My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in La Jolla. Stayed at Hotel La Holla. Upgrades galore. Parking, comp'ed. Upgraded to suite. Bottle of wine waiting for us in room. Freebies from minibar. Â And the staff could not have been nicer.
We went up to Cusp on the 11th floor for the Veuve Cliquot champagne happy hours. They, too, knew of our anniversary. Free killer sausage app - tremendous. Â We weren't that hungry so we split a perfectly cooked (medium rare) filet. Â The brussel sprouts could have been bolder. Â Free desserts. Panda Cotta and killer orange cake with grapefruit glaze. Wednesday happens to be half price bottle of wine night. So we did! Overall, couldn't have been happier with the room and dining. And the staff just put it over the top. Looking forward to spending another night soon with Cusp, Hotel La Jolla and the entire staff...
Great view! Â Friendly and attentive service! Â Good food!
Thanks to Travelzoo, I believe I got a great deal on dinner with the Grand Prix set. Â If I had to pay regular price, then I think I'd paid a little too much. Â Anyhow, the service was great! Â I made reservations at 6:30, so the sunset was occurring as we drink wine and waited for our food to arrive. Â The bar was on one side of the room and dinner was on the other side, so I did not think the atmosphere was "noisy" at all.
I had the Carlsbad Mussels, Organic Chicken Breast and my wife had the Roasted Corn and Poblano Chowder and Diver Sea Scallops. Â We both had the Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert. Â Everything was good (not great); but the view and the service made our night.
The original plan was to stay at the Hotel La Jolla and have dinner and drinks at Clay's for my wife's birthday.
After checking into the hotel (See review of HLJ) we had a drink in our room as we let the A/C cool it down - it was 88º when we got in the west facing room at 5:00 in the afternoon.
We had 6:30 reservations for dinner at Clay's, but we'd heard they had a very good Happy Hour, and we were hungry and decided to maybe do the HH instead of dinner.
We took the elevator up and walked into one of the hottest restaurants this side of the Arizona border. It had to be 90º in this place!
I don't really understand why the restaurant was so hot and why they did not have the air conditioning cooling the place off.
The hostess, (who we felt wasn't as welcoming and friendly as a hostess should be), wasn't particularly helpful.
We tried to be nice and told her we had dinner reservations but we decided to have Happy Hour instead and her response was "Well, we're very busy. Good luck finding a seat".
So, trying to keep the birthday nice, drama-free and overlook the rudeness of the hostess we decided to have dinner early instead and got a table in the dining room.
But the blinds were down - no ocean view - and we were sweating so much we decided to leave.
This was a good decision, as it turned out - see my review of Azul in La Jolla.
Meh, I've experience better.
My friend brought me here because he said it had a nice view. Well, that's about the only good thing Clay's has to offer. Â
We went during HH and I was not impressed with the drinks. They were weak and a bit pricey for happy hour. Â I gave them one extra star because of the clever drink names (ie - dutch rudder). Â We didn't get any of the appetizers because we had dinner reservations elsewhere but based on some of the reviews, it sounds like skipping the appetizer was a good idea.
The crowd looked to be mostly tourists who were staying at the hotel but there were a handful of single gals there. Â They were more 'mature' looking women but if any of you guys want a drunken cougar, you know where to go.
I gave it a few more tries because the staff was friendly, but every time I've visited Clay's I was underwhelmed. It's worth one visit for the view but that's pretty much it.
My friends and I decided to come here for happy hour since a couple of them were in town for a couple of nights. We got there before 6:30PM so we could get our orders in before happy hour ended. We had a group of 6 so the only options we had for seating were the 2 high, round tables close to the entrance/exit, seating at the bar, and some comfy couches toward where the restrooms are. I was happy it wasn't super crowded and noisy for happy hour like a lot of places are.
It was a little difficult to flag down a server so we could order drinks and food before happy hour was over at 7PM. Actually, it was difficult to flag down our server throughout the entire meal and I wasn't surprised by this after reading other Yelp reviews.
They do have a great happy hour menu, lovely view of La Jolla, and great ambiance. I was impressed when we walked in, sat down, and checked out the beautiful panoramic view. Overall, all of us really liked our food. The crabcake was great - it had a great amount of crab in it and a thin layer of outer crust. The Ahi Tuna Tower was, for the most part, awesome. But one of us who had the tuna tower didn't really like the consistency of the tower's bottom layer, the purple thai rice cake. I loved the chicken caesar salad. Since it's served on a plate that has a see-through middle, it was trippy being able to see the table through the plate as I was eating.
Overall, Clay's is a great secret spot for happy hour that seemingly not a lot of people know about. I hope this doesn't change by the time I come back here.
Clay's always seems like a great place for happy hour. Â It's from 5-7 - a perfect time for a cocktail after a long work day against a gorgeous backdrop of LJ Cove (especially during sunset) Â The view is impeccable. Â But other than that, nothing else really WOW'ed me.
