Cafe Gibraltar

I love the soups, salads and deserts! The menu and wine list is wonderful too.

Sadly, we are saying goodbye to one of the gems of the coast. After consuming many mezza platters, wild boar, pumpking crème brûlée and other incredible dishes, I am sad to see Café Gibraltar is closing its doors (last dinner on May 3). I can only hope that the restauranteurs taking over the space (associated with Clay Oven?) do half the job Jose Luis and team did.

Nice ambience. Sat on the floor table which was fun and spacious with a nice view of the restaurant. We shared the combo appetizer with hummus etc. Very tasty. Delicious bread. Disappointed with the moussaka — mound of garbanzo beans with only a minimum of actual moussaka. Fiancée had fish and was told no local fish so had an Australian fish. Weird that in a fishing village — no local fish!
Overall a good experience compared to some of the noisy fish restaurants in HMB

My husband and I stopped at Café Gibraltar after spending a couple of hours on the coast and came out stuffed, happy, and unable to stop talking about the amazing food. We watched a Check Please! Bay Area episode that reviewed Café Gibraltar and decided to give it a try after the wonderful reviews. First off, the mediterranean sweet bread is the BEST bread I’ve ever had at a restaurant. It was fresh, light, and flavorful. We started off with the mezze platter which came with tyrosalata (feta and pesto dip), homemade tzaziki, nazuktan (the most amazing marinated eggplant spread I’ve ever had), marinated olives, whole garlic cloves, hummus, and tomato jam (I wish they sold this stuff, I would buy about 10 jars). We pretty much stuffed ourselves full with the amazing sweet bread and spreads.
For entrees, I ordered ravioli di zucca and husband got the pintada con membrillo (pheasant). I was only able to eat two of my ravioli but they were amazing — homemade and stuffed with a butternut squash purée and a flavorful blend of cheese, topped with multi-​colored cauliflower and a light butter sage sauce. My husband’s pheasant was also incredible, it was cooked perfectly and was moist and flavorful. It was stuffed with vegetable and pancetta mousse — absolutely unique and memorable. I cannot wait to come back here, this is a little gem in El Granada!

Delicious beet salad, mezza platter, and pumpkin (kadoo) dish. The food here is a nice blend of Iberian flavors, borrowing a little from Spain as well as Turkey.
The best bang for your buck would be splitting everything, which should be more than enough. To give you some perspective, the three dishes mentioned above were shared by three people, who were very full at the end of the meal, which totaled to $ 30 each.
This restaurant is also BYOB, so that would also save you lots of cash.

The ambiance was nice, the waitress was fantastic… the food was hit and miss. we tried 6 dishes. apps were rabbit and crudo. both were ok. the crudo was very heavy with avocado and cilantro. the beet salad was good, the goat cheese on the salad was so good. chestnut pumpkin soup was inedible. it was a bisque, but so thick you could turn your spoon upside down and the soup didn’t move, aside from that and it was bland, really bland. there was the pheasant entrée, that tasted like turkey and stuffing with cranberry sauce. the other entrée was a boar dish that was ok, but the sauce was boring.
all in all, i went in anticipating a particular type of cuisine, and found that the food types and styles and the décor were all very confusing.
i don’t think we’ll go back.

For all the great things about coastal living, there just aren’t many good restaurant options, which is why we wanted so badly to like this place. Everyone talks this place up, and the reviews are good, so we had high hopes. My wife and I had a reservation for 7.30 on a Tuesday night. We were tempted by the tasting menu, and our server told us that she was pretty sure it was an option, but needed to check since it was so late. With so many good options to choose from, we were salivating at the thought of indulging in so many delicious dishes. Then the bad news… for whatever reason, they wouldn’t do the tasting menu. Alright, no big deal… we’ll figure something out.
We started with the accarra and the pear salad. The accarra was just meh, but the pear salad was kind of bad. Pears are one of my favorite fall treats, and I’m no stranger to pear salads. Every pear salad I’ve had has come with small slices of pear; this salad had an entire pear. There was no sense of balance or proportion. The promise of braised pears was enticing, but the execution was off. It seemed that they braised the pear whole and then chopped it into a quarters and threw it on the plate. The outside was nice and soft, but the inner part of the pear was hard and bore no benefit of braising.
I can’t remember what my wife ordered, but I had the wild boar. The description had me very excited, but the dish that arrived in front of me did little to live up to the lofty expectations created by the description. First problem… it wasn’t very hot. Next problem, the risonero rice had a weird, mushy texture. I’ve never had it before, so I can’t say if this is expected, but with the restaurant being so dark, I couldn’t actually see what I was eating. I might have felt differently about the texture had I been able to see what I was getting into, but alas… I couldn’t. The boar was served with a mustard/​peppercorn glaze, which again sounded amazing, but ultimately had little depth or complexity.
To sum up our experience, we were disappointed that we couldn’t order the tasting menu, but as we walked out, we felt like we’d dodged a bullet. We were looking forward to indulging, but were sorely disappointed. This disappointment led us to skip dessert and opt for ice cream out of our own freezer instead. I might have felt differently about this place had we had no expectations, but I doubt I’d be much more generous with my rating.

