I really can't understand all the poor or below average reviews for this place. Stopped in while visiting my sister who recently moved to to Aberdeen. There were 5 adults and 4 young children. We were quickly accommodated and the service was very good. Server immediately brought crackers to keep the little ones calm. I had some hesitation because I pulled up my yelp app on my phone after we were seated and saw all the negative reviews, but I was very pleasantly surprised. We had Fish & Chips, Clam Chowder, Fried Clams & Oysters and all were very good. I didn't have any drinks, but husband was happy they carry Guinness. Only negative was it was a little hot in the restaurant.
Review Source:We came in just in time to make our check in and asked if the restaurant was still open. When we came into the bar we were greeted promptly and friendly. The server said they were closing but asked the cook to make us food from the bar menu anyway. How nice. Â I ordered the fish and chips which were pretty tasty. Fried just right. Â Not too crunchy or undercooked. They didn't have any champagne but when we told the server it was our anniversary she gave us our choice of free dessert! Super! The server was friendly and chatted with us while closing things up.
The next morning we came down for breakfast since we stayed in the attached hotel. To our disappointment there was NO breakfast menu. I don't understand how a restaurant that is part of a hotel doesn't have breakfast. I ended up ordering onion rings. They tasted good but I just wasn't in the mood for them. Despite this we came back for dinner and enjoyed our meals. I had the grilled salmon and my husband had the chicken Alfredo.
Overall a decent place with a cool view. I think they're missing out by not serving breakfast though.
Came in for happy hour. 8 people. They insisted we sit in the dining room even tho beers and apps were the only thing we wanted. Beer was cold but did not come quick. Everything else took forever (45 mins for a bunch of fried food) and then it was not good (actually fish tacos on the bar menu are solid). Overall.... Steer clear most likely you will be waiting longer for your food than your whole experience should last.
Review Source:My other half and I went there on 3/15/13 and were very disappointed. There was not a lot on their menu but we both found something to try. We got our salad and clam chowder in a timely manner. The salad was served on a cool plate with the dressing on the side. The chowder was served in a cup and it was warm but rather bland and there were not enough clams for my other halfs liking. We then waited for over 35 mins to get the rest of our meals; while the table next to us got their food before us and they arrived 10 mins after us. Not ok. We left $10 on the table and left. Everything in Westport this time of the year closes at 9. We went down the road to Bennett's Fish Shack, which was closed but they forgot to turn off their sign. They saved our night! They made us fish and chips to go and added an extra peice of fish to both orders! If it wasn't for them we wouldn't have had dinner. We will not be trying Half Moon Bay again.
Review Source:If you are there for happy hour do not allow them to seat you, do not stop and chat with the hostess, go left into the bar!! Â We have eaten at every restaurant in the Westport/Grayland area and can honestly say this was probably the worst experience ever in the 10 years we have been coming to Grayland/Westport (we are here four or five times a year). We decided to stay at the Islander RV Park and as we were checking in the clerk at the desk really played up the 3-6pm Happy Hour and the restaurant itself. We had mentioned it was our 22nd anniversary getaway, she congratulated us and offered a 10% off coupon for the Bar & Grill - I'm pretty sure everyone staying there gets one.
Around 5pm (on Friday night) my husband and I decided to check out the happy hour at the bar since we had been told by several locals that their fish tacos and appetizers were pretty good there. I'm always in search of a place with good, grilled fish tacos. Â As we approached the restaurant we were welcomed by a hostess at the door and without asking if we wanted to sit in the dining room or bar, the hostess directed us into the dining room while making a comment about the bar being packed but we could have a seat with a great view in the dining area. I did see an open table in the bar that was much cozier but figured that it must have been taken and that they were now splitting the customers between servers since there was only one other couple in the dining room area and almost every table in the bar was full. She seated us at a table set for four with a view that was literally 8 feet on the other side of the dividing wall. I asked if the happy hour specials would be honored in the dining room area and the hostess said sure not a problem as she took away the two extra place settings.
