Brigantine

I rate this place 5 stars because our server Nicole was absolutely fantastic. Such attentiveness and with a personable touch has given her my ranking of best server I have ever had in the US to this date. She bumped off the Applebee’s server named Scott that served me in 2010!
Nicole was more than happy to offer her suggestions for what is fabulous on the menu and she was not wrong. The appetizers and entrées were magnificent. My husband had the swordfish and I had the catch of the day, which was Mahi Mahi.
The food was fabulous and the atmosphere, with a pleasant ambiance perfect for a dinner date, made this our favorite Friday dinner night so far in San Diego.
Thank you very much Nicole for a great experience at Brigantine.
3 thumbs up!

This is a San Diego classic icon, and consistently offers quality, high-​caliber seafood, with great service to match.

Really nice atmosphere, great customer service. I think it is seasonal but the seafood soup is amazing as is their squaw bread. Did not care for the sashimi appetizer; it was way too smokey and salty but the slaw on it was good.

When I do come here I love sitting by the bar. I always order the fish tacos you can never go wrong! With 2 I’m usually satisfied. The environment and customer service are great!

Best taco Tuesday in East County hands down.
Recent renovations have brought the restaurant into a modern look which creates a nice ambiance. The food is fantastic, from the Rockefeller oysters, to the fish tacos, to the hamburgers.
The drinks are great too, definitely try the pomegranate margarita shaker.
Overall great go to spot for a dinner with friends or happy hour and the game.

I feel like you pay too much and don’t get a lot out of this place. The food was mediocre. Nothing to rave about. The outside still looks pretty ghetto and the inside looks. Very blue. Great customer service though. The food wasn’t presented as well as I anticipated, especially for the price of the items.
Maybe I’ll be back again to try. Maybe.

I had been to the Brigantine restaurants in Point Loma and Coronado, over the years, and never had a bad meal, so I went into this with a reasonable idea of what to expect. This was my first visit to the La Mesa location.
My friend and I had dinner here on New Year’s Day, along with a friend of hers. It was a little busy, as expected, but not packed. The service did not seem to be affected or slowed in any way. We had a reservation for 3, at 7:30pm, and we were seated within a few minutes of our arrival.
The good:
Our server was excellent. She was friendly and attentive. The water arrived promptly. She seemed to know just the right time to take our orders. The appetizers, entrees, and dessert were all served in a reasonable amount of time.
One of the ladies at our table has Celiac, and she was reluctant to ask the server for more information on one of the dishes, because she didn’t want to be *that person*. I must say it is sad that so many people have suddenly jumped on the gluten-​free bandwagon and managed to irritate the restaurant industry, that now the people who truly ARE affected, are afraid to even ask. However, we encouraged her to ask, since she actually IS allergic, and the server was more than happy to ask the kitchen about what may be in the dish. She had the Parmesan crusted sand dabs, and was happy with it.
My friend had the wok-​charred ahi which was very good. We brought home the leftovers to my husband, and he was also quite pleased with the treats.
The not so good:
The «jumbo» crab cake, while reasonably tasty, was not spectacular. It was by no means jumbo — about the width of a can of tuna, and half as tall. If you want to share it, just hope neither of you are very hungry. $ 13.50 for a ~medium sized crab cake, really felt like a waste. They should edit the menu to say «medium crab cake on a bed of super buttery cabbage» and lower the price by at least half. Honestly, appetizers are generally meant to be shared, so it is mildly awkward for multiple people to politely pick at the same little crab cake. I would have been happy to pay more than $ 13.50 for 3 – 4 smaller crab cakes, over the one we got.
The lobster-​crab roll I was served must have differed from what the other previous reviewers have received. First, it wasn’t served on a roll, but rather what appeared to be a slice of white bread, folded in half. The bread was totally soaked and soggy. The first little bit I tasted (with some of the bread and lobster/​crab, in a bite) was incredibly salty, and inedible as served. The saltiest part seemed to have settled in the soggy bread, but I was able to salvage some of the lobster and crab bits. Those bits, by themselves, were good. The sides — cole slaw, and potato salad — were very good. So, yeah. The lobster roll in all was not good. I am wondering if maybe they were out of proper rolls, or having a bad night in the kitchen, because it seems odd that so many reviewers would love it. Sometimes, these things just happen.
So, I’m between 3 – 4 stars here, because it’s the holidays, and sometimes no matter how hard you try, things can’t always be perfect. The service was great. Most of the food was good. I would eat there again.