It's usually pretty hard to get a table, but there's bar seating and lounge sofas as well. Â It took a while for them to get us started, but once we met our waitress, things got a lot smoother. Â
Their menu for happy hour appetizers is fairly comprehensive. Â The Calamari is always a great choice. Â I've had the Lobster Bisque a few times, but today's was extra salty. Â We couldn't even finish it. Â However, it was very rich and creamy, and you could definitely taste the flavor of the lobster. Â I've also tried the SD Chili - decent, but not the best. Â The chunks of beef in the chili tasted very dry too. Â
The Lump Crab Cake was delicious! Â The outside had a deep fried batter coating, and the inside was flaky and moist lump crab. Â YUMMY!! Â I wished the portion was a little bigger though.
The happy hour drinks are very average as well. Â The sangria is very watered down, and the house cabernet was pretty hard to drink. Â I think I might just stick to $3 draft beers. Â
Overall, it's always been a very mediocre experience. Â The view and ambiance is probably the best part. Â Prices are bit on the higher end as well.
Made reservation but table wasn't ready.
Waited half an hour for an appetizer.
Fish was way over cooked.
Steak was excellent, but it came on top of mashed potatoes for some reason.
Garlic spinach side was tasty.
Food is hit or miss. Service is bad. Do not take your lady here for a nice dinner. Â Happy hour/appetizers is a safe move.
Did we get the 'B Team'? I have always loved Clay's and thought it to be a hidden gem, but this most recent visit had me a little disappointed. We were in on the 23rd and Clay wasn't there. We were given the wrong menus and there was some confusion as to what we could and could not order. The service was ok, very nice but a little fumbling. Our food came out ok, kind of drowning in sauces that are usually in better proportions. But ok isn't Clay's. My previous experiences have been fantastic, wonderful and awesome.
I kind of feel bad writing this, I still want people to try Clay's. I'm just really bummed that this visit was bad after so many great ones in the past.
It was my first time coming here with a friend after a long day of work! We quickly sat on the table with the best view and we ordered the Ferrari champagne and I got the sparkling water there. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful view! I caught it just the right time as I was looking outside and the sun was setting beautifully. It instantly  helped me relax and just enjoy my view and my food. We ordered the scallop for our appetizers and I have to admit, the service was a little bit slow. There was 2 chefs in the kitchen and they seemed to be working quickly but it took almost 15-30 minutes for our appetizer to come out!
The scallop was seared and served with mashed potato with spinach fried with garlic and some kind of balsamic vinegar sauce and oil. It tasted great! One thing about it that I disliked was that it wasn't hot enough to the point that it remained warm throughout our time there. It came out luke-warm probably because they took such a long time serving it to my table.
The interior was quite sophisticated and modern and I really enjoyed the tall chairs which allowed me to look out the window with a better view! We were talking forever and so we ordered a filet mignon and.....whew it was delicious. We ordered it medium rare but it was so tender that when I put the knife through it three times, it was already cut! This was also served with mashed potatoes and the sauce that tasted sweeter than A1, but less sweet than teriyaki sauce. it was delicious! It also came with cooked garlic and it added perfectly onto the tenderness of the filet mignon.
Overall, the bill came out to be a little more than I expected but I would go back there any time to kick back, relax, and enjoy a good view and drink (:
Andrew C. had a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon, thus on the day of my departure, We went with two friends, Shandra and Ryen.
We got the Cobb salad, mushroom burger, sea bass sandwich, and tuna melt. The prices were from 10-14 dollars. Pretty avg. We got sweet potatoes fries and onion rings for the sides.
I have to emphasize, the sweet potatoes fries WERE AWESOME. i gobbled down my fries like a hungry hippo. I was so focused on finishing my fries, that i totally neglected my tuna melt. The tuna melt came in two circles, it was so cute. I managed to finish one before giving up. It was decent enough, not too oily, which is definitely a plus.
My other friends seem to be very happy with their food.
In the end, our bill came to be 27 dollars? with tip ( they didn't include gratuity beforehand, so we calculated ourselves) Which was pretty good for the portion size and the food. The service was pretty good because they kept on filling our water, but then again, there weren't a lot of people there to begin with.
This is one place i'll definitely go back.
I tried the happy hour here after reading the other Yelp reviews. To be honest I wasn't overly impressed with the happy hour specials but still thought it was a good experience and will be back.
Here are the particulars...
I was disappointed by four things:
1. Happy hour prices were not half price as other Yelpers indicated so clearly they increased their prices but there's no rhyme or reason to how as some $11 items were $7 for happy hour and others were $8.
2. Don't order the tenderloin tips. Boring and slightly overcooked.
3. Service was slow as they were fairly busy in the bar area.
4. Only merlot or cab for red wine happy hour which was only $1 less than normal price ($6 instead of $7).
Now, onto the positives:
1. Friendly service (very accommodating)
2. Mac & cheese with truffle sauce - yummy!
3. AMAZING view of all of the La Jolla Shores area
4. Not very crowded and easy free parking.
So that covers happy hour. Outside of happy hour, the regular meals there are pretty good and if you use the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.restaurant.com&s=8cac03c1efb29efee41b3411fe3b107de69265557b5804295adb319e7abd90ce" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.restaurant.com</a> certificate it's actually very reasonable. I highly recommend the warm goat cheese salad with baby greens, tangerines and maple balsamic vinaigrette.