Within seconds our server was there giving us menus, letting us know about the daily special and asking for our drink order. I asked if the happy hour prices were being honored in the dining area and she assured me that they were and I asked about what beers were on tap. She recited them off and even offered to get me a sample of a local red ale which was on tap. She brought our water, my husband's drink and my sample very quickly. I went ahead and ordered  a glass of the ale. Alas, she returned with a half full glass and apologized that the keg blew and they were all out but I could have the half glass anyways and asked if there was something else I'd like. I went ahead and got a sample of another beer and we let her know that we were there for happy hour and asked if there was an appetizer menu - she said that the small plates were the appetizers and I went ahead and ordered a full a glass of the 2nd beer.  When she brought my glass of beer we told her were ready to order some appetizers. Since we were under the assumption it was happy hour and the appetizer's  were probably smaller sized we ordered crabcakes, shrimp cocktail and pork lumpia. The crabcake was absolute bliss to eat and the sauce for the lumpia was excellent but then it's pretty hard to mess up a sweet chili oil. My husband was pretty impressed with the shrimp cocktail too, we thought what a nice change to have regular sized appetizers.  When our server checked back with us she offered to bring us some house rolls. The rolls looked more like very small biscuits slathered with melted butter. They were the driest rolls we've ever had and very disappointing.  We decided to skip dinner and dessert because we were so full.
Then came the check: 2 Long Island Ice Teas, a beer and 3 appetizers were a whopping $67 plus tax. My husband about fell off the chair and I thought oh my goodness our server must have forgot we were there for happy hour. We called her over to ask about the check, explained we were were under the impression that the appetizers were half price for happy hour. She said the hostess who seated us failed to tell her, apologized if there was an error and and she would see about getting our bill adjusted. She returned a few minutes later mentioned that the happy hour appetizers are different each day and that a copy of the bar/happy hour menu was tucked in the folder with the adjusted bill and quickly left. Well, lo and behold... what a difference  8 ft and a half wall apparently makes. The happy hour/bar menu is completely different than the dining room menu. There were the fish tacos we heard the locals rave about along with a totally different menu. Our bill - with our 10% off coupon and the adjustment for my beer it came down to $60 with tax. No adjustment to our appetizer prices.
Had it not been happy our we wouldn't of had an issue with $ but considering we were never given a separate happy hour menu I should have complained more but we paid the bill,we feel like  "bait and switch" victims and left swearing to never eat there again. Our happy hour visit with the tip cost more than our RV spot did for 2 nights.
To make the story short, this place SUCKS!!
My boyfriend and I came here last night during our visit to Westport, only because no other restaurants were open (besides a very expensive place). We had been to the Half Moon Bay before and really didn't want to relive the experience, but we succumbed to our hunger and gave it another try anyway. What a bad idea.
It was just the way I remembered. A really nice place, right on the water. We came in an sat ourselves, as the sign suggested. My boyfriend is in a wheelchair right now after a car accident, so we spent some time figuring out the best place for him to sit. While looking around the restaurant for a good five minutes, several staff members passed us without acknowledging our presence or offering to help seat us.
After finally sitting down, our waitress came over. She was sufficiently polite, however emotionless. It was as if she was just waiting for her shift to be over. No smile, no "how are you?", just the most unenthusiastic attitude ever (again, just like I remembered). She brought our drinks (one beer and a lemonade), we ordered two entrees and she brought us a basket of what looked like some yummy, buttery biscuits along with our clam chowder. Holy CRAP....These things were awful. They tasted like they had been in a freezer for three months before being thawed and slathered in oil to make them look appetizing. They were hard as a rock! It was laughable that anyone would ever conceive of serving these pellets to paying guests. The chowder was very salty and tasted metallic. I ate part of it and left the rest.
Then the entrees came. The coconut prawns were quite good, but they came with white rice and a slaw of sorts. I don't really think the sides were a good choice but oh well. My boyfriend's salmon was undercooked and he disliked his vegetables as he said they tasted frozen. Throughout our meal our robotic waitress came by many times to ask how we were doing. Every time we were fine. As in, every five minutes she checked on us.
At one point during dinner I observed an older couple coming into the dining area and try to decide where to sit----they were expecting two friends to join them and wanted a particular table. Â After being ignored by passing employees, they finally asked a server if they could have the table. "Uhhh yeah I think....let me check cause I know we have reservations tonight..." I almost choked on my rock hard biscuit. Reservations? The ENTIRE restaurant was empty except for my boyfriend and I, and another couple. They were approached again by another server, who had the same response. "Um yeah...you can sit there.....". She then awkwardly left them to check on another table while they stood there, unsure if they could sit down. Another woman who I assume was a manager approached the couple and let them sit at the table finally, but she too looked like she hated life.