Solid, delicious dinner in a warm, welcoming environment. Food was fresh (except the bread that seemed too dry to have been made that day — but that’s ok because we didn’t want to fill up on bread anyway.)
Osso Bucco ravioli was a great starter, I had the pear salad with Pt. Reyes blue cheese and candied pecans to start — delightful. My husband enjoyed his Gibraltar salad and his fresh salmon entrée /​even commented on how fresh everything tasted. I had the seafood Cassola which was packed with seafood and flavor. I couldn’t finish it — but boy did I try.
I have to take them down one star for scattered (yet friendly) service, dry bread, very dark parking lot, décor that seemed a tad worn and their lack of a full bar — what can I say, I am a cocktail girl!
We will look forward to returning to Café Gibraltar the next time we have the good fortune to find ourselves in that beautiful part of the Bay Area!

I am writing this review on my wife’s account and her computer.
We came to this resteraunt because my mother-​in-​law saw this reviewed well on KQED. We arrived early in the evening for dinner, just after 5:00, early for a 5:30 reservation. It was my wife and I, our 20 month old, and my mother-​in-​law, whose birthday we were celebrating. Only two other parties were sat before us as we arrived shortly after opening. The place looked great, with an interesting menu. Things were looking good. Until…
the sun began to set (as it does every day) and was shining brightly and hotly through the large bank of windows in the front of the restaurant, which had no shades. My mother-​in-​law and I put on sunglasses and still were so blinded by the sun we could not actually see what we were eating. We mentioned the sun as an issue, asked if there were shades, or if there was another table where we could be seated (there were two empty tables with no chance of getting sun in addition to anumber of low tables where you must sit on the floor). We were told those tables were specifically reserved.
The sun kept shining. My 20 month old’s hair was plastered to her forehead by her sweat. The whole table guzzled ice water to battle the heat. Then a couple (2 people, not 4) walk in, object to the 2 person table they were about to be seated at in the sun, and were then seated at the 4-​person, shaded table next to us which we had been told was unavailable.
So the food was a bit hit or miss — some great things and some mediocre things (see the end of this review for details). The wait service was polite, friendly, helpful, and attentive.
When the meal was done, I approached the staff and asked if I could speak with the manager so I could let them know it was hard to enjoy the meal with the sun issue and suggest that shades or having allowed us to switch tables would have resolved the issue. It so happens the chef/​owner was standing there when I asked. So I turned to him and said, «Can I speak with you a moment?» His reply? «No, you can just leave.»
We had a genuinely bad expericence that could have been fixd by the staff with NO detriment to the business. Not only was it not fixed, but the owner clearly does not give a s**t.
The food — The crab cake and ravioli were very good. The pumpkin bisque was AMAZING. The bacon wrapped rabbit was decent. On to the entrees: My mother-​in-​law enjoyed her pheasant and especially the sauce. I had the boar and it was decent. My wife had a beef kabob (from the appetizer meeting) which neither she nor my mother-​in-​law thought much of. My wife also had the pear salad and loved. For dessert we shared the lemon tart and churros — both were fantastic.

We were excited to try this restaurant but were really disappointed with the entire experience. The food was below average (I didn’t even eat my entrée because it was so gross) and the service was a mess. At one point, we didn’t even know who our server was because multiple people kept coming back asking us the same questions. All in all, we were really shocked that people give such great reviews because our experience was anything but.

