I came to Fishermans for my first time yesterday with a friend during happy hour, I was interested in the 1$ oysters (sounded a little scetchy, I didnt know if I could trust 1$ oysters) but I thought I would give it a shot because my friend said the oysters were actually good. Being the seafood lover that I am I wanted to try this place out. First off being literally on the ocean at sunset is beautiful! I Loved the outdoor seating, even though it got a little chilly the later on.
Well, the one downside for my first time was definitely the service, we didnt even have a waitress for about 10-15 minutes. The service was slow the whole time. Finally, someone came to our table to take our order. We ordered a drink and a dozen oysters, it took quite awhile to get the drinks and the oysters as well. The oysters were good but not the best I've ever had (being the seafood critic that I am), but they were pretty fresh and I didnt get any bad ones either (yay) We also both ordered the sausage plate with bell peppers and a little pasta salad, which you had to go pick up inside from the little bar they have for that certain plate. It was really good and A LOT of food for 3$!
My first experience here was pretty good, I will most likely come back, hopefully the service will be a little better next time.
This will be the LAST TIME Â I go to The Fisherman, the food is horrible, the service is pathetic! Â They can get away with this because of the location on the pier. I live in Capistrano Beach and cannot believe I allowed myself to meet some friends I had not seen in many years at this restaurant! I have NEVER HAD A GOOD MEAL OR SERVICE IN THIS RESTAURANT! Â Shame on the city for allowing this poor type of service. Obviously, they figure tourists won't come back and the city keeps them in office!
Review Source:We're new to the area and heard about how good this place is, so we decided to try it out. We were there for lunch today. There was a wait for outside seating but they sat us right away inside. The view was really nice from inside. Our server was really attentive and friendly. She made sure we were having a good time. I ordered the Sea Bass and my husband ordered the Teriyaki Ahi. They were both delicious, but I prefer the Sea Bass over the Ahi. It came with an cup of clam chowder, which was amazing, and steak fries. I wasn't to crazy for the steak fries, but they offered rice pilaf. I might have that next time. We didn't order desert because we were pretty full, but a lot of people were ordering the Mudd pie. It is huge! We're definitely gonna try it next time. Overall, it was a great experience.
Tip: There's pay to park close to the restaurant--it takes credit cards. The restaurant is on the left side of the pier and the bar and restrooms are on the right.
Every year, my family & I visit family and friends in South OC. Â Ironically, this is my 1st review of Fisherman's Restaurant, although I've been here prob. 5 or 6 times.
It was a beautiful, sunny day in SoCal and we were lucky enough to be seated in the patio, right above the ocean.
Our waitress, Natalia- was super cool & very attentive to anything we wanted or didn't want (let me just say- our glasses of iced tea were never empty)
It's a little hard to enjoy a meal when you are watching hot surfers catch waves, but here is what we had:
As an appetizer, we had a 1/2 dozen oysters in the half shell... (disclaimer, I didn't touch these b/c raw slimy things other than sushi are not entering my mouth)
They also serve this rockin' sourdough bread that goes really well w/ the clam chowder that comes with every order... clam chowder is a MUST!!!
I ordered the scallops w/ fries... YUM... OMGosh, Natalia brought out some melted butter (I know, so good yet so bad!) And I tried to savor the scallops, but I ended up inhaling them like I hadn't eaten in days... hey, I'm from LA- We don't see seafood this fresh that often
My mom ordered a hamburger... LOLOL!!! Enough said, I guess...
My dad ordered the bucket of steamed clams... okay, he seriously didn't share & ate the whole bucket on his own.
We all split a carrot cake after wards to get that "fishy" taste out of our mouths...
Service=10
Food= 10
Location= 10
I may just take the Amtrak or Metrolink just to eat here some day...
Food is always good, but the service continues to go down.
We wait hours to get a table, while there are plenty of tables open.
They don't take reservations.
It took our server 30 minutes just to bring us drinks.
