This is my favorite spot to go for a night out ! I come here with my boyfriend a lot and it is the perfect date spot as well. Their food is great and they have great customer service. I love their calamari!! They have an outside area that lights up blue at night with white furniture and it's really nice because it faces the beach. 5 out of 5.
Review Source:Came here on a Thursday night an hour before closing. The place was pretty full. It was my first time and I was impressed with the views! So pretty with the blue lighting, and the couch beads right by the ocean! My favorite were the seagulls like little dots on the water, so close you can grab them! Yes the food is pricey, but the service is great, and the food although there was little of it, was delicious. I ordered scallops, my friend had the tuna tartar and caprese salad, and no one was disappointed. Come here if you are ready to splurge, and don't forget to dress the part, every here is pretttyyy bougie :)
Review Source:This is the most relaxing location in CA, we love coming here specially on sundays, unfortunately their food isn't anything to brag about so that takes away a star from my review and their seating outside needs a little remodeling such as making the big laying bed smaller so 2 people don't occupy a big bed like that when their could actually be 2 tables at the same location and that takes away a star more fro my review so i'm giving it 3 stars based on the very friendly and amazing staff and the great location with perfect view
Review Source:Moonshadows has a great view (especially if you request a table outside on their deck like I did) and is a great place for taking visitors from out of town. Having said that, the food is good, but expensive for what it is. You're definitely paying for that view. Their only option for parking is valet also since it's on PCH. It was a great experience going there and checking it out, but the next time I dine in Malibu I'll probably go back to Geoffrey's.
Review Source:This place is very cool and hip. I love the bar they make great drinks, the view is amazing. I love to sit on the patio and watch the ocean beneath me. It gets pretty crowded and the bar is small so make sure you wear shoes that don't hurt your feet women, because you may have to stand for a bit. The balcony has sits and a dj that plays lots of different music. It's a great place to chill, take a date, or hang with the girls and flirt with the men. Hey hey :)
Review Source:Seriously... Meh.
If it wasn't for the view, the food would be considered nothing. Â I feel like this place has had the same menu for so long, it's really time for a change. Â I've been here during the lunch hours and it's been very dead, no music, nothing. Â The building itself is also very old and almost like a shack (pretty much is one).
I don't mind coming here at night to check it out, but for now I rather pass. Â Let's liven it up a bit, people!!!
We ate dinner here last evening. Food WAY overpriced and not very good. It was edible but for the price not worth it. I will differ here and say the view from the patio is NOT so great--they have made it into a lounge area closest to the water and play 'music' ( I use the term loosely because all you can actually hear is the base booming). My daughter ordered child's penne pasta and got undercooked linguini that was actually burnt -- made my husband feel better because he also burns pasta!
The bright side was our waitress, Larue (spelling?), who was so wonderful and nonplussed. The hostesses were also quite pleasant. The busboy was not so, didn't smile or offer 'excuse me' when reaching to clear the table.
Please bring back the Moonshadows we used to love - simple grilled fish that complements the scenery....
We will not go back and should have driven a bit further to Geoffreys.....
p.s. my bad for not looking at Yelp before deciding on taking our out-of-town guests here....
Third time is not a charm. Sadly, this will be my last visit to Moonshadows. If you want a nice view and no customer service, by all means, come here.
Let me explain... I've been here for dinner twice, first time food was okay, but dessert was amazing, second time was so-so, so I didn't go again for 2 + years, until Friday.
On their website on if you look at hours of operation it says "Lunch - Mon - Friday etc, and Brunch - Sat -Sun."
Their Lunch menu has many items that sound delicious, but sadly, even though I came on a Friday, I wasn't allowed to order off their lunch menu. I drove 30+ miles, to find out that since THURSDAY was July 4th, they consider Friday the 5th a "weekend." The waitress told the manager about our disappointment to find out, that they are only serving "brunch" at 12pm on a Friday, and not "lunch" like every other restaurant in the world would. It's not like they magically ran out of their ingredients over night either.