My friends and I came here for happy hour because we heard great things from others about this place...so we had to see what the fuss was all about.
In the end, I thought it was just okay. The place had AMAZING views (great location), and exceptional service. The food was just okay for me. I expected better based on the cost. I had the sangria  - NOT good at all. Tastes literally like water-down wine (no fruit flavors whatsoever). My best friend even had to return the drink b/c she hated it so much. The food was pretty decent ....i had the duck spring rolls, calamari, sweet potato fries, and tenderloin skewers. It was good...but not amazing.  overall, it's a good place, if you're in the area or have a guest and want a nice place with great views. I can't speak for the main entrees though, but the happy hour for the caliber of the restuarant just didn't wow me.
Only came here to eat because we got free complementary breakfast with the hotel stay.
The food was mediocre, nothing special. The free breakfast included 2 eggs, bacon or sausage, toast and fruit. It costs $10 on the menu. If it were not free, I would definitely not eat here. The eggs and sausage were super oily.
The view was amazing. The restaurant is located on the 11th floor. You can see the ocean from there, even though the hotel is a little way back from the shore.
Parking: Plenty around the building.
We had a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon, so my wife and I decided to give this place a try. Â When we got the check at the end of the night, they had slipped an "18% gratuity" on the check (even though it was only two of us...I've never seen this before). Â The waiter made no mention of the tip already being on there, he simply said "here's the bill with the $20 discount taken off". Â I gave him my credit card, he returned with the signature slip which had a nice big empty line for "Tip". Â He made no mention of it again, and if I hadn't read the original bill carefully I would have double-tipped the guy. Â Shame on Clays and the waiter for this sneaky tactic, and I wanted to give a heads-up to others who go here. Â If you're going to decide how much I'm tipping you, fine, but at least have the decency to tell me that ("mandatory" tips bug the heck out of me anyway).
Aside from the tip issue, though, the experience was very nice. Â The view of course is amazing (10 stories up overlooking the bay). Â The food, despite some reviews here, was actually very good...the lobster bisque and steaks we had were all outstanding, on par with any high-end restaurant I've tried. Â They had a band playing for happy hour, which was cool but a tad noisy (the happy hour seems to be more of their "thing"...the restaurant side wasn't very busy on a Sunday evening, but the bar side looked fairly packed). Â The entree service was a little slow, but we weren't in a big hurry so it wasn't a big deal. Â Overall, I'd recommend the place, just watch your bill at the end of the night.
5 stars for happy hour. I don't know about the rest...
The Place- Can be tricky to find, don't miss the turn: parking is @ back entrance. Top floor of beachview hotel- love the view!
The Service- Friendly, fairly prompt? But seemed understaffed for HH.
The Food- I liked almost everything we tried! Thought the pommes frites not worth it, wasn't awfully impressed by the fancy mac'n'cheese.
Recommended- Â We went for HH, so these are all off the apps menu: the smoked salmon potato cakes, baked goat cheese (enough to be its own meal!), some kind of steak skewer with mashed potatoes (SO worth the price!) and the white sangria.
Loved it! Would def come back for HH, but at the regular price maybe not for a real meal.
Gorgeous view of the La Jolla coast, delicious food and wonderful company made me a fan of this restaurant. Â My fiance and I decided to have dinner here last Valentine's eve since we were staying at the Hotel La Jolla. Â I was hesitant at first reading some of the so-so reviews but I am so happy I kept my reservation here! Â
We started off with the Ahi Tuna stack (with mango, Japanese cucumbers and Thai rice...so delicious!) and fried calamari (not greasy..yum). Â For the main course I had the Chilean Seabass which was so fabulous I still have dreams about it! Â I can't rave enough about it. Â The fish was so fresh and flaky. Â Clay (who was there cooking) outdid himself on this one. Â My fiance had the New York Steak which was really delicious and a decent size considering how frou frou the place was. Â For dessert we shared some Creme Brulee, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Â It had the standard crispy caramelized top with fresh raspberrys and blackberrys. Â
The main reason I'm deducting a star is our server had no personality and forgot about us after during the second half of our meal. Â What a bummer because the meal, the atmosphere, the music and the view were all superb!
BOOTYFUL VIEW!! Absolutely gorgeous panoramic view of The Jewel and its beautiful coastline.
Even after the renovation, Hotel La Jolla looks like some 1980s holdout hotel and you would never know that Clay's has such a stunning view of the Pacific.
Wall-to-ceiling glass windows and the illusory effect is just magnificent as you feel like you are in a postcard with the ocean just at your fingertips.
The food was okay.
My friend got the crab cake and mac n' cheese. She gave me a piece of her crab cake and it tasted fishy (I think they used blue crab) but nonetheless, it was decent. The mac n' cheese was delicious since it was crispy and chewy on top and drizzled in tongue-tantilizing truffle oil.