They always try to overcharge us, especially on the fishermans feast.
Absolutely horrible service, will not return.
In town on business, although I used to live in San Clemente and nearby in the 1980s and '90s.
Average clam chowder, served barely warm.
Wild Alaskan salmon - very good, with decent side of rice, roasted vegetables and potatoes.
Service at an 8-top was very good - I recommend this place for large(ish) parties if they're not too busy.
One basket of bread for an 8-top? Need two.
Beer on the other side - decent, not great, draft selection. Good bartender service.
I like Fisherman's. It may be a bit touristy or cliched but that doesn't get in the way of a good experience.
It took a long time to get seated. Once seated, it took a long time to get served. Once served it took a long time to find a clam in the clam chowder. Once the oyster arrived  we found what appeared to be the missing clams within the oyster shells.  Once we realized that the oysters were so small  they just appeared to be clams. We became both amused and bemused in equal measures. An ironic seafood moment!
The waitress was indeed excellent thus, Â gaining this review one star. The sea view was also excellent thus, Â gaining its review its second star.........
Went here some months ago and sat outside. What a phenomenal place for a restaurant. I loved feeling the waves hit the posts as it rushed below us and the sound of it was even better. The sun was a little annoying and in the eyes, but I was the lucky one with my back to the sun - typical of any outdoor area. The restaurant was set up a little odd because we had to exit the restaurant and cross the boardwalk to their other half to get to the restrooms.
The food was, however, quite delicious. I had seared ahi and the salad it came with was almost as good as the ahi itself. Our server was extremely busy and was not as quick to refill water as I would have liked but she had quite a large section and was not slow due to laziness. She worked hard that night.
Overall I think this place is a great place for a date with good food and above all, the location couldn't be beat!
Man I wanted to like this place a lot. I miss many of my seafood hang outs in Seattle being right on the water, hearing the waves and seagulls, the salty breezes, amazing sunset views over the water, all while scarfing down the freshest seafood around.
So this place looked promising. It's right on the San Clemente pier and as such has all the ambience items listed above. Even the decor reminded me of Seattle's Ivar's Seafood Bar with it's old time Ernest Hemingway Old Man and the Sea motif. It's a little confusing at first though because the pier divides the restaurant in two. The left side is the restaurant and the right side is the bar.
But sadly, the setting and ambience is the best thing here.
The service was painfully slow. The place was busy, but not full. We got a table relatively quick, so I was optimistic. But then it took 10 minutes before they even gave us a menu and water. Why wouldn't you bring the menus when you're seating us so we can start looking?
Another 15 minutes went by before the came back to check on us to see if we were ready. Never asked us if we had any questions on the menu, or told us the specials. Not good.
After we finally ordered though, the food came out in about 20 minutes. So not bad.
The seafood here is pretty good, but definitely not Seattle good. I'd put it on par with The Fish Market. I had the special, which was sea bass. It was slightly under cooked, but that's not uncommon with sea bass. I think they go for the less is more mantra here because there was pretty much no seasoning at all. Just the fish in pan of oil. But I'd rather they do that than smother it in a sub par sauce.
We also had a order of oysters on the half shell, as someone told us this was one of their specialties. Well, I love oysters, & I if I'm honest King's Fish House had better tasting oysters than this place. The good news is, this place is about $5 per dozen cheaper than King's.
It's not a cheap dinner though. My sea bass was $30 and only came with one side of green beans. So you're paying for the setting. Also, parking down here is extremely tight. There is only one small lot, and being that it's at the pier, it fills up fast with people just coming down to fish or walk around. So we had to park 4 or 5 blocks up the hill and walk down. The walk down isn't bad, but walking back up the hill after dinner nearly killed my Mom. ;)
I suppose if it was better, the wait would be unbearable, because you can't beat the setting. So all in all, I give it 3 stars.
