California Grill & Bar

$ 16 burgers, $ 18 cheesesteaks, and $ 38 steaks are not what I expect in a hotel restaurant. Ordered a beer and left. Went to In-​n-​Out Burger instead.

The food is decent — better than average for an airport hotel. I had the fish tacos and they came in a beautiful presentation with plenty of different condiments. The cocktails menu is very good, and the patio is a nice place to sit and get some fresh air. But wow, the service is terrible. Friendly, but soooo slow. Even when almost empty! I’ve eaten here twice and both times waited a long time at the table — alone — for the waiter to even acknowledge me. Come on, guys! Solo dining is a pain as it is — don’t make it worse by having people wait like they are invisible. This morning I went for breakfast, waited 12 minutes for someone to even notice I was there and bring a menu (why doesn’t the hostess bring menus when seating people?) and then I got up and just walked out. I’d rather just walk 20 minutes to the nearest competitor than pay to wait here again.

Since March of 2013 I have been having lunch and dinner in the San Mateo /​Burlingame area at least twice a week, and usually two of those meals (and a late night drink) have been (and continue to be) at the San Mateo Marriott’s California Grill.
I should start by saying that I always sit either at the bar, at one of the tables in the bar area, or, when the weather cooperates, outside on the patio (which is serviced by the bar staff). The bar staff provides very good service, and can give good insight into the popularity and taste of the various dishes.
The menu is varied, is updated regularly, and the food is, by and large, very good. If you’re uncertain, ask for a recommendation. Also, don’t feel bound by the listing on the menu; they handle substitutions (and the occasional rabbit-​from-​the-​hat) very well. It’s a full service Marriott, after all.
I’m a big fan of the Health Nut Salad (I ask for grilled rather than poached shrimp), the short ribs (the meat drops off the bone, and the horseradish mashed potatoes are excellent), and the fettuccine with lobster sauce is also phenomenal. The only thing on the menu that I haven’t enjoyed is the cauliflower steak (I’ve never tried it), but I have heard people say it’s great, just too much food. Bottom line: I haven’t had a bad meal here, and the service has always been good (it can get a bit slow if the bar is «slammed», but has never been bad).
If you want to try a drink that is different, but cold and refreshing, ask for a Jalapeño Gimlet … ice cold with a bite. And if you want an interesting dessert, try either the key lime cake or, for chocolate lovers, the chocolate-​peanut butter pie.

Food was ok. Mahi (was room temperature) the service was by far the worst service I’ve EVER encountered. After someone took my order some other IDIOT in a waiters uniform came to my table and said «are u just sitting or are you eating what are you doing» I responded «well I thought I was eating eventually» he responds «well where is your silverware or water?» (Pretty annoyed at this point) I respond… «You work here I don’t. You tell me where my wine, food, silverware is» I got my food an hour later. And didn’t see anyone for 2 hours. I finally went to the bar and asked was i required to pay or should I just continue to sit and wait for someone to come back and at least give me a check? Rude rude rude! The only professional person in there was the hostess that seated us… Poor service! I don’t eat fast food but I’m sure the kids at McDonald’s have better customer service!

Staying at the hotel and have eaten breakfast, dinner and dessert, service is good, food is always fresh and hot. It is a nice change to your regular rush in and out eats!

Had Easter breakfast here… Saw the 1-​star ratings and thought hmmmm… To our delight, food was very good. Good selection of fresh and very sweet fruits, shot glasses of strawberry smoothies, corned beef hash, bacon, sausage, lox with all the fixings, scrabbled eggs & herb potatoes, omelette bar (they had spinach available!) and all the normal continental breakfast fixings. Excellent wait staff. The décor is beautiful with lots if green, healthy foliage. My only complaint… My fork was too big!

Spent a few hours here with my wife recently and was not overly impressed. Drinks were a little pricey but it’s a hotel bar… Food offerings were good. Someone needs to take the time and clean the hanging bar lights as they are filthy and right above head level… Very noticeable. Gonna pass on hanging there again for a night cap…

The burgers are really good here and the burittos are really good here.
Totally high priced tho, even happy hour is waaay expensive.
I liked the juicy thick pickles.
Happy hour is very wack tho.
Service was pretty decent.
They made sure we always had what we needed.

I found the food to be quite good. I have been staying at the Marriott San Mateo for a month now. I’ve tried several menu items and never had a complaint with one. Hearty portions, food was tasty, etc. The only downside was the outrageous prices, but what else would you expect from a hotel restaurant.

Bread and butter with some olives as a starter.
I ordered the couscous with Salmon. Highly recommended!

It’s a typical hotel restaurant as you’d expect. If you try the breakfast buffet, just expect everything to be just meh! Watery fruits, cardboard oatmeal — you know the works. Otherwise the service was really good and attentive. For drinks and just mingling at the bar is fine but if you could find your way to downtown San Mateo for some substantial food instead, then I recommend doing so.

