Tom Ham’s Lighthouse

I photographed a wedding at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse this May and was so impressed by the location, service and food ! The groom is a chef so the menu was very important to the couple and Tom Ham’s did not disappoint ! Great for weddings, taking out of town guests for lunch or dinner or for a special occasion ! You can view photo from the wedding here:

If you are looking for good seafood with an amazing view, this is your place. I brought an out of town guest and sat on patio. It was a great meal with stellar service

I wish I would have known Tom Ham’s philosophy on sartorial splendor before my visit. From Tom Ham’s history:
«Tom’s sartorial trademark was his colorful Hawaiian shirts, worn on virtually all occasions, an emblem of the informality, the friendliness, the neighborliness, the openness that marked his character and his relationships with other humans. To me this engaging contrast with the more somber style of his contemporaries seemed an expression of freedom from hidebound tradition. He never hesitated to cross new frontiers to explore new ways of thinking and of doing things.»
I’m not sure if sporting a Hawaiian shirt is exactly crossing new frontiers at happy hour – I don’t remember Captain Kirk or Spock wearing one – but I was still feeling awfully informal, friendly, neighborly, and open even without wearing a shirt with palm trees and surfboarding pelicans on it.
The drinks were mixed to sort the seriously happy from the merely amused. A jalapeño margarita was delivered that could have felled a burro with a sip. We had to pass it around our table of five to dilute the fire. Its not really good to have to cauterize someone’s throat during happy hour.
We all shared a brilliantly crispy calamari that came with a honey lime chili. Couldn’t find any little baby squid with their teensy little baby arms though, and while that sounds gross, there isn’t any one of you who wouldn’t scoop up honey lime chili with one, using it like a little seafood mop.
Being from the opposite coast, I was a little worried about the fried oysters with pickled vegetables. There are about four hundred ways to screw up fried oysters – too much breading, not enough breading, too oily, too rubbery, too salty, and on and on. There really, literally ain’t no way to screw up pickled vegetables as long as you’ve got a mason jar of vinegar in the back. The fried oysters didn’t need aioli. Didn’t need any sauce. Didn’t even need a fork. I ate mine with my fingers.
And chicken lollipops? Someone needs to put a food truck together that roams the neighborhoods to the Chicken Dance song selling these things. Insanely savory.
No idea when I’ll be back. I hope I do get to make it a tradition. I’m wearing my Hawaiian shirt next time.

Bottomless mimosas and yummy seafood with a view!
Whenever we are in San Diego, reservations for Tom Hams is a must! Love their scallops, oysters, crab legs and ceviche

Great view, we got to see sailboats up and down the bay. Worth the trip. Our waitress was fantastic and patient. She had to be because my in laws are a bit picky. We went there to celebrate their 88 and 85^th birthdays. There was six in our party. The food was ok, not spectacular.
My in laws returned their Bouillabaisse twice because they could not cut or chew the lobster. I had the same dish. It was ok, I had better. My husband ordered kobe beef medium done and it came to him well done. He did not want to return it becase of the show his parents were already putting on. He did not want to add to it.
Our waitress was very accommodating and comped my in laws meal and gave them dessert. She went above and beyond to make them happy.
Nice views, very pricey, good service. The food on the other hand… not worth the trip.
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I really wanted to love this place. We made reservations for Sunday Brunch at 9:45AM and even though we arrived a little early, we were seated right away, which was nice. Our server was very polite and informative about the menu items and sent us on our way. We were thinking the food would be hot and fresh since the restaurant had just opened at 9:30AM, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Sadly, everything I got (bacon, corned beef hash, potatoes, some sort of short ribs and sausage) was dreadfully cold. The only exception was the made-​to-​order omelet. I ended up not eating the majority of what was on my plate and we were too turned off by the temperature of the food that we didn’t go back for seconds of any of the hot items. We then tried the crab legs and lobster claws and they were just blah… not great and not horrible.
I really had high hopes for this place since there were other nice reviews and noting the price point. The view is definitely to die for but for the cost of the brunch, I would have expected more and better but our visit was unacceptable. I couldn’t bring myself to complain to our server as he was very nice and it just makes things uncomfortable. I can’t remember his name but he was great and always made sure to keep our drinks full. Unfortunately, we left hungry and particularly upset that we spent $ 110 on mainly ice water and mimosas.