I was driving back from San Diego with a friend and we were looking for a place to have some lunch , So i suggested to have lunch by the beach close to home and we found " Fishermans Restaurant " . We decided  to pick the 4 course meal that came with a bucket of steamed calms , clam chowder , soup and salad and the main course was a HUGE PLATE OF PRAWNS ... Holy moly was it good . I cant wait to go back and hit the oyster bar
Review Source:I have been a few times, they have 2 sides as you enter the pier. Â The one on the left is Dining and we had there Bucket of Clams. Â A couple were bad tasting but the rest were yummy. Â We also had there Shrimp Cocktail and they were really good. Â We have been back since and on the Oyster Bar side we have had the same great Shrimp Cocktails, Jumbo size Shrimp. Â We also tried their Oysters on 1/2 shell and the Crab Cocktail. Â Both were excellent Oysters good size and the crab cocktail with huge pieces of claw. Â We did have the Crab Cakes and they were not too bready but, were a little small for the price. Â The prices are a little on the higher side but, with the view and friendly service it is a nice place to stop on our trips from San Diego to Los Angeles.
Review Source:Grade: C+
I'd go here for the view and beach air, and just to hang with friends, not for the food. Nothing bad, nothing good. I had some fish tacos that were pretty bland. My husband had fish and chips. Overall, it was a mediocre meal. The seafood was fresh though!
We found seats pretty quickly, but they seem to fill up quickly.
We live close by, so chances are we will visit again and try other dishes. Really, it's all about the basic beach finger foods, beer, company and views here. Who cares if the food isn't spectacular? :)
A few weeks ago I brought my son and his girlfriend who were visiting from Canada the Fisherman's Restaurant. It's been my go-to place for out-of-towners for a while now. Just walking from the parking lot to the pier, you get the definite feeling you're in the California of the beach movies. The Fisherman itself is on the pier. Make sure you sit outside, preferably on the rail so you can watch the surfers. Look down through the cracks between the floorboards and watch the water come in and out below you.
For a place with a view the food is surprisingly good. The oysters on the half shell are excellent, farmed just south in Carlsbad. Small but very tasty, they make a good start to the meal. Shrimp tacos are surprisingly good with a nice sauce. The calamari steak is not found many places and it was really delicious.The fresh fish dishes are nice and any one whom I have taken there and had the pasta says it is great. Â Good drinks too-------a great place to spend an afternoon, especially if you have visitors who want to eat at the beach. Of course, you can always stay for a Happy Hour Mai Tai!
I met a friend here over the weekend for lunch. Â She lives in Carlsbad and I live in Orange so we picked San Clemente as the half way point. Â Since I'd never been to San Clemente before, I took my boyfriend's recommendation and headed to Fisherman's. Â Turns out that his good taste extends beyond his choice in girlfriends :)
Fisherman's occupies 2 separate buildings on either side of the pier. Â Since Saturday was sunny and warm, it was the perfect location. Â Despite the superb weather, we lucked out and got a table on the deck immediately even though the restaurants were both busy. Â Part of the deck is actually covered, too, which was great because it kept us from overheating on a sunny afternoon.
After being seated, a waitress came right over to greet us. Â Throughout the meal, she was friendly, helpful and attentive but she didn't hover. Â My friend ordered a salmon casear wrap and an ice tea. Â She made no comment about the tea, but said the wrap was really good and was hard pressed to finish the sizeable sandwich. Â I ordered the calamari sandwich and a pepsi. Â My sandwich was great - it was a hammered out piece of calamari that was then breaded and pan-fried, served on foccacia bread. Â The colesaw that came with my sandwich was a bland afterthought but I didn't care as my sandwich was delicious and way more than I could finish anyways. Â
I would absolutely come back.
FYI my boyfriend, who has been here without me, says the coconut shrimp is amazing.
We were looking for a beachside place to eat lunch on our sunny Sunday morning drive from Costa Mesa to San Diego. After passing through more posh towns like Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Dana Point, we stumbled upon San Clemente, a more laid back oceanfront town. With the help of Yelp, we got off the main road and found the pier and this restaurant.