So, since we had a long drive, we figured we'd order some food anyways, which was a big mistake. We had the Calamari which although fresh, was bland, the Ahi Tuna Tartare was good, but so is Cheesecake Factory's so that's not saying much. The burger was nothing to write home about, the Souffle was disappointing compared to our two previous visits, and the Crostatta was also nothing special.
Furthermore, the hostesses felt the need to walk past our table 25+ times (no exaggeration) to see if any tables had opened up yet. Kinda hard to enjoy the view with people walking by so often.
Lastly, our server, wouldn't take a second to explain a dish, and seemed to hate her job. You're in the hospitality industry, how about showing some for once.
Whether you're a local or a tourist, I'd suggest trying another restaurant in the area.
The Moonshadows formula:
Start with beautiful views. Add a great location. Multiply by interesting eye candy. Divide by not-so-bad food and cocktails.
Subtract points for:
1. Painfully bad service, bordering on openly hostile.
Let's start with the hostess, who when a friend and I walked in and tried to make a reservation, condescendingly explained that they were no longer "using a waitlist" that evening. I pointed out that "using a waitlist" and "no longer taking reservations" are not synonymous, and her faux-polite response made me feel like a celebrity or mental patient who she just wanted to placate to avoid a scene (not sure either analogy is flattering).
When we managed to find a seat at one of the outdoor "first come first served" sections, our waitress fawned all over the party of four next to us - presumably because they treated her to a free shot while she was on duty, which she downed ecstatically to their cheers - and completely, utterly ignored me and my friend (after promising to deliver menus to us, then never returning).
Finally, some other dude decided to start helping us, but after delivering our food, otherwise paid  very little attention to us for the rest of the night. When we asked for the check at the end of the evening, we asked whether he could charge us on the same tab for the $7 valet parking fee, as we had no cash. Although he said yes, he gave us a lot of attitude about doing so.
My companion and I gave each other a perplexed look as our waiter stormed off in a huff after delivering both bills (which he informed us had to be separate). Like we were REALLY putting him out. Not smart to give off an attitude when your patrons haven't tipped you yet, buddy!
2. The sheer douchebaggery of the "scene" here. Â
Man, if you want to see the scourge of the LA casual club scene, they're all here.
I saw a woman so pumped up with collagen and molded via surgery that she could have been termed "bionic." This bottle blond was wearing a bikini overlayed with a mesh dress-like thing. Her boobs protruded disturbingly. She strutted proudly next to a beefy African-American gentleman, who held his hand possessively at the small of her back.
The party of four who stole all our waitress' attention was loud and obnoxious. At one point, someone dropped a glass, and it shattered. One of the dudes somehow cut his heel. I'm sure the cut wasn't that bad (though he bled, revoltingly, on the white faux-leather seat... and the smear remained there long after the party had left), but his giggling bottle-blond companion made a huge deal out of it, grabbing his foot and holding a white dinner napkin to it in her lap. I kind of wanted to vomit. At another point, the same woman, while laughing uproariously, leaned backwards and kept banging into my companion, totally oblivious (and never apologizing).
As my companion and I left, we heard a svelte, chic Euro-trash woman at the inside bar gush about how much she loved the place. Um, ick.
3. The lack of free street parking, at least on the occasion I went.
If I want a laid back evening by the sea, there have got to be less sceney alternatives out there. I'd even settle for Duke's, because at least that place doesn't attract the pretentious wannabes that Moonshadows does.
My boyfriend took me on a date here as a surprise, and I was "surprised" when we got there in a great way! The view of the ocean is wonderful. Some places say "ocean view" and it's that not at all. But the dining room is dimly lit with all glass windows allowing for a gorgeous view, as well as a bar seating outside right over the cliffs.
The food was great! I recommend the ahi tuna tartare...one of the best I have ever had! I also had the calamari and beet salad to start, which were also very tasty! We had the salmon and the pork chop for our entrees, and although they were pretty good, we weren't raving about it like we were the tuna tarte.
The service was perfect. Our waiter was attentive and friendly, and everything came out at just the right time. We were seated quickly and sat right on the water, with an incredible view. But there really isnt a seat in the house were is the view isn't amazing!