Yes this place is amazing! my boyfriend took me here before our prom and it was awesome! parking is easy, the servers are nice but the food is pricey. It was super busy and we were seated inside, but I saw one table open outside and I asked and they gave it to me! Outside seating is amazing I recommend it! the food was actually very good and the view is beautiful

I will preface this review by saying that I have only ever been here for BRUNCH and never for a regular lunch or dinner. Tom Ham’s Lighthouse is brunch GOLD. I love visiting San Diego and me and my bestie were looking for the best possible spot for a boozy brunch. Well, Tom Ham’s did not disappoint! At first, I was little weary because the price seemed a little steep. Even so, we decided to give it a shot. Well, we definitely got our money’s worth. The Sunday brunch is truly bottomless and unlimited. The brunch is served buffet style and includes a seafood station, omelette station, deserts, and the breakfast basics. We went back for plate after plate after plate. And the mimosas were TRULY bottomless. Every time I looked my champagne flute was full again. My kind of brunch! We chose to sit at the bar, so we got an amazing view of the water! All around, I had a great brunch experience.
Again, I’m not sure if I would go back for dinner (solely because the prices are a little out of my range), but I’ll most likely be back for brunch on our next visit to San Diego!

Thank you Danimal for recommending this place and joining us, the Florida Unilocalers, for brunch.
We got there early, to make sure we got a table (this place gets busy), and at 9:30am on the dot the doors opened.
Everyone came in at once, up the stairs and even though there was no clear line to put your name for a table, it went by pretty fast and smoothly.
Even though it was bit cold, we decided to sit outside. It was our first time there and we wanted to enjoy the beautiful water view.
Brunch is done buffet style and it included bottomless mimosas.
Let’s start with these as they sure know how Mimosas are supposed to be served. Champagne and a side of orange juice — your choice how much you pour in it.
Servers are constantly circling the tables making sure those glasses are full, and empty plates are removed from the table.
The buffet has 3 sections:
1. Inside room where they have: pastries, salad, pancakes, waffles, cold cuts, brisket, sausage, bacon, breakfast potatoes, eggs, ice cream and more
2. Right outside this room there’s the seafood station: lobster claws, shrimp, oysters, crab… All you can eat!
3. Third section is the omelet station: many topping options and you can even grab from the seafood section to add to yours.
Every section is clean and constantly refilled by the staff. At no point did I see an empty tray of anything.
At no point where we rushed to release our table, and even when we asked for the check we were offered a last round of mimosas.
If you want to be nice, and let others have the table, when you’re done eating, you can move to the bar and keep enjoying the drinks and the view.
Plenty of parking and nice outside area downstairs to walk a bit after your meal or while you wait for a table.
Really glad we got to try this place before we left San Diego, and definitely recommend it.

ALL YOU CAN EAT BRUNCH.
Such a great find! AYCE brunch includes fresh seafood and breakfast items. The view is AMAZING! My boyfriend made reservations so we didn’t have to wait, got seated right away. For drinks, you can order bottomless mimosas, coffee, apple cider and so forth. Seafood was AMAZING, very fresh, they had scallops, lobster, crabs, shrimps, and oysters. You can always make you own omelette and pasta. Some awesome breakfast items they had were egg benedict, prime rib, sausages, and so forth.
Overall, love this place, for $ 42 per person, it was worth every penny!

While I’ve run past Tim Ham’s many times, I’d never eaten there until my wife and I joined a long time friend there for dinner one night. What we thought would be an old, typical older establishment was instead a well appointed modern dining room with a magnificent view of the harbor and city front along it.
It was a delightful evening; a wonderful dinner and an outstanding staff.

I don’t know if I had wrong expectations or what. The view and atmosphere are excellent — however, extremely limited lunch menu (except for shellfish; really, only go here if you want to eat shellfish), miniscule portions for the price, and overall very disappointing. My salad was expensive with a small handful of lettuce, scant toppings, and an albeit tasty and tender chicken breast that was teeny tiny. My husband’s side salad had zero dressing on it or on the side, and his lobster sandwich was very dry and quite «eh» per him. Friend’s salad had different ingredients than what was listed. Service was subpar as well for the price and supposed quality, slow and not partially attentive.
Even if I developed a ravenous appetite for shellfish, I’d go elsewhere.