I had the tandoori chicken and an order of truffle fries. The fries were absolutely disgusting. They were labeled pomme frites on the menu and that's pretty insulting to culinary institutions around the world. I think they were Sysco fries with parm. cheese and truffle oil. These fries are ~$8 regular price and I would have expected house-cut, dehydrated fries. Yuck, never ordering these again.
The tandoori chicken was good and for the price, very decent portions. It came with four chicken skewers on top of a mango risotto which was better than I thought it would be. It also came with a yogurt-based condom which was cool and refreshing. I didn't think it was necessary though since the tandoori wasn't heavily spiced.
I'm definitely coming back for the view and good prices on drinks. As for the food, I'd try the burger or mac n' cheese again but their food is a pass.
Mixed feelings about the decor. Contrasting shades of medium tone to dark woods and stainless pole lighting which makes everything casually elegant but there is this GIANT nasty area of 1980s carpet at the entrance of Clay's. We cringed just talking about it.
I've lived near Clay's for years but always avoided it because a lot of reviews stated that it was pretentious but that's unfounded. It's very relaxed and you can come in shorts and sneakers although you're in La Jolla so I recommend you dress up a little bit (jean are perfectly OK). Also, the food was blah and no restaurant can actually and genuinely be pretentious with a bad menu.
On draft they had Clay's Pale Ale (yuck, it tasted old and watered down) and Droptop Ale (that was decent). They also have Widmer Hef and something else I can't remember. $8 house wine which I think is pricey for house wine so I didn't bother.
Service was decent but could have been better since it was at ~20% capacity.
I love Clay's happy hour - from 4 - 7 you get 1/2 priced apps and great prices on happy hour drinks (including some pretty drinkable wine). Killer view, especially of the sunset!
I had my welcome party here for my wedding out of town guests. It was the perfect spot to welcome everyone to California and hit them over the head with how gorgeous it is here. Many of our friends and family were sponsoring this event and we wanted to keep the price reasonable. We probably had about 70 or 80 people and since we did this for happy hour, it worked out to be a great deal.
My favorite items are the scallops and the ahi tuna stack. We had to pay $250 to reserve our area, which was a little annoying since we were bringing so many people in. The service was fantastic though - the staff was great with keeping the food coming out and people with drinks in hand. Even though it was a large party, we just ordered everything off of the happy hour menu (a few people got martini's and what ever else they wanted).
I planned a similar event here for about 20 people months earlier, and the people paying the bill were thrilled with the quality of the venue, service, food for the cost.
(This review is part of my Yelp List of Wedding Vendors)
My gosh, if there's ever a place is is trying hard ... I mean really hard ... to purposefully put itself out of business, than Clay's is it.
I've eaten here twice. Â Both times, the food was quite good, and the service good too. Â Plus, they have a lovely view of La Jolla ... one that should be seen in the daytime or prior to sunset. Â If I were judging this place just on food, service, and view, I'd give it 3, maybe even 4 stars.
But how can anyone ever enjoy eating here if the place rarely is ever opened when you'd expect it to be? Â For the two times I've gotten in, there must be no less than 5 times that I've walked up to their door, only to find it shut. Â Who closes a "lunch" place at 1:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday?! Â Really Clay, are you trying to push potential customers away?
After several failed attempts, I tried to plan better. Â I phoned ahead to determine their hours. Â Then, after being told their lunch hours, I showed up a half hour before their advertised closing time only to find the doors shut and locked. Â Another time, I showed up a full hour before they claim to close, and again the doors are shut.
Honestly, this place is so horribly inconsistent with remaining open at any hour a patron would want to eat there, it's no wonder that most people give up, and don't try coming back again.
Zagat rated? Â Gees, this place makes the Zagat folks look like fools.
I have lived near Clay's for over 3 years now and have always wanted to try it. Given that gift certificates are available on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurants.com&s=8b83bf0ff8b716aae84527dc95577a310f201b166dcca25c8ca3824b15703869" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurants.com</a> and we got a good deal, we set out for dinner on a Saturday night.
Not wanting a heavy meal, we decided to eat, tapa-style, off the appetizer menu (which to be honest looked more inventive and interesting than the main courses.)
So in terms of ambiance, this place is pretty nice. We had a table overlooking the ocean and the lights were the right amount of dim for a romantic dinner. Tables were well set and chairs very comfortable. Ok, good start.
Bread basket - many restaurants would warrant 1 additional star just for a quality bread basket. I was very happy with Clay's basket. A good helping of warm, crusty bread, with butter and too-thick hummus.
Seared scallop over potato cauliflower  puree - puree was delicious, if a bit too smooth. I personally prefer my mashed potatoes (which is what this really was anyway) to be slightly chunky. Scallop was crusted in sea salt and seared. The salt was a bit blackened, but the scallop was cooked perfectly. Nice start.