I would highly recommend this restaurant.. Especially for a date night!
This restaurant gets 4 stars, primarily because of location, ambience and service.
Unlike many of the other reviewers, I actually thought I had great customer service. From the hostess who showed me around the restaurant and gave me several seating options to the random waiter who helped me find a safe place behind the bar to charge my phone.
My waitress was also very nice and attentive. I had ordered the scallops (which were very good and unlike other places, were fairly large in size). I also ordered the swordfish based on other yelp reviews, but I was actually not a fan. The waitress noticed and asked me about it. They ended up comping it because of my dis-satisfaction, which was very nice of them.
I sat outside on the patio right above the waves. Great way to spend an evening.
I've been coming here for the last 6 years and it's not the greatest for the cost, but it is close and they have oven ranged chicken, and carrots, my favorite. The chicken usually takes 30 minutes to prepare because they cool it very well and healthy. I'm here all the time because the hours and customer service. The ladies at the front are always dressed up like they are from a 1950s theater show.Make reservations it gets busy on weekends, I just made mine for tonight even though it is just me:)
Review Source:This is a wonderful place to go and hang out. I mean the ambiance is spectacular. Â I can't really say much about the food because I don't really eat when I go here (nothing for me!) Â but the views of the pacific ocean and eating over/above water is pretty awesome. My first visit to Moonshadows was prompted by a deal via DineLA. I went here for dinner with my cousin and he had a great time. I enjoyed hanging out in the patio and people watching. Hearing the waves crash against the rocks and looking out into the horizon is so soothing. I am addicted to this place because of the views (I know, I've made that a point already. lol) and I don't mind returning again and again...
Pretty much 99 percent of the menu is for meat/seafood lovers however they have about 2-3 veg options which are mostly salads. That's not a terrible thing. Hopefully in the future they'll add more veggie dishes. Â The servers are friendly as are the parking attendants. If you don't want to pay the valet fee, you can find free parking along PCH. Just please make sure you look both ways before crossing. I've seen several close calls here and cars can't see because they are zipping by going 65+ mph.
+ gorgeous views
+ great for get togethers, celebrations
+ pricey (!!!)
The ambiance and the view are simply delightful!
I ordered the grilled octopus (tasty but a touch overcooked) and the scallops (amazing). The consensus at my table was that everyone enjoyed their food. ....Strawberry Rubarb crumble was deeelicous!
The only thing that stops me from giving this place 5 stars was our initial service at the bar. Since Moonshadows does not seat until your entire party has arrived, we ended up waiting at the bar for the lagers in our party to trickle in. I did everything short of an interpretive dance of my thirst to get the attention of our cocktail waitress, and we were one of only 3 parties in the bar.
When you have dinner groups waiting at the bar, you should have staff diving at them with drink menus! This sets the tone for the whole evening, and also influences whether or not we continue to suck down $17 drinks through the course of our meal. To add insult to injury I could see several employees chatting and avoiding eye contact towards the back of the bar, to be fair, they may have not been bar staff BUT they should have taken some responsibility and found someone who could help us.
10 points for the people watching. =)
Been here twice and both occasions with friends, although I know this is a spot for bringing a date. Still the best mojito i've had. So good that I had more than 1. Great location right on PCH with amazing and spectacular ocean view which is a great place to take a date. My friends and I actually saw a couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other hahaha. Personally, I feel the crowd here is a bit too snobby and too fake for me otherwise this would've been my usual hangout for it's location. The waitress are attentive and bartenders as well. I have never had their food so I cannot rate the food.
Review Source:This is my favorite malibu spot!!! Love to sit and eat on the patio booths!! Most beautiful view. Even spot dolphins and whales. Great wine and bar selection. The food is delicious especially the tuna tartar and oysters. Perfect fare for eating by the sea!!! Andrea is the best. Such a fun guy.
Review Source:This is by far one of the best restaurants I have been to in Malibu. It was my first time going yesterday and my friends and I had a blast. The location of the place is great we had the view of the ocean while we we're eating. We had tuna for appetizers and shrimp pasta for dinner. This place is definitely a five star restaurant, my friends and I will come back and also recommend.