Went here on my birthday last weekend.
Theres a lot of parking but it gets crowded I guess because this place is real popular. Ate dinner here and we were seated right away.
Christmas decorations are beautiful and the big boat inside. Staff are nice.
I got the angry salt and pepper lobster. It was a good portion the only thing was it was way too salty for me but other than that everything was good.
I would definately come back here and try breakfast and lunch someday!
Got a free mud pie because it was my birthday, no happy birthday song the waitress will just greet you and light a candle lol but it’s okay. The pie was good!

Went here for a work holiday party… The service was very good.
I ordered a burger that comes with two sides. The bottom of the bun came out soggy. Definitely not one of the best burgers I have had in SD. As for the sides. The blue cheese bacon potato salad was great, and the «mixed vegetables» we’re actually just green beans. Sorry, that doesn’t count as «mixed vegetables» to me. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals. Our calamari appetizer was really good. Probably one of the better «calamari apps» around town.

I was here once before the remodel and have to say what an awesome job they did. It really opened up and made it more spacious and updated.
It did get SUPER busy, which is a great sign for a restaurant so I highly recommend reservations. There is however an amazing patio with fireplaces that is a great choice as well.
The crab cakes were a nice appetizer, but the lobster crab roll that I had was AWESOME!!! It definitely wasn’t as healthy as eating a salad but it was worth every single bite! The sandwich was absolutely packed with lobster and crab… I’d highly recommend it.
Although super busy and a bit noisy, I loved the atmosphere. For someone on a date, I’d recommend the patio.
All of the staff was really friendly and knowledgeable about the menu right down to wine options.

Last night my daughter and I went to Brigantine around 6pm. The place was busy, but we were still able to get seated right away on the patio. Our waiter was Tom and he was a great server. He was always available and friendly whenever we needed anything. Also, the busser was great, always clearing plates. I love that.
My daughter is a vegan. When she asked for a special accomodation, they happily complied. I had the short rib, it had a delicious sauce and a sweet potato with some crumbly something on it that was tasty. It also came with a side dish of sauteed apples mixed with what I think was swiss chard. So good!
The patio was chic, and there was a long table out there with lava rocks down the center and blue glowing fire on the table. I want to bring friends back to eat at that table because it looked so delightful.

New to East County and looking for the best places to eat.
I’ve been a couple of Brigantine restaurants throughout San Diego and I must say that this location has been by far one of the nicer upgraded looking ones. With the beautiful décor and outside patio seating it felt very welcoming.
I liked the oyster bar as well as the communal fire pit table in the lounge/​bar.
Tupac and I sat in a booth under what looked liked a ship with a view of different fish décor on the wall.
Our server was extremely nice and professional. :)
Food:
Rib Eye Steak cooked medium with vegetables and baked potato.
Jumbo Prawns wrapped in bacon
Both dishes were delicious. Definitely a nice restaurant to dine at.

It’s refreshing to find good quality seafood from a small-​chain restaurant. Everyone knows about their fish tacos, but their dirty little secret is that lobster crab roll. Its quite small, and a touch expensive, but an absolute joy to cram into your mouth at 100mph.
I tried their oysters when I was there a couple days ago and they are a big thumbs down.
Still, place is awesome. They remodeled it so it gets a bit more natural light and an open floor plan. The servers are always patient, kind, and efficient.

