Mastro's Ocean Club

Amazing! (But this goes without saying.)

We came here for our anniversary and it was fabulous. I noted on the reservation that it was our anniversary and they gave us a table that was somewhat private and had the perfect view of PCH and the ocean. We ate a little early (5:30) so you can at least still see the ocean.

The service is impeccable, which is both appreciated and expected. From the valet to the bathroom attendant to the server, everyone was so accommodating and kind. Our water glasses never dropped below 2/3 full and the server was great at recommending fish options and dessert choices.

Rarely do I comment on bread baskets, but as others have noted, this is no ordinary bread basket. In particular, I was a huge fan of the Parmesan crostinis/crackers and my husband really liked the pretzel bread. It was tough to remember to not load up on bread because of how large and filling the portions are here.

We started off with the fried calamari, which was light and airy and came with a lovely remoulade-type sauce. Of note, the lemon here come with the yellow strainer so you don't have to worry about seeds getting into your food. Nice touch, Mastro's! The portion and pricing is consistent with most other places that are a little more upscale.

One of the specials of the day was a wild-caught Coho salmon and that's what my husband went with. We went with the recommendation of the server and had it grilled, medium, which was perfect. It wasn't dry at all and it was done just right. This came with olive butter/tapenade (on the side).

We also got the Alaskan king crab black truffle gnocchi and it was super decadent and delicious. We couldn't finish this between the two of us and had to take it home. There was a lot of crab and truffles in this so you definitely get your money's worth of both ingredients. The server brought me a super hot plate since I didn't order a separate protein and when he scooped the gnocchi on the hot plate, it literally sizzled around the edges!

I'm not one to turn down fries, so we tried the salt and vinegar fries. They're genuine shoestring fries and was the perfect ratio of crispiness to softness. I wouldn't say it was super vinegar-y so if you were expecting it to be like salt and vinegar chips, you would be disappointed.

Since it was our anniversary, Mastro's offered us a free dessert, which is an awesome perk! We told our server to pick whatever he thought we would like and of course, he chose the warm butter cake. This was moist and decadent and worked really well with the ice cream, which didn't melt too quickly. This was served with a giant side dish of fresh whipped cream. Gluttonous!

Overall, yes, this place is somewhat pricey but I do think the value is there. The protein choices are prepared perfectly (assuming you go with what they recommend). The side dishes are quite generous (as they're meant to be shared) and the service is top-notch. They have a valet stand with iced bottles of water and a bathroom attendant that turns on the water for you and squirts your hand soap! We've paid the same amount at other places and didn't get as much pricey protein or top-notch service as Mastro's.

Yes, I would definitely come back again, although not too often because I can feel my arteries clogging already.

We went back to Mastro's after having a horrible experience the first time.  We gave it another shot hoping it was a fluke, and also because I wanted crab legs and figured they'd be good at Mastro's.  We were lucky enough to get Lindsay as our waitress.  What a different experience this time!  She could not have been better.  SO much better than the waiter we had on our first visit.  She made it all up to us.  We will be returning because of her professionalism and class!

What happened to the Monday night Guitar guy???