Easily one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area. My wife and I recently got married at the Oceano, and decided to have our rehearsal dinner at Café Gibraltar. We had a party of 24, some of which were not very adventurous when it comes to food.
We had a fixed menu due to party size, consisting of pheasant, boar, cassola, and a few others that escape me.
I personally ordered the pheasant, and tried the boar and steak option. The pheasant has always been my favorite, and the only way I can really describe it is that it is like taking a bite of Thanksgiving. The boar was fantastic, as along with the Cassola. Appetizers were the Gibraltar platter (?) I believe, which was a nice mixture of hummus, olive purees and flat bread. For dessert we had chosen the bread pudding, crème brûlée and one other which escapes me. Their bread pudding is absolutely fantastic.
Service was amazing throughout the duration of the night, and the husband/​wife combo that run the restaurant were an absolute pleasure to work with.
We have been to café Gibraltar about four or five times now, and it never gets old. They will continue to have our business until the end of time.

I“m disappointed to give this restaurant one-​star because I looked forward to going there after seeing a segment on Check Please, Bay Area, where it was praised as a destination well worth the drive. In my case, that drive is 90 minutes, but I wouldn’t have minded had it lived up to the hype. The televised segment featured a few unique dishes that were highly praised by the patrons on the show. Unfortunately I found one of those dishes – a seafood/​chicken stuffed dumpling – is no longer in their menu, so I ordered the other dish I drove down the coast to try – the ravioli osso bucco. However, after taking the order, the waitress returned to say it was sold out – just an hour after opening on a Saturday night!
The remaining choices on the menu were nothing special, so I chose the entrecôte with green peppercorns thinking it would be similar to steak au poivre, but it was not and I couldn’t locate any green peppercorns in it. The beets in the salad were tasty, but mine was overdressed. The service and ambiance were both fine – some of the tables have ocean views – and the wine list was reasonably priced.
I have never before given a negative review to a highly-​rated Zagat restaurant, or one with a Michelin recommendation either – they are usually reliable guides. Maybe they tasted the dishes that lured me in and if they were as good as they appeared to be, this review would be glowing. But I spent too much time and money on this meal to be underwhelmed. I was surprised they didn’t offer the «specialties» featured on the program so prominently linked to their website. If I attended a Norman Greenbaum concert, I would certainly expect him to play his one hit song, «Spirit in the Sky.»

Très bonne expérience culinaire, un peu inattendue sur la paisible Half Moon Bay, à l’écart du hype du SF branché, et c’est très bien comme ça. (À part qu’à 22 heures, tout le monde est couché. Avec une réservation à 19h30, on était les derniers à partir.)
Mêlant influences espagnoles et marocaines (d’où le nom, à la rencontre des deux pays)… depuis la cuisine, entièrement ouverte aux regards des convives, jusqu’à la salle, avec vue sur la mer, où se côtoient tables classiques et tables basses auxquelles on mange accroupi par terre, à la nord-​africaine. Né loupez pas l’assiette de délicieux mezze en entrée ! (Je dis bien «entrée» et non «entrée» ;-)).
Service agréable, un peu obséquieux mais pas trop. Pas grave, l’essentiel est dans les assiettes, et elles font un sans-​faute.

I came here with my boyfriend for our anniversary dinner and had a pleasant experience. This restaurant is located right next to the beach, so when it’s sunny out, you can see the ocean from your table. Café Gibraltar also has just enough space for its guests comfortable and uncrowded. The service was very pleasant, and it’s definitely a restaurant on the quieter side.
For our starter, we split their interpretation of calamari. I’m not sure what I was expecting at first, but I definitely did not expect what they put on our table. The calamari wasn’t fried, and instead the pieces of squid and octopus were sauteed with a lemony sauce and put over the potato purée. I’m actually not a fan of fried calamari, but this interpretation was delicious and creative. The seafood was fresh, and I was super impressed by their creativity with the dish. My boyfriend said it was probably the best calamari he’s ever had.
For our entrees, we got the pheasant-​stuffed pheasant and the New York strip. The pheasant breast was a little bit dry, but I enjoyed the stuffing, which was a mixture of pheasant mousse and onions and other yummy things. The sauce was also very food — it was on the sweeter side, but I thought it complimented the gamey flavor of the dish well. The fried potato patty was also delicious and filling. My boyfriend loved his dish — he said the steak was cooked exactly how he wanted it to be cooked, and that the tartness of the sauce complemented the richness of the potatoes and creamed spinach perfectly.
It’s not a cheap place, but this is quality food and quality cooking. Perfect for a special occasion and a terrific place for people looking for Mediterranean food with a creative twist.