Review Source:You can't beat the view and ambience here. It's perfection and you should linger for a long time whether in the restaurant (get a table next to the window) or in the blue lounge. I think Sundays are the best days to go. The vibe happening in the lounge is some of the best people watching in LA.
They make a good cocktail, have a sold wine list and the service has always been good. However, I tend not to come for the food, which I find mostly fair and not worth the prices they charge.
Also an excellent place to bring people from out of town.
Incredible! Â This was my first visit to Moonshadows and now I understand why my friends Mark and Sandra are regulars. Â We sat outside in one of the cabana's, in the middle of the buzz, the oceans waves were crashing just on the other side of the railing. Â It was gorgeous!
I was thoroughly impressed with all staff from the parking attendants, to the hostess, wait staff, etc.! Â The service was outstanding! Â We were celebrating so I drank a lot of champagne, but I remember the food well and it was phenomenal. Some of the items we eat were Spicy Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Tartar, Homemade Dungeness Crab Cake, Ripe Red D'Anjou Pear Salad, Â California Style Bouillabaisse along, Pumpkin Tortellini along with a few other absolutely incredible dishes.
I highly recommend this restaurant. Â It does not matter where you sit, you will have a beautiful ocean view and receive incredible service. Â The owner buzzes about and makes sure that all his guests are taken care of! Â
Bon Appetite!
Beautiful view, and pretty good food . . .
But, I've been twice and the second time I had some of the WORST service I've ever experienced, and when I mentioned it to another server they just kind of blew it off. Â Needless to say, I won't be back.
You can find a perfectly good view and good food elsewhere in Malibu without the attitude.
Overall: Â Great location, hit-or-miss food, OK drinks, crowded bar, needs renovation badly.
Food - Don't go here for an amazing meal. Â It's likely to be decent, though; it's not tourist-trap awful. Â They have good scallops, which is kind of the minimum test, if you screw up scallops it's a sin.
 The server recommended the octopus which was just okay, not bad and rubbery, but overcooked and dry. Salmon was good - crispy -but the filet mignon was way overcooked, rare/medium rare came out past medium well.  How often do I not want to finish a filet? This and the octopus suggested some people in the kitchen lack some basic skills, so don't get your hopes up.  We ordered 2 apps and 2 meals and that gave us good odds, 2.5 hit.  (Octopus was half good.)
 On the other hand, the desserts were quite delicious. Â
Drinks - Not a cocktail snob's bar (is there one in Malibu?) but they have some interesting girly drinks like the Key Lime. Kind of what you'd expect, if you're not picky, it'll do and the setting is worthwhile.
Service - Service was decent despite how packed it is. Â Server had a great attitude. Â I could see it being slow, it's so packed.
Setting - The proximity to the ocean can't be denied - you're right over it; only the Carbon Beach Club gets closer and that's a very different scene. Â It's in serious need of renovation, the booths and decor inside are aged and there's a hint of sea-must (and I mean mildew). Â It's carpeted with a lot of fixed booths - not a good high-humidity design. Â I wish the main windows opened, but there is generally good ventilation through it.
 Now, out on the deck in the bar area, it's nice, a good beach deck with cabanas and lounges.
 Also, there is a really cool little deck where you eat sitting up at a "bar", but the other side of the bar is just the ocean, and there's no glass between you.  Looks like a nice experience if it's not too cold or breezy.
Scene - Packed with a wide cast of characters. This seems to be the place to drink in the 'Bu. Â As you might expect, it's not exactly a hipster place, and the crowd drifts slightly to the older side...hey, it's Malibu. Â You will find kids in the restaurant as well. I can only describe it as the kind of wide cross section you find at the beach in general.
Came here for the first time with my gf & her cousin today, 5/26/13, for lunch and had a great time. Food was fantastic. I had the Scottish salmon, gf had the steak and eggs and her cousin had the swordfish, which was very, very good.