Location: 5 stars!! It is right on the pier with a view to the left and right of the coastline, the waves and surfers in the ocean in front and the beautiful hillside dotted with homes behind. With beaming sunshine and a slight fall breeze, it was the perfect setting.
We sat outside and were lucky to get the corner table with oceanview. We ordered bloody marys and a sampling of seafood nosh.
Food: 3.5 stars
Scampi with sourdough bread - 6 plump and fresh shrimps bathing in a buttery and garlic sauce. Excellent for dunking warm sourdough bread.
Clam Chowder - very good, has lots of clam and creamy / fishy broth and does not taste "floury"
Wedge Salad with added dungeness lump crab meat for an extra $4.50 - deliciously fresh and crispy with moist crab meat.
Shrimp cocktail - Cocktail sauce was good, shrimp were large but lacked flavor. Been soaking in water too long. I would not get this again.
Service was decent for an Oyster Bar: Our server was sweet and efficient. She checked on the us while we were waiting on the food (which did take a little long, but we did not mind with the view in front of us), and she also checked on us after we got our food.
I would not label this place touristy. It was full of people enjoying a nice sunny day on a beautiful pier. Compared to Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, etc. it is no where near touristy. This was the only restaurant at the beginning of the pier and there is another small shack down the pier, so it is not crawling with touristy shops.
We will be back to sit outside and sample other seafood bites while enjoying a drink in the sunshine.
This is a really nice place to get some decent seafood and have a good view of the pier and the ocean as well. It's great for work lunches or maybe to take a date out or something.
They do need to have a better quality control since the silverware and plates were dirty.
But the seafood does make up for the lousy silverware and the views too can't be beat. This area does seem to be a bit touristy so all the parking is essentially pay parking. Not much of a find on free parking unless you park really far.
There's no bathroom in the restaurant. It's located across the pier in their bar.
It doesn't get any more "beachfront" than on the pier itself!
Came here for breakfast on a Sat morning and it was delicious! Â Fresh food prepared as healthfully as possible and so, so good.
I had the 2 egg breakfast with bacon (includes homefries and toast).  OMG, the bacon is incredible.  Sweet, smoky, cut just thick enough... nom  nom  nommmm.
Hubs had the omelette with bacon/mushrooms/spinach and subbed cheddar jack for the feta. Â It was more like a scramble that was folded over with the cheese in the fold. Â It was absolutely perfect that way. Â
My bloody mary was super spicy and the cracked pepper tickled my throat. Â I could only drink 1/4 of it. Â I'm ashamed and I almost didn't admit it.
We really wanted to come back for happy hour/dinner but alas, we will have to wait til the next time we visit!
So we get in to LAX at midnite, our hotel at 1, asleep at 2, late checkout and hit the road not wanting to stop until we got out more towards San Diego a bit. Â We were looking for a late lunch type thing that was not on the freeway, and just made a right into San Clemente and never looked back. Â Paid for parking on a meter and walked down to the pier to find this place, and felt lucky indeed. Â A perfect spot to enjoy a meal (we chose the side to the left with the full menu).
Service was good.  I had a oriental chicken salad that was good..... the menu had some interesting things on them, but I was saving myself for dinner at that point.  My daughter  had the bucket of clams, my wife the crab cocktail.  They also were excellent.
They have some interesting photos on the wall in the area outside the restroom. Â Must have been interesting in 1929!
I felt like we stumbled into something really cool compared to anything we might have found by the freeway on our way down. Â We are planning on stopping in on our way back up.
The only good thing about this place is the view. You're much better off bringing food from anywhere else and sitting on the beach or the park benches right above the pier. It's overpriced for the quality of the food. Their seafood is rarely fresh. There have been so many cases and lawsuits against this restaurant in the past for seafood poisoning, I don't know how they're still in business.