We made it a point to go to Tom Ham’s Lighthouse while in San Diego after reading such great reviews. It’s off the beaten path, but a quick Über ride away from the Gaslamp District.
I made a reservation online, and over the course of the day I had to add several more people to our reservation as it blew up from 6 to 14. Most places would give you a hard time about it, but not Tom Ham’s. They were so friendly as I called them each time, asking if we could add one more here, another there. They really handled the situation beautifully.
I cannot stress enough what a cool space it is. The restaurant is located on the second floor of the building giving it an incredible view of the water. It looks as though it’s been remodeled recently. Beautiful warm woods with an amazing iron staircase, high vaulted ceilings. Very California casual.
We shared a baby kale, apple, bacon, and blue cheese salad. Delicious. The calamari, incredibly good. I then ordered one of the specials, the Bouillabaisse, my first experience with the dish. It was a beautiful stew with a warm, savory broth and delicious pieces of seafood. Incredible.
My husband ordered the linguine with clams. Also excellent, though my Bouillabaisse had it beat. The clams were tender. The linguine with a subtle creamy sauce.
Again, I can’t stress how great the service was from start to finish. Our server Raymond, made the evening a pleasurable experience. We had a large group and when we requested separate checks, he said although they don’t typically allow that, he may it happen without batting an eye. If the weather is warm enough, make sure to get a seat outside and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Whenever you want dinner with a view, you head over to the water. This time, I found myself on Harbor Island.
Let us start at Happy Hour, where I ordered the calamari as well as the tenderloin tips. Needless to say, there should have been two orders of the tips because it was AMAZING and GONE. I even ate the garnishing salad because it had some au jus and balsamic vinaigrette that just hit my taste buds the right way.
It got a little chilly, so we moved inside to do dinner. I ordered the salmon as a main and asparagus and brusselsprouts as my sides. The asparagus was grilled SPOT ON, the brusselsprouts were baked to the right crispness.
What took the cake was that the brusselsprouts were drizzled with maple syrup. And you know what goes with maple syrup? BACON. Clearly kids who didn’t like brusselsprouts growing up had moms who didn’t know how prep sprouts deliciously.
Staff was great, the sides were my favorite, so there you have it!

We decided to have a serious meal before we conquered the zoo this day. we were ready for a full meal! The waiter was extremely attentive and very kind!
The sunday brunch buffet had everything from lobster, snow crab, stone crab, scallos, shrimp to pancakes, bacon, salad, Mac and cheese, even an omelet station!
I ended up eating just about everything, filled up 3plates of yumminess and my friends ate about the same. It’s hard to stop with so many good choices of food!
Not only was the food amazing, we had an outside view of the entire Bay, what a breathtaking view while having brunch! Boats and all going by.
I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who hasn’t been and is in the area to give it a try, you will absolutely love Tom hams for brunch. I know I did.

We celebrated Mother’s Day there with our entire family. It was very busy and considering that we were a party of 13 it’s a good thing we made reservations way ahead of time.
I am still in between thoughts of whether it was worth the price but then I think it was because it’s all you can eat & drink including champagne. Just the bottomless champagne with endless servings of scallops, oysters, crabs & lobsters is enough to make it worth every buck you pay. The rest of the menu were just ok especially their dessert station. They have a lavender cookie that I like a lot but I’ve definitely had better desserts from other places. One thing you should not pass though is their ceviche & chips. Those are definitely oozing with goodness. I kept on coming back for more & I have never been a fan of ceviche.
I say this place is a good place to celebrate special days but maybe a little too pricey for any regular Sunday.