Baked goat cheese with grilled bread - now, I don't recall the menu telling us that the baked goat cheese would be in a heavy, almost tomato paste tasting sauce. I thought the tomato sauce almost completely overpowered the light goat cheese flavor. I am in favor of any dish that comes with an abundance of bread, and this glorified fondue was no exception. It was a good amount of food for an appetizer, and though the tomato was a bit overpowering, we finished it.
Tuna tower - ok, I suppose this is their piece de resistance. Sashimi ahi on top of mango on top of micro greens, on top of a black rice cake. Around it, papadums and a raspberry sauce. The waitress called it a flavor explosion. I... kind of beg to differ. My boyfriend LOVED it. I thought the tuna was kind of flavorless, and the rice cake was too salty and overpowering. A bit of white wine vinegar mixed in with the tuna would have likely solved the dish, but was not done. The raspberry puree was a great accompaniment, but was not present in a large amount.
Mojito - very good. Not as good as the W hotel, but almost. Very flavorful.
Vodka martini - eh, nothing special.
Entertainment - some dude doing a rare and odd combo of comedy and jazz/elevator music. He was fun though. The best part was sitting across the restaurant from him - otherwise it would have been too loud.
All in all, I'd go back, sure, why not. A little expensive to be sure, but it's La Jolla. That's just how it usually is here.
You need a swanky scene that doesn't put on airs of snobbishness? You need a view that could sweep her off her feet? You need waitresses to make her jealous as all sin? Well, welcome to Clay's La Jolla.
Nestled atop the Hotel La Jolla, this fusion restaurant/bar/lounge boasts quite possibly the most gorgeous dining view since ancient Greek politicians ate roasted lambs and grapes off the vine, whilst being fanned by palm leaves on cliffs overlooking the Aegean. No kidding folks, the view itself is worth a trip.
But that's not all. Their dinner menu boasts a wide variety of delectable options. Unfortunately for me, I was vegetarian the night of my birthday, which I proudly celebrated at Clay's. So what I can remark on is that every plate's scent that danced by my nostrils as a goddess-like waitress gracefully exited stage left with it, made me die just a little bit more inside.
I can also say that their vegetarian options are limited, and fairly mediocre compared to the rest of the fare. My two friends who accompanied me, when they weren't ogling the servers, ravenously cleaned their plates.
Have I mentioned that the servers are models? But seriously, the service here was quite friendly and snappy too. Except at the lounge... Â I had a hard time getting one of the sirens to reload my double Jameson straight. Methinks she thought I needed to wait between drinks, which perturbed me a tad. I tried a Belvedere martini extra dry with 2 olives, and my server comp'd it for my birthday, but don't expect that on yours. I flirted a lot with her in the elevator on the way up (I didn't know she was a server, let alone my to-be server), so she was either receptive or just trying to slip me booze to shut me up.
I went on Saturday, so jazz was playing. It was quite loud, but the comfortable lounge and solid drinks softened everything. The crowd was older, upper 20s-upper 30s. Sort of reminded me of a Bud Light commercial with lots of models pretending that they're real people with real jobs doing something ridiculous like setting up a midnight slip-n-slide, except that they were all slightly marred by the ugly stick and used their designer clothing and luxury vehicles below to cover it up. But with the jazz playing, I didn't care. It was straight up a classy yet chill night, and I would love to return, provided I fill my pockets with cash first and go during the legendary Thursday happy hour.
2 stars for the view.
1 star for the full bar.
1 star for the waitstaff who were all cute and nice.
0 stars for the decor, which was outdated, but at least well laid-out.
-1 stars for getting to the restaurant. Â The hotel is disgraceful. Â Even if it is under renovation, this is a joke. Â The elevator is filthy. Â Pick one and make it a service elevator. Â Leave the others clean and keep guests off the nasty one. Â Better yet, build a construction elevator outside. Â
-1 stars for the duck springroll. Â It was fried and nasty. Â And the slaw was actually kinda gross. Â
I may go back, just because it is within short walking distance of my house, but I kinda doubt it. Â If you want a great view, go to Brockton Villa or George's. Â Or buy a six pack and sit on top of Mount Soledad.
This place has absolutely AWESOME SUPER STAR view!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't be fooled by the renovation going outside and inside the building. The restaurant sits on the top floor of a hotel with window facing the ocean. It's an awesome place to watch the sunset during happy hour.
They have really attractive happy hour menu. I had sprite so I can't comment on the half price cocktail, but the appetizers were great! The cheese platter was awesome. 5 seabass skewers for $8 is a really good price considering that it's a restaurant inside a hotel. And the duck spring roll was good too!
I also like how this happy hour place is not overcrowded with people and plasma playing sports. It has a nice lounge and bar area where you can actually talk and hear the other person, while enjoying the scenery and sunset.
Took a friend here last night for happy hour to celebrate his bday. I've been here a few times for their HH and it's such an incredible place - but NOT b/c of the food, service or even drinks. Just the view itself is worth it's price in gold.
It's not worth coming here if you can't make the HH (it ends at 7p I believe). The appetizer prices, if they were full price and not on HH, would be insane. Maybe b/c the food portions are small or maybe it's simply the food tastes so-so.