The service is OK, but spotty. I really hope they get bought out soon, or at least new management. It's a waste of space on such a prime location.
Can't beat the location. On a pier with the ocean on one side and trains on the other. I normally go to the more casual oyster bar side (versus the restaurant). Service can be slow (ditto with beverage refills) and today was no exception. While I normally don't care about the slow pace, the kids were pretty hungry and wanted something to eat. When I asked the server if she could get a few pieces of bread for the kids, I didn't expect to see a $3.25 charge on my bill. Really? That's pretty weak. If we hadn't ordered food, I might understand this, but that wasn't the case. Perhaps I should go back and check my receipt to see if they charged my kids for water.
Review Source:I'm going to keep this review as short as possible... If you are looking to go to a place to eat good seafood with a beautiful view of the pier and beach, this is your place. The view of San Clemente Pier and Beach is beautiful and the food is amazing as well. They have everything from fish and chips, oysters, mussels, clams, and anything you can think of really. The best part is M-F from 4pm-7m they have a happy hour, where oysters and prawns are a dollar each... Â A DOLLAR! it's wonderful... definitely check it out. If you are ever on PCH stop by San Clemente and enjoy the wonderful city and treat yourself to a wonderful meal on the ocean.
Review Source:note: there are 2 parts of fisherman's restaurant. Â when you walk towards the restaurants, you'll see 2 buildings. Â
- the one on the left is the more upscale one with full dinner menu
- the one on the right is more casual and just has a bar menu
it was our first time here so we just went to the one of the right (casual) not realizing the menus would be different. Â luckily, we were able to find a seat on the patio overlooking the ocean. Â it was a beautiful view and we watched the sun set as we ate and drank.
- i had the bloody mary, which was a bit bland for my taste (even after i dump in hot sauce and pepper)
- my friend had the margarita which she said was just oookkkk...
there's only a bar menu in this part of the restaurant so no fresh fish selections.
- my friend and i both ordered a cup of clam chowder. Â i'm not entirely convinced that it didnt come from a can, although it wasn't too bad. Â there were a few fresh veggies in it, like celery, but the potatoes were the little perfect square shape that you see in canned clam chowder.
- i ordered the fish tacos. Â maybe it was my fault for asking for the pico de gallo on the side, but the fish was extremely dry. Â it was probably frozen at some point.
- my friend ordered the scrimp scampi appetizer. Â the sauce was very thick, versus light and buttery and the shrimp, while large, was tough and overcooked.
i would give the view and company 5 stars! Â however, the food was below par. Â if i come back, i would definitely try the fisherman's restaurant on the left :)
The Fisherman's never disappoints. I love the fact that you can get high end food at reasonable prices, wearing shorts, flip flops, and a t-shirt. You can go to this restaurant for a special occasion and dress up without looking out of place or you can go right off the beach for a nice dinner in flip flops and not look out of place. How many restaurants can pull that off? The food is always amazing. I order their halibut (under $30) that comes with a side salad. Their halibut has always been cooked perfectly for me, and their salad is a real salad (i.e. it has romaine lettuce with all the toppings you could possibly ask for and not an iceberg lettuce head with some carrots and a cucumber that some restaurants try to pass off as a "salad"). Their service has always been great and the views from the outside patio are just amazing. Plus, as all of my friends can attest to, their sourdough bread is to die for!!
Just a couple of quick tips, if you go at night between like 5pm and 8pm, expect a wait to get seated outside. This place is always busy and they generally have limited seating. If you have to wait, you can always go to the other side of the pier to their bar section and play musical chairs with everyone else trying to find a decent seat. If you are able to grab a seat, they will let you order drinks and appetizers and such and let you transfer your bill back over to the restaurant side when your reservation is called. Or, what my family and I usually do is just walk and talk up and down the pier. But whatever the wait, it is definitely worth it. Bottom line, Great food at great prices!
I really wish I didn't have to drive nearly an hour to get here so I could come more often. The restaurant is right above the beach shoreline and it provides a beautiful ocean view.