***Hotel restaurants are typically not good and that is the case with this one at the San Mateo Marriott***
Hotel restaurants are typically not good. They are also overpriced. Marriott restaurants are not all the same though they are typically not great. Many Marriotts feature steakhouses or mostly steak-​themed meals like the steakhouse at the DFW Marriott. A few South Bay Marriotts feature celebrity chef restaurants – Arcadia by Michael Mina in the San Jose Marriott and Parcel 104 by Bradley Ogden in the Santa Clara Marriott. This is kind of surprising for the Marriott brand since contemporary menus are not often featured at Marriott restaurants; menus at Marriott restaurants are typically filled with dishes that were popular 15 to 20 years ago.
That is the case with the San Mateo Marriott’s restaurant California Grill & Bar. The menu is not that interesting, but it is thankfully less expensive than a lot of pricey Marriott restaurants. It is pricey, but several entrees are in the low $ 20s (entrees often run in the $ 30s at Marriotts). Desserts are $ 6 and are big (not $ 8-​$ 9 for the same stuff at other Marriott restaurants).
I had the bruleed banana split and it was pretty standard stuff. The vanilla ice cream was thick and creamy and not icy, but it was nothing special. The chocolate sauce was very thin and did not have that distinct of a flavor (kind of the consistency and flavor of grocery store chocolate syrup); the whipped cream felt that way too. The bruleed banana sounded good, but it just did not have the thick bruleed crust that a lot of restaurants serve when they torch bananas.
For breakfast, this restaurant features an a la carte menu as well as a breakfast buffet. Their breakfast buffet features a pretty good variety of items. On my visit, there was an assortment of pastries and breads, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, sauteed red potatoes, frittata with asparagus, oatmeal, sausage gravy and biscuits, a few cold cereals, fresh fruit, whole fruit, smoked salmon, smoothie shooters, and orange juice. There was also an omelet bar with a variety of toppings (bacon, ham, cheddar, mozzarella, goat cheese, bell peppers, sweet peppers, onion, spinach, mushrooms, and several other ingredients).
There was definitely a wide variety of options. A lot of the food was just okay though. The sausage links were pretty good and the bacon, while not a super high quality, was crispy but not burnt. The frittata was not as creamy as it should have been and did not have a pastry base. The omelets were also on the bland side.
At the right price though, this breakfast buffet would not have been that bad of a deal given the variety. Unfortunately, the breakfast buffet was $ 20 and there are much better breakfast options in the Bay Area for that price.
Service was fine and serviceable though it was not consistent with the high quality of personal and professional service you consistently get with Marriott’s front desk or with personnel throughout the hotel (service in the hotel part of San Mateo Marriott is good).
The restaurant did not have a great look. It was not contemporary. Instead, it featured very square and boring tables with horrible carpet. The restaurant kind of had the feel of an outdated 24-​hr café in a Las Vegas casino.
The San Mateo Marriott is a decent hotel, but the California Grill & Bar is not a good showcase of this hotel’s strengths. Most hotel restaurants are overpriced with mediocre to bad food; unfortunately, that is the case here. You should really venture outside of the hotel for all meals and snacks.
Pay self parking is available. If you do not mind walking, you can park for free on the street adjacent to the hotel.

Considering this is a restaurant inside a Marriott in San Mateo my expectations were pretty low. But, it was a decent dining experience.
Our server, Bobby, was nice and attentive but not too much so. He promptly filled our water pretty quickly.
We ordered two apps – the hummus and the crab cakes. The hummus was a decent portion, though there wasn’t a ton of pita. Although, I feel like they would have given us more if we asked. The crab cake was a bit bread-​y but not too bad.
They get points for allowing me to have my mahi mahi with asparagus instead of bok choy but the fish itself was just ok. The fillet portion size was a bit small, it was a little dry and the seasoning felt a little heavy handed. The coconut rice was a tiny bit bland. The asparagus was cooked very well though.
Overall I’d give this place another shot.

I hate when hotels only have limited dining, and even worse when the limited dining establishments mark up their prices ridiculously because they can.
customer service was a mess, and that’s being nice. The pushy lady who practically barks at the customers «WAIT» while approaching the podium to grab a seat, the lack of distinguishing which waiter/​waitress is for what table, and the overpriced menu items. ugh.

Extremely mediocre food and service. Real «hotel food» at hotel prices in the negative sense. Only eat here in extremis.

Over priced and the food sucks. I had lunch with the people I met and the our burgers and sandwiches was literally ew than the ones I can make at home. My chicken breast burger was dry as rotten sand, tastes like paper mache… I literally asked for lots of ketchup, mayo, and rain my salt/​pepper trying to make my own sauce. Was literally about to ask for their salad dressing to make my own burger. The girls had grilled meat sandwiches which didn’t have anything on it except meat and cheese… come on… put some carrots on the side or a fake flower and make it worth the $ 20 dish good golly.
Starve yourself and walk to Trader Joe’s next door, trust me, it’s a good survival tip.

I came here for a couple drinks while staying at the Marriott.
The positives
* Good and strong drinks
* A really nice upscale and modern atmosphere with seating at the bar and tables that can accommodate larger groups
* Super convenient if you are staying at the hotel
The negatives
* Marriott prices for sure. Ouch! Far from cheap!
* The service was so-​so, not particularly friendly. They didn’t seem to happy to be working there.
Overall, I enjoyed my time here — 3 stars!

I don’t expect too much when I eat in a hotel restaurant but this place was a pleasant surprise. The price is moderate to above moderate (~$ 25 a entrée) but the food makes up for the price. We had the grill sea bass, which was excellent, and decent size. The sea bass was cooked perfectly and came with decent sides. Also had the lamb chop, wasn’t as good as the sea bass but was prepared nicely. I don’t recommend this lamb chop if you are hungry, it’s pretty small. The place is empty, so no need for reservations or anything and they do validate.

$ 32 for a regular breakfast buffet?! Talk about highway robbery.
Sure they have a decent breakfast buffet spread with french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, chicken sausage, oatmeal, fruit (mango was great), smoked salmon, toast, bagels, baked goods, etc. as well as a cool omelette station where they make you hot omelettes from scratch. And service was standard hotel nice. But was that worth $ 32+tax? HELL NO.
I’d be willing to pay that much if it were a champagne brunch with 50 custom dishes to choose from but this was just a standard hotel buffet.
Bottom line: 3.5 stars for the buffet minus 1 star for the price = 2.5 stars. If you come here, just make sure someone else is paying for it!