If this place was located in the Bay Area, I bet it’d be almost impossible to get a reservation unless you reserve 3 months in advance!
Luckily, this is in San Diego and my fiancée’s brother in law made reservations 2 weeks in advance prior to our arrival.
We came here for the Sunday brunch buffet and it was AMAZING! Bottomless mimosas and bottomless food. Not just any food, SEAFOOD! Lobster claws, oysters, scallops, crab legs, and shrimp cocktails, oh my!
Seafood bar in the front and lunch and breakfast items in a separate room to the right of the seafood bar. They also have 2 chefs cooking pasta and omelette across from the seafood bar.
Not much else to say about this place except to give it a try. For $ 42, you can definitely get your money’s worth here (if you’re like me). Heck, eating a plate or 2 of the lobster claws would probably do the job.
Service here was THE BEST. Literally every time I got up to get another plate, my finished plate was gone and my cup was filled with more champagne. SUPERB SERVICE!
Definitely will be back the next time I’m in San Diego!
***QUICK TIP***: De-​shell the lobster claws and make a lobster omelette or pasta!

Gorgeous views of downtown San Diego!
I came in for Sunday Brunch without a reservation & fortunately only waited 20 minutes to get seated! The last time I came, I waited maybe 1.5 hours & was mentally preparing myself for the same wait. Since my last time, they now offer seating in the bar & bar area, cutting down the wait for a table.
Sunday Brunch $ 42 with unlimited mimosas (orange, pineapple, cranberry, tomato)!
–Made to order pasta
–Made to order omelets
–Seafood galore = Crab, shrimp, scallops, oysters
–Traditional breakfast = Eggs Benedict (English muffin), pancakes, bacon
–Salads & fruits
–Dessert bar
Everything was good, with my favorite being the pasta! If you like seafood, this is definitely the best bang for your buck because the seafood is fresh & plenty.

I had the pleasure of having lunch with my parents at Tom Ham’s this past Saturday. We arrived at 11:30am, just as they were opening. We were led up the stairs to the dining room that boasts fantastic views of the beautiful San Diego bay.
I started things off with a Bloody Mary, extra spicy. For some reason I’ve been taking a liking to them recently, in spite of the fact that I’m not much of a tomato juice fan. At any rate, they made it well and served it with the kick I was looking for. We decided to share an order of the Shrimp Fritters. They were phenomenal. The filling was composed of a spicy corn mixture, and the crispiness of the batter was perfect. Loved the cilantro dipping sauce they came with. The shrimp fritters are truly dangerous. I limited myself to two of them, as I was trying to be relatively good.
For my lunch entrée, I opted for the Lobster Roll. To my surprise, the entrée is actually served with two (2) lobster rolls. I enjoyed the taste and texture of the bun, and the amount of lobster filling was more than adequate. However, the filling itself lacked flavor. I hardly ever add salt to any of my food when out at a restaurant, but this time I did. I also felt the lobster filling needed some type of herb to help with its overall character. The portion size is definitely on point, and the french fries it was served with were crispy and delicious.
My dad had the Lighthouse French Dip and mom ordered the Crab Louis Salad. Both of them enjoyed their selections very much.
Overall, a very positive experience. Hopefully soon I can return to try their Sunday brunch.
** I did note that the booth we sat in needed some TLC. It suffered from several tears and obvious wear.

The views of this restaurant are incredible. After spending the day in San Diego my boyfriend I decided to have dinner here. We had reservations for 5:15pm we got there at 5 and were seated right away. We had the best seat! We were sitting outside away from everyone on the edge with a beautiful ocean view.
When we sat we were greeted right away by our waiter. I ordered the strawberry shrub which was very yummy, I recommend that if you love tequila. We were also brought over complimentary bread and butter, I loved how the bread was bite sized. We also put in a order of calamari, the calamari came out in about 5 minutes and it was very delicious.
For dinner I ordered the bouillabaisse and my boyfriend got the steak and added shrimp. It took 30 minutes for us to get our food, our waiter even apologized for the long wait. Although we didn’t mind waiting at all, the views are just breath taking especially when the sun started setting.
My bouillabaisse was delicious, the only thing I didn’t care for was the spread on the bread that came with it. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good, it had a very unusual taste. The lobster was also very tough and difficult to cut, even with a knife. Everything else was delicious and the broth had a great flavor. My boyfriend thought his food was average he also said it wasn’t warm, he wished it was hot so he could enjoy it more. Especially since it came with mashed potatoes and green beans.
Overall it was a great time. I’d definitely love to come back and order something else. The service was excellent and that view is incredible.