Toward the end of our dinner, the boyfriend and I were cracking up over our dumb decision to visit this place again. The service is always the same...lackluster. You feel as if you are putting out the staff by being there. The prices are incredibly high for the food you get....low quality, and pre-frozen. We paid $60 for TWO ENTREES AND TWO BEVERAGES! And mediocre at that!
Avoid this place! I have learned my lesson and will never come here again. This place needs a new owner and new management who know how to treat guests and don't depend on their great location to draw people in. Half Moon Bay...More like Half the quality and service for DOUBLE the price.
PS. Their so-called "best bloody mary" should be called the worst instead. Order it if you like watery tomato juice mixed with vodka.
Every time I think of West Port I think about our horrible experience we had at this place. The food was beyond discussing. We ordered a plate of fish tacos and it tasted like the whole bottle of cayenne pepper fell onto our tacos.. It was like pouring the pepper on your tongue that's all you could taste. DO NOT SPEND YOUR $$ HERE!!!
Review Source:The ONLY good thing I have to say about this place is that my souvenir shot glass was decently priced. Â Oh wait...the cashier that took our money for the shot glass was very nice. Â But she was seriously misinformed about what a good Bloody Mary tastes like. Â The only reason we stopped here was because of the big banner they had hanging out claiming to have "The Best Bloody Mary". Â They even actually sell their Bloody Mary mix which I highly caution everyone against trying. Â I think they think if they put enough garnishments in it, that means they can claim it's the best. Â The garnishments were interesting, however, I'm happy with green olives and pickled green beans. Â The onion, tomato, pepperoni, cheese, shrimp, etc, were a little too much for me. Â But even if they weren't too much, the Bloody Mary itself was the worst I've ever had. Â It was watery, had no spicy taste whatsoever and tasted like it didn't even have alcohol in it. Â On top of that, it was 32 bucks for two of them. Â If I had known what it tasted like ahead of time, I wouldn't have even paid $1.00 for it.
On top of that, the service was lousy. Â When we got there, we sat at the bar and probably waited about 10 minutes before the server made an appearance. Â Another 10 waiting for the so-called Best Bloody Mary ever after we had moved to an outside table on a very slow Sunday morning (we told her we were moving outdoors). Â Once we choked down the last of our drinks, we went to the bar to pay because she didn't make another appearance. Â We waited another 10 minutes because we wanted to break a bill to give her an undeserved tip, but finally gave up and just left her the exact amount.
This is a review for the food. I have never been to the restaurant. They had a booth at the Bite of Seattle. The Mac and Jack Mussels served with bread was to die for. It was the best dish our group of 5 purchased among probably 20 different items. I will definitely be dining there if I am anywhere near Westport in the future.
Review Source:Had lunch here on Monday 6/18/12.  Do NOT let the front entrance fool you, inside the restaurant was just beautiful.  Front entrance looks like a gas station, inside it is  a BEAUTIFUL restaurant with a great view of the marina.  My husband and I drove thru this very small town a couple times deciding where to eat.  We drove past this place at first, but decided to check it out on the 2nd pass because we didnt' see any place else that had a lounge in town.  I had the crabcakes and a salad, everything was very fresh and tasty.  Husband had the lumpia and chowder.  He really enjoyed his food.  The service was EXCELLENT,  and we are picky when it comes to service.  Service and atmosphere alone would have gotten 5 stars.  But, there was a little too much breading in my crabcakes, and the lumpia were very skinny, not a whole lot of meat in there.  Everything was very flavorful though.  And the little dinner salad was unique, I really enjoyed that.  Chowder was one of the BEST for sure.  If we ever get to Westport again, we will eat for sure !!
Review Source:Best dinner out that my husband I have had in a long time. Â He ordered the special which was the surf and turf with scallops and shrimp. Â The steak was cooked perfectly! Â I had the salmon with the crab sauce...to die for! Clam chowder wasn't the best, but wasn't terrible. Â Very friendly staff and awesome surfer atmosphere! Yummo
Review Source:This is a pretty fun restaurant in Westport with views of the Marina. It has an island flair with surfboards and such present, so my Hawaiian born hubby was happy to find yet another bit of Aloha in the Northwest.