We had:
1. Chilean sea bass skewers: tiny portions. Didn't taste all that fresh
2. Lobster Bisque: not bad for $5. Mostly just a rich broth w/ very little lobster pieces
3. Burger: um, BORING. Asked for it to be medium rare, it came out well done...They charge an extra $1 for cheese so beware. The fries that come on side were nice and crunchy though.
4. Scallops: Not bad. 2 semi large scallops served on top of mashed potatoes or something
5. Crab cakes: also not bad. A bit too  much breading for me but overall, they were ok.
6. Creme brulee: this was pretty good. Again, tiny portion, and it wasn't on HH so it cost about $8 or so.
The wine was $6 during HH - the pours weren't terrible but not exactly generous I guess. I think we had about 5 glasses of wine b/w the 2 of us.
Total bill for the night was around $85 w/o tip. So it was kinda pricey, considering it's HH right? But honestly, the view - my goodness - is breath taking. The place did get pretty packed (mostly w/ women) by 6p so try to get there early to get the best seats.
The Corn Chowder tasted like the Lobster Bisque which looked like the Tomato Artichoke Soup. Except the Tomato soup really sucked. I felt like I was sipping spoonfuls of blood.
The food is average, with the exception of the god awful soups. Burger, bleh. Tuna Tower, tasty in a common way. Crab cakes, flattened crusty discs of unhappiness. Â The sandwiches are these elaborate little cut-out miniature circles. I cringe with the thought of wasted volumes of bread corners and crusts.
The food should be better for the price and pretense.
Clay's is located on the top floor of Hotel La Jolla and has spectacular views over the tree line toward La Jolla Shores. Â An unusual place for a Meetup, our small group of San Diego young professionals seeking personal development decided to drop in for a casual meeting over happy hour drinks and appetizers.
I ordered the pommes frites of Parmesan cheese and white truffle oil along with their local brew pale ale. Â I was a little disappointed by my fancy, overpriced fries since the combination of the cheese and oil made for a greasy and stale combination. Â The pale ale was a little bitter for my tastes, but I am by no means a connoisseur. Â Having it around to wash down the fries was quite welcomed however.
The bar should really be rated on its luxurious and romantic ambiance and view rather than its glorified bar food. Â The beer selection was extremely limited, but as a meeting space to kick back and chat with friends, it served that end well. Â Go during happy hour to nab some good deals on snacks and drinks an enjoying it all in Clay's classy lounge.
Food: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Price: $$
Atmosphere: 8/10
Wow, can't believe I haven't written a review of Clay's yet! Â Best get to it then, son!
My experiences here have been 80% good and 20% so-so. Â There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason as to when they are super busy. Â I've been to the bar most nights of the week and sometimes it is packed, and others they're closing early 'cause nobody's around.
The view is obviously amazing during the day. Â Gorgeous views along the coast and your quintescential So Cal landscape. Â But once darkness descends, this feature is out the window. Â That part of La Jolla is barely lit, so besides some streetlamps and the lights in some of the houses, the view is done!
But I digress, this is a bar and restaurant, people! Â I'll admit to only have eaten in the restaurant once, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Â Brought a client here for dinner and the view and she was much impressed. Â I had the steak, which was fantastic, and she enjoyed the fish. Â Great wine selections.
I've hit the bar a number of times for happy hour, before-going-out drinks, after-going-out drinks, etc. Â Drink sizes are usually generous and more or less reasonably priced. Â Happy Hour prices always help! Â Service can be spotty. Â Depending on how well staffed they are when they get swamped, it can take a while to get a drink, and even when things are slower, you may need to flag someone down. Â I actually prefer this a little more than being interrupted every 5 minutes to be asked if I want a refill.
I actually prefer the nights without music. Â I've seen both jazz trios and classical guitarists playing in the evenings. Â While they were all great performers, it is kind of a small area, and when you've got live music playing in a room packed full of talking people, it can just get a little overwhelming. Â Too much stimuli, I think! Â But for those who really enjoy live music, this is a great addition to a fairly mellow bar.
While they probably wouldn't kick you out if you came in in shorts and flip flops, I do feel like it is a little more of a dressy local. Â While they are only a few short blocks from the beach, they're also situated on the top floor of a nice hotel.
Disappointed.
one of my few experiences at a pretty pricey restaurant and i must say, it was, for lack of a better word, disappointing. yes the food was good. but it wasn't like, "my goodness this is bomb food."
it was more like, "oh hey, this is pretty good. how much is it? WHAT?! THAT MUCH!?"
if all of the prices were shaved off about 10-15 for the entrees i would say this place is definitely worth it. but i think just because the place has a nice view, live music, and a fancy ambiance they can't add that much and get away with it on my watch.
the service was good and the waiters were very caring. there wasn't too much variety, but the food given was pretty quality. just not GREAT.
the fact that it was my birthday and got a cake for it gave them another half star to make it 3... actually i wouldn't have come to rate this place if it was anything less than a 3. so they rightly deserve the 3 100%.
just know that you will be spending a lot to be satisfied.
appetizers are about 15-20
salads about 10 (try the goat cheese salad! delicious)
entrees, you're looking at about 27 to 40 dollars.
you can probably even share an entree/salad/appetizer with another person.
i wouldn't strongly suggest to come here though. just try it out for the sake of a different experience i guess. but if you want like the same food quality for cheaper, try somewhere else at a local hole-in-the-wall or something.
happy yelping!