This is a casual style restaurant so you'll fit right in wearing shorts and flip flops. For seating you have a choice of indoor or outdoor that is a wrap around deck. I'd recommend the outdoor seating so you can enjoy the weather and sounds of waves rolling onto the shore.
Their seafood is wonderful. There's no chance of being served previously frozen fish like at Red Lobster. No sirree! My go to items are either the grilled halibut or mahi mahi with freshly grilled zucchini. If there is a wait for seating, head over to the other half of this restaurant just across the boardwark for cocktails and the very best calamari. They will give you one of those little light up buzzer things to let ya know your table is ready so there's no need to wait in a boring lobby.
Sometimes the service is slow in the bar side of the restaurant so take slow deep breaths and focus on the beauty of the location : D
I love love Fisherman's Restaurant. My dad's friend recommended this restaurant to us several years ago and we love this place! Every time we drive from LA to San Diego, we try to make a stop here for lunch or dinner. The view from the restaurant is absolutely gorgeous.
I would definitely recommend their Bucket of Clams and Bucket of Mussels. Each bucket is filled with perfectly seasoned clams and mussels. They also give you extra buckets for the shells! :) Their Prawn Cocktail is pretty good as well. I also love their Fisherman's Chowder because it has just the right amount of clams in it. Their pasta entrees include a bowl of chowder or salad with a loaf of fresh sourdough bread. Yum!
When the restaurant gets crowded, you can also go to their Oyster Bar area across the walkway. There, you can order the same food items and often times, it still has open seats! It isn't has nice as the restaurant side but the food is just as good. For those of you who love seafood, you should definitely try this restaurant out! The prices are also reasonable, especially with the ocean view. On holidays, however, you may want to try making reservations because the wait can get pretty long.
Wouldn't even give 1 star. Â Thia is based on service only as it took so long we left before our food ever came.
We went here at around 2pm so I would think they weren't too busy and we'd get good service. Â WRONG!
There are no signs but you seat yourself. Â We sat down and servers just kept walking by us. Â Finally the waitress came to ask if we would like drinks. Â We asked for water which she came back with and took our order. Â We ordered a clam bucket and fish and chips. Â We waited about 30 minutes. No food, no "your food is coming soon", no nothing.
When we had ordered our food we had overheard the women at the next table reminding the waitress that they had ordered clam chowder. Â 30 minutes later their soup still hadn't come. Â The waitress stopped and told them their food was coming soon and that's when we gave up. Â Seriously that chowder should have been a high rush item since the lady had already forgotten about it once.
If it took 30 minutes for soup (that is already precooked and just needs to be scooped into a bread bowl) we definitely weren't waiting for our food that actually needs to be cooked.
View was nice if you don't mind the birds flying over your head a lot.
I am shocked I have not written a review about this place. Â For a beachy restaurant with loads of outside seating...this place is REALLY my fav! Â I usually sit on the Oyster Bar side and enjoy numerous Oysters and Jumbo Prawns on their happy hour menu...$1 each! Â Also, they have 3.50 house champagne that I just adore! Â
The really special part of this place is it is on the water. Â It is located on the pier so you can see surfers surf literally under you. Â The crashing waves and cool breeze is just too awesome! Â I have been to a lot of places and seriously you will not get the view, service and great prices like Fishermans. Â Every other place has mediocre food, bad service, or it is crazy overpriced because of the location. Â
Thank goodness this is in my town!! Â Yay for me!! Â I am a regular!
What better way to watch the sun go to sleep, while watching surfers! Â This restaurant is located on the pier and is a great place to grab a seat and say, "Ahhhh!"
My favorite routine when I visit: Â start out with a spicy bloody mary, move onto some red wine, enjoy an appetizer (oyster shooters, fried mushrooms), share a huge salad and fish tacos. Â
My trips are never complete, unless I swing by here for 30 minutes or 3 hours!
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