Half Moon is apparently known for their Bloody Mary's, which I ordered. I think the draw is the garnishments which go beyond the usual to include shrimp, cheese, and pepperoni. More impressive to me were the crispy oysters. Hands down the best appetizer I've had in a very long time. I highly recommend them! The rest of the food was fine. I had a nice crab stuffed salmon dish that was enjoyable.
They do stock Kona Brewing Company delights, so drink up and enjoy your time in Westport!
I created this account because the experience is so bad...just like last time.
I go to Westport regularly and usually give Half Moon another try about once a year (yesterday was a friend's b-day and her family really wanted to get the "Best Bloody Mary" after some beach fun). We sat down reasonably quickly and waited, and waited. The waitress came over to take our drink order, and then we waited, and waited. The drinks came and then she disappeared and we waited. (The place wasn't very busy and there were several servers) Â
The "Best Bloody Mary" tasted like watery tomato juice with a "skewer of convience store tidbits" (just like it had last year and the year before). "The Best Bloody Mary" became a joke for the rest of the day and could be for years to come.
Another guy at the table got her attention and we ordered. And then we waited... Food arrived (yeah!---uh, that's it? well, it'll be really good this time). I order the razor clam basket and it was piteful. A carny-sized handful of fries and two medium razor clams that were burnt on the ends and raw in the mid-section (how do you do that?). I'm a big guy and have been described as a goat more than once in life, but I didn't eat this meal. I got the only raw food at the table, but everybody was unhappy about the small portions and lack of flavor. Oh yeah, the basket bread... leathery dough-balls soaked in what i hope was butter.
On the way out, I stopped by the kitchen/wait station to tell the cook that the clams were raw. I was a cook for a couple of years and raw food can get people sick and can get staff fired. The wait staff asked (very nicely and apologeticlly) if I was complaining about the food, too (I guess I wasn't the only one that day). I felt bad because they looked so sheepish.
I really, really hope that this will be my last time in there. The resturant's got such a nice view of the harbor and a nice, relaxed atmoshpere that I really want to lke it.
So after seeing all of the ads showing the "world's best bloody mary", I had to have one. Â We read the poor reviews so decided not to eat here during our stay but I couldn't get the delicious looking bloody mary out of my head. Â On the last day of our stay, on our way out of town... I dragged my grumpy husband and child in here to have my bloody mary. Â They had just opened at 11am and we were the only people in the restaurant. Â It's actually pretty cute inside and the view was nice. Â The waitress was visibly disappointed when we ordered one bloody mary (I apologized). Â I have to say, it was a darn good bloody mary and it was fun with the pepperoni, cheese, tomato, shrimp, olive, green bean, celery, onion etc. Â Was it worth $12? Â Probably not. Â Am I happy I tried it? Â Yes.
Review Source:02-19-2012
The food is overpriced and unseasoned.
My wife and I ordered the shrimp cocktail - at $15 I expected a little more than 3 shrimp and half an ounce of crab over lettuce in a small martini glass. I would have been better off buying 1.5 LBS of shrimp and a bottle of cocktail sauce and stayed home.
I then ordered the fish tacos. The texture and quantity (3) were good, but they had NO FLAVOR. The fish, the aioli and the garnish were bland, even after adding a lot of salt - thank god they had a bottle of Ketchup on the table.
My wife ordered the salmon. this was also tiny, but at least this and the fries were of decent quality and flavor.
So two entrees and a appetizer cost us $50. We should have gone to costco and gotten 2 hotdogs 2 slices of pizza and 2 sodas for less than $8 it would have tasted WAY better and we wouldn't have left feeling dissapointed.
I'm surprised at all of the awards tacked up everywhere. Every time I go to Westport I check out the Half Moon Bay hoping it will be decent food. It's by far the best location in town and seems like it would have decent food.
Each time I've been sorely disappointed. (last visit in October 2011) The chowder was thick and floury with very little redeeming taste and the salad was over dressed and soggy. I dared not order an entree.
My recommendation. Stick with drinks in this establishment.
We recently(august) stayed at a friend's vacation condo in Westport, Wa for our anniversary. With the condo came a gift certificate for Half Moon Bay. We figured it would be worth trying out.
We strolled in to the restaurant around 5pm on a Saturday evening to find out that most of the place had been reserved. They said to expect a 15-20 minute wait. 5 minutes later we were sitting in a comfy booth.