I read some reviews complaining about the service, but the staff was friendly and attentive when I visited.
It was a bit empty on the happy hour side, but it picked up a bit later on in the night. Â
Pomegrante Bliss cocktail was tasty, but kind of watered down with juice.
Ahi Tuna Tower was good. Â A nice combo of silky ahi, sweet mango, chewy rice patty thing, and crispy cucumbers. Â The scallop was good. Â Only two scallops though. Â The baked goat cheese was alright - too much tomato sauce, I wouldn't get it again. Â The scallop ceviche was okay, but the bass ceviche was better.
Live music. Â Great view of La Jolla. Â Good amount of parking. Â I would go back.
I wanted to give clay's a 2.5 stars but it wouldnt let me. Â Its so-so, smack dab in the middle of the scale, straddling the fence. Â I've only been to happy hour so I cant comment on a full dinner experience. Â Basically, the service is downright dismal, the food is decent, and the happy hour pricing makes it worth a shot every now and then. Â They made me the worst Greyhound ever the other night and yet they had a cool DJ playing in the background. Â
It is good if you have some out of town guests to show off the view at sunset and if you bring several of your own friends. Â The crowd here is kind of all wrong for me. Â I'm a not-wealthy, thirtysomething that lives and works in La Jolla and the crowd here tends to be a little fake, older, and somehow unhip. Â That said, I organized a bunch of friends to meet me here one evening and we had a pretty good time.
Now, considering this wishy-washy review, I guess you have to make your own decision!
I have a new obsession with Clay's for one reason - TRUFFLED MACARONI AND CHEESE. Â It is beyond outstanding!!
And it's half price between 4 and 7 every day during happy hour!
Other highlights of Clay's include the duck springrolls and the calamari, which is huge. Â The ahi tuna tower is also exceptional.
As is the view which overlooks the entire coast of La Jolla. Â But you won't be looking at it really, because you can't focus on anything other than the mac and cheese. Â It's seriously that good.
Service can be slow and a little inattentive, but I think that's to be expected during happy hour.
3 for food and 1 for service. Â The happy hour specials are good, the food tastes pretty good, Â and the jazz band is fun. Â The view is amazing. Â
Worst service, though. Â Not rude. Just the s l o w e s t service I have ever had in my entire life, and having waited tables for many a year, I'm really patient when it comes to service. Â
I think our waitress might have just had a lobotomy. Â Something wasn't connecting. Â My husband's glass of wine showed up. Â Not mine, though. Â And no explanation of why. Â And then when I asked our waitress if I could "have my glass of wine, too, please," she just turned and walked away without a word. Â Was I going to get my glass of wine? Â I didn't know. Â I sat there on the edge of my seat for about 5 more minutes before the hubby went to the bar and just got it from the bartender. Â
Some friends then joined, and the same thing happened...2 of the 3 drinks showed up. Â Again, with no word of why. Â Another trip to the bar.
And then we really f'ed with the poor girl when we handed her two credit cards and said, "We're just gonna split the bill." Â I could see the beads of sweat appear on her forehead as she stammered, "You want to pay with two cards? Â Uh. Â I'll be right back." Â Oh, no. Â What did we just get ourselves into? Â I5 minutes later the girl returns. Â Our bill was not split in half, or even thirds, or even a reasonable fraction of any kind. Â We weren't sure how she had decided to split the tab. Â It wasn't even based on what we had individually ordered. Â So confusing. Â We just evened it out ourselves, and had a little chuckle about the idea of our waitress trying to count her money at the end of the night.
Underrated and hidden. Its a misconception that they cater mainly to tourists and hotels guests.
Those people eventually have to go home so the locals are what really counts and thats who they try to get to come back as repeat customers.
When I worked in La Jolla, the coworkers and I would stop in every now and then. It was consistently good and we usually got an industry discount.
Never had the sushi here but everything else that Ive ordered has been good to great. I'm sure the sushi is fine but if I'm going to an American restuarant, I'm not ordering Japanese food.
Maybe we just started off on the wrong foot, Clay's. I never wanted it to end up like this. Me: bitter, still icing my hand. You: still in business, unfortunately.
I roll up the elevator into Clay's Friday night for happy hour. I approach the hostess stand where I get "the look". You know, the glance to the right hinting "seat yourself and dont bother me if you arent planning on asking for a dinner table". OOOkay then.
Ample seating in bar/lounge area. Park it at a table with an incredible view (plus one star). Glance at watch and noticed 10 minutes have passed and no waitress. Oops, must have been talking about the view too long. Go to the bar to order and get barked at that we will have a waitress in a moment. OOKAY then.