Exceptional meal and fresh ingredients, but Gibraltar really needs to strive for better value. While the atmosphere is perfectly tailored to a date spot, there are far better options considering taste and value. Excellent wine list and service.
BOAR LOIN SKEWER: A–
Well cooked, marinated with ginger, garlic and lemongrass. A bit tough and gamey, so this may be a preferential dish. Finished with a carmel soy glaze, served atop a julienne of marinated Eastern radish. The garnish was fantastic.
PHEASANT CROQUETTES: A+
Pheasant with onions, garlic, curry leaf, mustard seed and tomato, rolled and breaded, and then fried. Excellent finish on the pastry. Stuffing was delicious and hearty.
DUNGENESS CRAB, AVOCADO & ORANGE: B
Crab and avocado was terrific. Sauce was a tad too sweet, not enough citrus to go with the crab from the orange. Presentation was horrible.
WARM VEGETABLE SALAD: B
Roasted seasonal vegetables topped with nut encrusted baked goat cheese, finished with a drizzle of aged balsamic. Way too much honey in this dish, making it sweet. Perhaps the chef had a heavy hand. Carmeliization on the onions is all that is required for sweetness, not added honey.
WHITE ASPARAGUS & JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE: B+
Organic vegan vegetable purée. Would have tasted great had there been a dollop of sour cream and served cold.
LOBSTER BISQUE: A
Creamy lobster bisque seasoned with tomato, sweet onions, dill and white wine. Great lobster flavor. I was disappointed that there were no tangible bits of lobster in the actual soup.
WOOD ROASTED DUCK BREAST: A+++
Sonoma duck, marinated with juniper berries, onions and garlic, wood roasted, sliced, served with risonero black rice, finished with a fresh ginger-​sour cherry demi-​glacé. Cooked to perfection; medium rare, tender, and the perfect amount of fat. The skin was baked until crispy and sprinkled over the rice. Very innovative dish.
LOBSTER RISOTTO: A+
Fresh Maine lobster meat simmered with Carnoroli rice, shallots and fresh thyme, until creamy, topped with shaved truffles. A bit too heavy on the truffle oil; left a sickening aftertaste. Perhaps just go with the shaved truffles and save the truffle oil.
Overall, a great tasting menu. I like that they were adventurous. However, for the price paid, there are far better options.
PROTIP: Their desserts were another portion that completely blew me away. While they didn’t look very appealing, I’d gladly make the drive over here from South Bay for another one of their lime bars or pecan pie.

I don’t know if I’m too Asian to appreciate Café Gibralter’s cuisine because I realize it could be my palate just likes Asian flavors more. But my honest opinion is that the food was mediocre for the price. My family of four came one night and we all were unimpressed. The service, however, was very good as the waiters often check up on you so they’ve got that going. Also, their ingredients are all organic and local which was a plus, too.
First off, I’ve never turned away any bread basket before, as I’m a carb freak, until that point; the texture was of American style white sandwich bread and was bland on top of that. I think their menu is seasonal so this is what we had:
Lamb– tender braised lamb but sauce was a little too acidic and lacking in depth of flavor. Couscous wasn’t interesting texture-​wise: I prefer the couscous a little bigger so it wouldn’t be like eating small grains of chopped up cauliflower.
Pheasant– Seasoning and sauce tasted pretty ordinary, like rotisserie style, and the outside of the drumstick was also a bit tough and dry.
Wild Mushroom with rabbit over pasta– probably the dish I liked best. Deep mushroom flavors, and pasta was fresh and chewy.
We really wanted to enjoy this place, but we were disappointed in the end.

We were headed to the harbor to pick up crabs off the boat but decided to eat first. I remembered seeing that Café Gibraltar was serving brunch. We were pleased to be seated in a sunny little corner on this chilly morning which also allowed a nice view of the water.
The menu offerings looked extensive but our server answered our questions and was quick to take our order. Wow, the Chilequiles were outstanding! The verde sauce was tasty and topped with perfectly cooked eggs. Mr. S barely got a sample bite until I started to slow down (serving is quite generous). He had the Mediterranean Scramble that was equally as good, just different. He loved the French feta cheese and said the flavors melded harmoniously.
This has to be one of the best brunches ever and a totally delightful experience. I can’t wait til we visit again!