I have read a few reviews stating that the staff was slow to wait on them. A waitress was at our table within a couple minutes of us sitting down. My wife got the Chicken Parm(which I no longer see on their menu) and said that it was delicious. She decided on it after the waitress said it was by far one of her favorite dishes. Ploy or not, she was correct about it.
I had the Center Cut Rib-eye Steak & Prawns and was not let down. I'm not the biggest steak connoisseur on the planet, but I can say for a fact that they grill up one hell of a steak. The prawns were spot on delicious. I'm not the biggest veggie fan and I ate every last bite that was on my plate.
I would suggest this place to anyone and I already have sent a few people there who were visiting Westport. We plan to go back next summer when we visit.
We were pretty disappointed here. For a place that only had 3 other tables, it amazed me that our food took nearly 45mins to get. And they screwed up the order. I wish I had gotten up and went elsewhere. Too pricey for what you get.
We had high hopes for this place, but it didn't materialize. Food in the end was okay, but nothing special. Too bad, as it has a nice location, and you can watch people fish at the docks.
They also claim to have "the best Bloody Mary". As my friend pointed out, even the best Bloody Mary is just a bad Caesar. So don't let that pull you in.
As far as I could tell/find, this is the nicest place in town to eat out, and it's where everybody and their mother was the Friday night that I went. Â It has an ok view of the harbor, really nice service, and an ok menu selection. I would say it's bar and grill calibre. Somehow, they have the fanciest bathroom I have ever seen in a bar and grill, with what appeared to be granit tiles or something (shrug). This seems to be the place to go if you want to check out the rest of the Westport population, and I'm pretty sure they have live music somewhat regularly. So if you're looking to check out your fellow residents, go there. If you are still hungry later, or want money to accidentally leak out of your pocket thanks to your kid's requests, there's taffy and other touristy stuff to buy in the shop you have to walk through before you get to the restaurant entrance.
Review Source:Don't judge a book from its cover!
The exterior of the restaurant may look dated, as does most of this little charming fishing town of  Westport, the inside of the restaurant was warm (the decor) and inviting. My sister and I sampled several appetizers with our party of nine (3 in our party were 4 and under). Out of the calamari, crab cakes, sesame crusted ahi, and bacon wrapped scallops, the Sesame Crusted Ahi was my favorite! I also liked that the calamari was tossed with some bell peppers and onions.
I ordered the Seafood Trio for my entree, and my sister ordered the prime rib. I was quite full from the many appetizers and the delicious chowder, but I did taste everything on my plate. The scallops, prawns, and salmon were cooked perfectly. The crab cream sauce on the salmon was delicious. I brought my leftover dinner home because I just had to try their dessert...my brother finished it off and loved it!
I have to say, as a chocolate lover, the death by chocolate dessert was incredible!
My only suggestion is that the thermostat on the air conditioning be turned down, as it was cold outside and we did get a little chilly sitting there...although, that may just be my opinion since I am from the warmer climate in Hawaii. I will come back again when on vacation, and bring my husband who I know will love that Bloody Mary!
They're very proud of their "award-winning dungeness crab cake," Â so with high expections I waited in line for a table. Â I have to say, for a place next to the ocean, the crab didn't have much of that familiar fresh-caught "crabby" flavor. Â Maybe they used too much seasoning. Â It wasn't bad, but it didn't blow me out of the water either.
The décor is fancy, the waiters look sharp, and the view of the marina is pretty.  They serve a variety of alcohol and keep the lights dim enough to make your date look dreamy.  It's a nice spot for a romantic dinner.  Actually, it's the only spot for a romantic dinner in Westport.
I really want to love this place but consistency is seriously lacking. Â Servers are professional and do a nice job but the food quality keeps going downhill. Â The first time we went the chowder was amazing as was the fresh halibut. Â The next time the chowder was terrible and then some other things were off and since they changed the menu (summer of 2010), we never go here for dinner.
Admittedly, the bloody marys are pretty amazing and double as appetizers (or as I like to call them, pureed salad with vodka dressing) and if you have enough of them, you can forget that the food is horrible...these days, we only go here for drinks and great views of the marina.
Save your time and money and go somewhere else! I had such high hopes for this place; however, it is a huge disappointment.