I'm sorry, I thought they said they were sending a waitress to our table, you look like one of the patron's scantily clad daughters, with shorts that could pass for bikini bottoms and a workout tanktop with your enourmous fake breasts spilling onto my appetizer plate. Not exactly what I, or the other 2 WOMEN at my table were hoping to look at all night. We were greeted with your breasts and raised eyebrows. OOOkayyyy then. I'll have a tuna roll and some sake. What, you dont serve warm sake? Okay then. Cold will do.
Turns out the only heat in the building was the hot water heater in the ladies restroom. SERIOUSLY. BEWARE. The sink on the right spews EXTREMELY HOT BOILING WATER at an incredible speed and you cant feel it until its too late and you already have a blister forming.
Tuna roll was good (plus another star) cold sake was nasty. No one seemed to care that I burned my hand off in the bathroom, not even the manager when I complained about our service and the blister on my hand. Am I allowed to sue for that? (My hand, not the Mean Breasts)...
The happy hour here on Thursday is ridiculous. Â Yay for half-priced sushi and friendly bartenders. Hurrah! Â That said, I have to be honest- I actually had second thoughts about posting a review, because it's cougar-ed to the max and I'm not sure they can handle much more capacity on any given night.
Someone marked "not sure" under Alcohol below. Um, hello, FULL BAR. "Someone" clearly missed out on half the fun!
*Beautiful* views of the La Jolla shore (so you can pretend for a moment that you live there before going back to wherever you came from). Â Make sure to look out the window when you get there, because despite your prime location, you will put your face in the trough and eat til you can't move (the deals are too good).
The mac and cheese, the sushi rolls that involve apple, and the lobster bisque have been the highlights of the menu for me so far.
Though Clay's clearly tries to look upscale, its food and wine was pedestrian. We went for happy hour, and happy hour tends to be a good barometer for the quality of the overall restaurant. A great happy hour, even when scaled down for price, still shows off the great flavors and range of the restaurant. Not so at Clay's.
The house chardonay tasted as if it had been left uncorked for a couple days, then chilled. The potato pancakes were mushy and served with a bizzare cream sauce flavored with (of all things) fish sauce. A request for dressing on the side of the cesear salad was ignored. The goat cheese fondu was a broiled cheese wheel in a sea of overly greasy tomato sauce, served around it were toast points smothered in fake butter, so oily that you needed to wipe your hands throughly after taking a bite.
Service was slow and a little rude. The hostess, clad in an unfortunate '80's throwback, greeted us with, "Do you have a question?" and our server didn't ask us if we enjoyed our meal (wine glasses full and plates too). While the view is great, I'd suggest enjoying sunset with a bottled beer at happy hour. -Then leaving for a better place for dinner.
Clay's should spend more time working on their menu and less on their interior.
Clay's La Jolla is located at the very top of Hotel La Jolla. Â At first I was skeptical about this place, since Hotel La Jolla has switched ownership many times over the last 15 yrs. Â But after some convincing, I decided to check out Clay's for it's Happy Hour. Â You can't really go wrong for Happy Hr, can you? Â Half-off appetizers and drink specials always seem to pull me in!
This place is fantastic! Â Really, it is! Â The view is amazing. Â You get a beautiful view from EVERY seat in the bar/restaurant at Clay's. Â I love how you can see the mini-"Taj Mahal" house and the streaming light of carlights coming down Torrey Pines Ave from the Village. Â It's really beautiful close to sunset. Â The panoramic ocean views are like million-dollar views from the homes up in La Jolla Shores Heights. Â I love how there are palm trees lining the sky and sea all across the Shores. Â
As for the appetizers....they are half-off from 4 pm to 7 pm. Â The appetizers are mainly fusion. Â We tried the scallops over Peruvian potatoes, with fried onion on top. Â Umm. Â These were good. Â The scallops were seared to perfection, and were quite tasty. Â Then we got the ahi tuna tower, which gave a generous quantity of ahi cubes sprinkled with sesame seeds over mango and a rice stack. Â Not bad, but I think I like the comparable ahi stack at Roppongi's more. Â Still, it was good. Â
We also tried the duck egg rolls, which I didn't think were very good at all. Â The duck was stringy and dry, and I didn't like how unoriginal the presentation was. Â Not worth it in my opinion.
Each appetizer cost ~$8 or less (that's with the Half-Off discount). Â Pretty fair pricing considering the quantity and quality of the food you get! Â There are also drink specials too! Â $5 for a glass of wine, $3 for draft beers, $3 for "well" drinks mixed with whatever you want! Â The mixed drinks are a bit pricey though. Â For that ginger peach martini, you get a lot, but it's expensive at $12/glass! Â Â
If I go again to Clay's, I think I'm gonna try the jumbo prawns or the satay skewers. Â The people behind us tried those, and they looked and smelled so yummy!
The hostess at the bar was excellent and was very attentive to making sure we had enough to eat, enough water, etc. Â
This place is a hidden gem. Â Excellent, excellent, excellent. Â Great fusion food and what an awesome panoramic view. Â Oh yeah, parking is free too.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
