really exceptional and I appreciated the attention to detail.
The Food: We started with the Kim Chee Calimari, which was really exceptional. The tempura fry on it gave it wonderful flavor. Next was my New York steak, mashed garlic potatoes, and creamed Spinach. The steak was actually so-​so. The meat was kind of tough, and it was a bit lean for a New York cut. The mashed potatoes and creamed spinach were delicious!
Why the three stars: I gave this place three stars because my entrée should be exceptional. And it was just okay. I can get a just okay steak at Outback. Frankly, I have had better steaks there. And while I am not a steak expert, I have had enough to know what is good and what isn’t so good. I tried my brothers sea bass, and it was also just okay. It would have been delicious for 10 dollars less. I am MORE than happy to pay for an expert gourmet chef, but I want the flavors to follow up.

We had our youngest daughters wedding here on Oct 18. I wanted to complement our Chart House manager Marissa for her excellent service and patience. She helped keep our guests directed and happy. And it should be noted also that the food was excellent…
Thanks for a great day Chart House!

Dinner was yummy! I ordered the Prime Rib which was cooked to perfection. My husband ordered the Mahi and it was also delicious! The cocktails were great and we finished off our meal with the Lava cake which I have to admit I’m not much of a chocolate fend but this was absolutely the best desert hands down we have shared in a long time. I would totally go again and think it’s a great location for a nice romantic dinner.

I took my boyfriend here as a surprise for his birthday and it was wonderful! I hadn’t been here since I was a kid and just as remembered, there is kind of an old school sophistication about this place. I made reservations online and everything was already set when we arrived. They gave us a beautiful window seat with a gorgeous view. There was a birthday card on the table and our waitress, Helen was awesome! She was super friendly, attentive and knowledgeable of their menu.
Now on to what we ordered. The drinks were so delicious that had we of known, we wouldn’t have already had a martini at home before leaving. The Mango Mojito is ADDICTIVE!!! I could’ve easily ordered another. He was quite pleased with his NY Strip Steak and my Sea Bass was perfectly flavorful (I was only disappointed because they ran out of the mango sticky rice which I wanted to pair with my drink). We both added the salad bar to our dinner and realized quickly that we should’ve skipped the appetizer (Kim Chee Calamari /​it’s okay but neither of us would order it again). We wish we would’ve tried the oysters instead. They capped off the night with an amazing complimentary birthday desert that was out of this world.
All in all, they made it a perfect night and he’s still raving about it (and planning our next trip back). Thank you Chart House & Helen!!! You’re the best!!!

«We went out to dinner, I had the lobster bisque, yada yada yada, „But you yada yada’d over the best part.“» No, I mentioned the bisque.“
This was our first time and last!!! Our appetizers were delicious but that’s where it ended. The bisque and the Caesar salad were very good and the warm bread basket was nice but we were never offered more bread. Salad bar was extensive and fresh. My daughter and I ordered the the Lemon Herb Crusted Salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes. It was crispy and dry and the fingerling potatoes were obviously sitting way too long. My husband had the stuffed shrimp and they were tiny and the stuffing was mostly bread, no crab to speak of and dry. My niece had the «Tour of Shrimp» and felt the same… dry, small shrimp, and way overcooked. Our server, Ron, seemed more concerned about other larger tables then our table of four. I asked for a second drink and about 15 minutes later I had to remind him that he never brought my drink. Ron then gave the drink order to a bus person. When I did get it, the drink was ²⁄₃ full as if someone just thew it together or spilled it. Feeling completely ignored, never being asked how we were enjoying our meals, Ron came back when we were done eating. He asked if I enjoyed the salmon, seeing it was less than half eaten, and I told him it was extremely dry. Ron then asked if he could take it away and wanted to know if the kitchen could «whip something else up for me.» Since everyone else was completely finished with their meals I said, no. $ 30.00 dollars for dry salmon and $ 29.00 for dry, tiny shrimp!!! The bill came to us with nothing taken off. We paid well over $ 200.00 for poor food and service.
We’ve had great experiences at other Chart House restaurants in the past.

I’ve been to Chart House three times now. It’s the boyfriend and my go-​to crowd pleaser when we have company in town and want to impress with great food and amazing views. It’s consistent and service is always spot on.
Corrine, our server tonight, was perfection. She accommodated everything from a request to taste a wine to securing an off-​menu item (scallops prepped as they had been on a previous menu) with the kitchen for my dad. She even played along with my dad’s goofy humor about auditioning her for a movie. Oh good lord. *facepalm*
I was a tad annoyed upon arriving that my Open Table request for a booth on the windows wasn’t accommodated, but that quickly left my mind.
The new Kim Chee Calamari preparation is AMAZING. Don’t miss this dish if you dine here, it’s a complete departure from the standard calamari served with lemon and cocktail sauce. DELISH! ⁵⁄₅
On a previous visit we enjoyed the cold appetizer with avocado, mango and crab ⁴⁄₅
My dad thoroughly enjoyed the scallops (prepped in the previous menu style) with wasabi mashed potatoes and soy ginger cream sauce. ⁵⁄₅
My mom had the crab stuffed tilapia. I tried it and it was good, but not exceptional. ³⁄₅
Boyfriend had a self-​created combo of coconut crusted shrimp and lobster tail. All of that was delicious… nice trio of dipping sauces with the shrimp.
And I enjoyed thoroughly the pound and a half of king crab — mark my words, I killed a pound and a quarter in the shadowy gaze of my doubting companions. I brought home two knuckles for a very spoiled dog.
Chart House is our go-​to with company and will continue to be. Next time I will be sure to ask for Corrine. It’s a rare occasion since I moved here from Chicago that I give a five-​star on service, but she’s a doll and made the experience seamless.
Great food, fantastic service and stunning views. That about sums up Chart House Dana Point. 4.5 stars, but I never round up ;)