What a delicious experience.
We walked into this place after being surrounded by nature at Natural Bridges. Their dining room was full, but the bar was open so we decided to take the seats. The host and the bartender had been extraordinarily nice, and the food was exceptional.
We decided to do a couple small plates, and share a main dish. The raw fish crudo with coconut milk was refreshing, and one of the best crudos I’ve had. The coconut milk worked wonders like I have never experienced before.
Then we had the eggplant topped with caramelized onion and goat cheese — even though it’s a rather common dish, their interpretation was superb. Savory, sweet and tartness, all in the same dish.
Shrimp bisque was good as well. It was my least favourite of the bunch, but if I had this at another place it would easily have been the star of the meal.
Then came the main entrée — their specialty — pheasant stuffed with pheasant with other goodies. Oh my god. I recall commenting that the pheasant tasted like a really tender young pigeon, which baffled the mister because I was comparing a game bird to another. But roasted pigeon is one of my favourite bird dish (and a staple of my hometown), and this pheasant came really close to beating it. Yummy.
We ended the night with some stuffed churros. Hmmm can’t go wrong with churros and some chocolate sauce.
Even now, I can still feel the flavours dancing on my tongue. Oh I can’t wait to go back again…

Café Gibraltar is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in the HMB area. The dinners here are amazing and unforgettable– I have been for special occasions and still dream of those meals. First of all the Mezza Platter is an excellent treat and you should not leave before trying that one! The low seated tables (where you sit on cushions and dine under a tent like structure) are so much fun– we sat at one of these for our friend’s birthday party last year and it was wonderful. Great food, great wine, what more could you want?
Now, I hadn’t been to Café Gibraltar in awhile because it’s kind of a splurge when we eat here for dinner. but now with the new Sunday brunch we will be back much more often. We had no idea they were offering brunch until one weekend when I happened upon Raina’s Unilocal review. The next morning we decided we had to try this brunch everyone was raving about and we were not disappointed. My spouse had the granola and yogurt– everything was homemade and absolutely delicious. I have never tasted granola like that and am now a firm believer that homemade goes a long way, even when it comes to the simple things. I was more in the mood for lunch by the time we ate so I tried the Torta Zendejas, delicious carnitas on a telera bun. Whoa, I was blown away. Again, crazy good.
The portions were very large but it was only $ 12 for each entrée! I enjoyed my guy’s granola leftovers. stole them out of the fridge while he was at work in Sunnyvale! ;) I only wish they had Saturday brunch too. we tried to go again the following Saturday because we forgot brunch was only offered on Sundays and were sad to see CG closed. Ended up at the 3 Zero Café. I would’ve preferred more granola though!

Café Gibraltar has been open for Sunday Brunch for a while, but I didn’t get a chance to try it out until recently. Once again, the experience was an easy five stars.
If you’re not into breakfast food, you’ll like this brunch menu. It offers plenty of savory lunch options. I started with a bowl of their artichoke soup. Not a typical brunch choice, but their vegan soups are so amazing, I couldn’t resist. This was a new flavor I hadn’t tried, and I was not disappointed. I think I managed to get every last drop out of the bowl. My husband started with a Greek salad. It was the most beautiful Greek salad I’ve ever seen outside of Greece. Truth be told, it’s a little nontraditional, with lettuce, hearts of palm, French feta (gasp!) and a bit of pesto, but it was as tasty as it was pretty.
For my main course, I tried the brioche French toast. It has bits of dark chocolate in the bread, and I found it was a little too rich and sweet for me. My husband ordered huevos rancheros, which he loved. I barely had a chance to taste it, it disappeared to quickly!
Service was great, as always. I was a little sad to see so many empty tables. I hope the brunch business picks up. It really is worth a visit.

We’ve been coming back here for dinner over the years so when we saw the sign that said they now serve Sunday brunch, we quickly made a U-​turn and headed up the hill. It is one of the best brunches I have had in a long time!
We had the daily and assuming seasonally changing crêpe and pancakes which that day happened to be pear crêpe and chocolate chip and banana pancakes. The pancakes were 3 huge pancakes and the crêpe was crispy on the edges and warm and delicious throughout. Although $ 10 for a crêpe may seem expensive, it was served with lots of ripe fresh fruit like cantaloupe, peach, watermelon, etc. I get peeved when fresh fruit is served unripen or crunchy unless it’s an apple so having sweet ripe fruit tops the cake or should I say tops the crêpe! Since we initially thought we wouldn’t have enough food, we also got a side of 2 eggs which we got poached and a side of housemade chorizo patties which also came in a pair, perfect for pairing with the poached eggs… sweet and savory and yummy!
I’ve gotten myself a new favorite brunch place!
Update: The crepes and pancakes are no longer available on the current fall menu so this time around, got the roasted chestnut and pumpkin bisque and the vegetarian benedict.