We have a cabin in Westport, so we frequent all the shops and diner places. I have held out on this one due to it looking like a cash cow to suck the wallets of tourist. We finally gave in after years of avoiding it. I hate when I do not trust me instincts.
The place is very nice and comfortable, we were seated.... and that's about it. My wife and one year old just sat there. I see the other reviews stating that they waited 15 minutes for any other acknowledgment, even for water. Well, consider yourselves lucky, as we waited for over 30 minutes for water or acknowledgment. Just as I was getting up to get someone to help us a waitress came to our table. She apologized for the wait stating that she didn't know someone was in our section. Here is the problem I have with that; why are they not communicating when they put someone in a section, also, her excuse doesn't fly, she had made eye contact with us while we sat there and even smiled at our son. So I do not buy that she did not know we were there. This is probably an excuse they are trained to use, blame someone else. As a side note, they were not even busy!
So, we order our food and I had to order their world famous Bloody Mary. Our food and drinks came out promptly. My Bloody Mary tasted like it came out of a ghetto tavern, I do not know who gave them any award for it, but that person must not have any taste buds. The only forgiving part of the drink was the garnish of pepperoni and cheese.
I ordered the captains platter, I figured a little bit of each from the sea would be a good thing to get a highly esteemed seafood joint on the ocean! When I tasted each piece on my plate I have to admit, it took me back to some old memories, the memories of when I would go to Skippers! Seriously, $25 for unseasoned, overly greasy food? I was so let down. My wife got the salmon salad with goat cheese. My son loves salmon, the kid seriously eats  1/2 pound of smoked salmon easily. The salmon was horrendous; I have had canned tuna with more moisture than this salmon. We cut some up for my son and as fast as it went in his mouth it came out. Yes, maybe my son has my pallet, but I believe that is a good thing. The salmon was so bad we were going to send it back but we were too afraid of a long wait and just wanted to be out of there.
Another side note; we never got our water refilled until they brought us our check.
Here is my issue, this place is located in Westport, and it couldn't be any closer to the water than it is. They have outrageous prices indicating that they may be worth it. This place shames Westport's down to earth atmosphere. I have had meals better at Skippers or Ivars. Do yourself a favor and save your money and go to one of the more local spots.
You'll notice the good reviews for this place are all in the 2007 time frame.  I would have given them a 4 star review through mid 2009, but sadly things at the Half Moon Bay have taken a turn for the worse.  The decor is still fun and inviting, the restaurant is clean and bright.  That is about all the positive things I can say however.  Ever since the old owner got foreclosed on and the restaurant went back to the debt holders, the service and most importantly the food have suffered immensely.  I last went to the HMB with my wife and friend.  After waiting 15min for a glass of water, and another 15 min for the drink that I ordered our scattered waitress took our order.  After an additional  30 min wait for our food, all with no return visit by the server, our food arrived.  My wife's fish and chips were cold and greasy, her fries were limp.  My fish taco tasted like it was defrosted and poached in salt water then covered in some red mayo sauce (last time I had them they were excellent).  Our friends salad was brown lettuce drowning in sauce.  All of this, plus the server didn't ask if we wanted another drink or refill out water.  I will not be back, pisses me off that I even recommend the place.
Review Source:Our visit to Half Moon Bay Bar and Grill was at the beginning of salmon season and the restaurant was nearly full. Â The view of the harbor is great, especially if you like boats. Â Our waitperson was "Lolly, as in pop" and we enjoyed both the banter and the recommendations from her. Â We chose the cioppino and the seafood alfredo and both were satisfactory. Â My friend liked the cioppino although he did have a gaseous evening afterward. Â He'll have to write his own review on that topic. Â The alfredo was delicious and the seafood fresh except for the salmon, but then I usually only eat salmon I catch myself so I'm usually disappointed. Â Â The wine list was a bit eccentric with unknown vintners along with blindingly expensive prestige names. Â However, they did have a Meritage that was delicious. Â I've just forgotten the name of the vintner. Â Our orders for the seafood alfredo were confused with the seafood combo. Â When our dinner arrived, our perplexed look caused the manager to ask if we were not pleased. Â Â When told we ordered the alfredo, he picked up the plates and said "I just wanted you to see these!"...We now have a humorous story of this restaurant and will go back.
Review Source:I thought the Yelpers who indicated slow/poor service at this place had experienced bad days. Not so! We must have waited 15 minutes just to be asked what we wanted to drink, another 20 minutes to order and 35 to receive food.