What a shock! Remodeled, well yes. Now news look is a good thing. Howevernot at this expense. All that beauty to entertain, and become the noisiest restaurant. So if you are looking to have a meal ALONE, by all means visit La MESA Brig. Food and drinks are great. Noise is too loud. We were in the bar and couldn’t talk to each other and we could hear a baby screaming in the dining room.
Really Brig. Work on the acoustics.

The remodel really opened the place up! Miss the potato skins though from the bar bites.
Staff is always friendly & fast.
The Brigintini is a very smooth drink to get by the way.

Went here for lunch last week on one of our nicer weather days and fortunately was able to sit outside on the patio. I had the wok-​charred ahi, which was pretty good (though not great).
Our server, Danae, was very attentive yet not intrusive at all. The atmosphere out on the patio was wonderful and my friend and I kept the table for nearly two hours with no hassles.
I tend to value service and atmosphere highly as long as food is above average. So, a solid 4 stars for me!

I came here for a graduation dinner. Apparently other families had the same idea because there was about 5 other ones going on at the same time. However, the restaurant seems fairly large and was easily able to accommodate all the different parties. We had 2 servers attending to our table and they were both very pleasant.
½ off wine bottles! I don’t know if this is a regular special or just happened to be a lucky Wednesday for us but all wine bottles were ½ price. Definite plus for all you alchies out there.
Crab Cake — Tasted like chunks of crap and not the mushy crab-​like stuff. Comes with a side of coleslaw.
Clam Chowder — Very different than any other clam chowder I’ve ever had. I’m not sure if this is a good thing. It was much too sweet for my taste.
Crusted Halibut — One of the off menu specials for the evening. The fish was perfectly cooked, tender, flakey and juicy. It came with a side of mashed potatoes which taste like they’re powdered potatoes from a box. I would recommend the halibut but choose a different side.

Its been years since ive been back here. We had our company holiday party here…
The food from appetizers to desserts are amazingly delicious!!! this place popped my crème brûlée cherry & since then ive been addicted to crème brûlée whether it’s homemade, buffet, etc.

I’ve got a confession to make about the Brigantine. While I’ve been here many times over the years, it’s only been for happy hour parties for coworkers. Today was my first time in the dining room. My mom brought us here for brunch for Mother’s Day. It was crowded, as expected, but she made a reservation.
Our server was John and he was excellent. He kept her champagne glass filled the entire time we were there. He also brought out a second plate of complimentary breakfast Danishes due to the long wait for our food. I thought that was sweet. Obviously the kitchen was backed up, and he apologized for the wait and checked on us several times.
When the food did arrive it was hot and mine was delicious. Two of our party had the salmon special and said it was good. It was plated nicely. I just paused long enough to snap a quick pic of my food and dug in, I was starving. My French toast came with breakfast potatoes that were crispy and seasoned just right. I asked for my eggs over easy, a lot of places tend to over cook them for some reason, they got them right though.
The coconut crusted macadamia nut French toast was as divine as it sounded. It came with a warm fruit compote. I didn’t end up using it though. It was a little too sweet for my taste. I just dipped it in the syrup instead. It was truly delicious. I would definitely return for that. The only disappointing thing about my breakfast was the bacon. It was not crispy. It could’ve been cooked for a couple minutes longer. Guess you can’t win ‘em all though. My son didn’t mind, he steals my bacon all the time.

I made a 7 pm reservation here and got seated right before the time at a very nice booth in a cozy part of the dining room near the patio.
We had a good dinner starting with Oysters Rock and spinach salad. I had the sole with lemon butter and broccoli rabe and mashed potatoes, while my husband had the prime rib special. It was all well-​cooked and the portions were large but not too large. So, at the end I was full but not rolling out of there.
The only speedbump was the fact that we had no water until we got our food, so like 10 – 15 minutes, and we were really thirsty.