The food is adequate but the lack of customer service is just unacceptable. Please listen...DO NOT waste your time at Half Moon Bay Bar and Grill unless you are not in a hurry or possess more patience than I.
This was one of the best seafood dinners I've had in a long time. I had the Seafood Trio--salmon, scallops,and shrimp, in a lemon beurre blanc sauce w/capers and it was divine. The clam chowder was tasty too. Best bloody mary ever, hands down! But very spicy. You should see the garnish it comes with: green beans, celery, onion, tomato, pepperoni, cheese, olive, shrimp, and probably 2 or 3 other things I'm forgetting. It was delicious. Nice singer in the lounge too, and Judy the waiter was just wonderful. The atmosphere is cozy yet it was casual enough for our 8-month-old to join. My date had the whole crab and it came cleaned and holding two lemon wedges in its claws. You don't get fresher seafood than this.
(Note: there is no listing for the attached hotel, which is a dump. Save yourself and only come here for dinner.)
First of all -- they advertise "the best Bloody Mary?" I guess if you call the most stuff stuck on a skewer good, this drink is for you. They even had a processed cheese cube stuck on the thing. Yuck. The restaurant is almost part of the bar, so if a Mariners game is on, give it up. The food is typical coastal deep-fried fare. We had crab cakes that were pretty sad, and a cioppino that tasted like Costco cioppino sauce from the jar with a ton of shrimp thrown in. I must say the service was good and the waitress was friendly. On the parking lot side of the restaurant, they actually have another restaurant recommended by our resort: Anthony's (not to be confused with the west coast chain). Supposedly, it serves Mediterranean cuisine. It looked like they carved out ten tables from the bar/restaurant to try and get more customers. I thought it was odd since both obviously use the same kitchen and chef -- in fact they both had the same awful cioppino on the menu. There's not a lot to choose from in Westport, so if you do go here I would probably order a burger.
Review Source:Erik and I dined here on Friday night after a long, tedious battle with traffic, coming down to Westport the night before we went fishing. We checked into our room down the road and walked down to the main drag. We checked the menus of some other options and ultimately decided on the Half Moon Bay Bar and Grill, mainly based off of Brook M's excellent Westport lists. When we approached the entrance to the restaurant, we were kindly greeted by the host who asked us if we would like to dine at Anthony's or the Bar and Grill and then showed us each menu. Obviously, we chose the Half Moon Bay Bar and Grill. We were seated immediately and right away were greeted by our waiter, Cedar. He welcomed us and gave us the nightly specials, which sounded divine. He then asked us what we would like to drink. The back of the one page menu has a long list of wines to choose from, but Erik and I really just wanted some beer. He advised us of what was on draft and I ordered a Newcastle and Erik had a Mac and Jack's. Cedar then left to let us make our dinner decision. When he returned, I ordered the steak and prawns ($30) and Erik ordered one of the nightly specials, wild Alaskan halibut with prawns ($28). Each meal came with soup or salad. I had an onion beer soup (similar to French onion) and Erik ordered the clam chowder. Shortly after we ordered we were brought an order of warm, delicious bread - perfect for dipping in my soup. My soup was good, but a little bland. I'm not sure what it was missing, but it wasn't as flavorful as I had hoped. Erik's clam chowder was perfect and made me wish I had ordered that instead.
Our dinner arrived shortly after we finished our soup. On the menu, my entree is served with mashed potatoes, but I substituted that with the rice pilaf that was part of Erik's meal and on many of the other entrees on the menu. I'm so glad I did. The rice was very good, cooked and seasoned perfectly and I personally think rice goes better with the prawns in my meal than mashed potatoes would. My steak was just right. One of my pet peeves is when I order a steak and ask for it medium rare and it comes out medium, or worse, done. This steak was perfect, very tender and very tasty. Had it not been for the 5 large prawns included in my meal, I may have finished my steak. The prawns were prepared in a garlic butter sauce and were delicious.
Erik gave me a couple bites of his halibut and it was also very good.
When we had first sat down, we were a bit surprised at the prices and the seemingly small menu. At first glance, the menu offerings of the Half Moon Bay Bar and Grill may appear to be too little for too much. I am very happy that despite that initial thought, we gave this place a try because we both left very satisfied and very full.
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