We sat on the patio. Beautiful weather made the experience that much better. Service was good, but hostess wasn't.
Overall: A-
It's busy today but its so pretty outside one can understand.
I came here with a BFF Saturday and it was a gorgeous day. So nice that it was packed inside and outside this restaurant; plenty of large (5+) parties. That said, I thoguht the restaurant location and ambiance was 5 stars. The food and service was more like 3. Service was slow even when the place emptied out. The food was okay. Admittedly the calamari was very, very good and fresh. The "special" salad had sold out just ebfore I was ready to order it. So I got a "shrimp Louie" type salad. It was good but I wasnt overly impressed.
My BFF had the same and I think I can say he felt the same way. We hung out at the patio for a while after to take in the sun and surf which ended my day here nicely. I would go back for sure but not for the food so much. I'd hang out on the patio, have drinks and eat apps. Ill be a happy-er camper then.
YO!
IF YOU'RE THE BARTENDER AT MOONSHADOWS, YOU NEED TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND FOCUS ON BARTENDING! YOU WORK IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY, AND YOU SHOULD SERVE US AND NOT INSULT YOUR CUSTOMERS!
Allow me to give you the scenario. My girlfriend and I had dinner at the bar, while our roommate arrive earlier than us. He was having a discussion with some girls by the bar, so instead of bugging him, we decided to leave him alone and let him finish his discussion. My roommate swung by a few minutes later to say 'hi', then resumed his conversations with some nice girls he randomly met there.
Low and behold, the bartender comes to us and say, "Hey is that dude bothering you?' We said, 'No why?'
He continues and says, 'Well if he's bothering you, I can ask him to leave. He's been hitting on every girl in here,'
I said, "What's wrong with that?'
He says, 'Well he's annoying everyone at the bar,'
We didn't say anything else. My roommate comes back and told us that the girls he just met bought him 2 drinks and was having a wonderful time at Moonshadows.
Please keep your comments you yourself Mr. G.ED. BARTENDER! There's no way you can be servicing everyone around you and keep your eye on my roommate. You're wrong about him, and if you really paying attention, you would have figured out that the girls bought him a drink. Â People like this ruined the evening of a wonderful beachside restaurant.
I'm giving this a 2 star resturant because I loved the seared scallops there. But the bartender was a douch bag and should be fired.
We will not be returning when Geoffrey's is 10 times better than this place!
Prime location, an amazing meal, and excellent service ...sure, I'll give Moonshadows five stars for that.
Of course the best reason to come here is for the view, which is unparalleled. Whether you're in the main dining area or in the Blue Lounge on the patio, you'll get a breathtaking ocean view. It kind of makes up for the fact that you're paying an arm and a leg to eat here, but I consider this a special occasion place anyway so you just have to budget for it.
I came here for dinner with three others, and all of us left having enjoyed our meals immensely. We split the duck spring rolls as an appetizer, and for an entree I got the pumpkin tortelloni in a sage butter sauce. These were both solid moves, and I was able to taste a bit of the short ribs and they were very good as well. I paired my dish with a glass of Riesling, which made for a very sweet dinner, and I was in heaven. Our server was friendly and prompt, and the entire experience was wonderful from start to finish.
I'm not sure if I was just on an off night but I read the reviews first before going here and was slightly disappointed.
So I valet, walked in and held the door for some ladies coming out...they did not say thank you..ok...anyway the receptionist had a strange fishnet type hat on her head and was greeting everyone but me so I decided to just eat at the bar since I am alone anyway.
The bartender took a while to come over I finally ordered a glass of wine and asked for the menu he gave it to me and the menu said a lb of crab legs which I ordered. They were delivered cut and cold, The menu did not mention this is how they would be served. is . I told the bartender I was not interested he was helpful in taking them back and I left...very strange experience the restaurant was dark and did not look that clean the best part was the view of the ocean
I would not go back
Great little restaurant right off the PCH! :) Recommend sitting outside because it has an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean!
Upscale cuisines and pretty pricey overall so I recommend coming for lunch! Great food and I loved the CLAM CHOWDER, TUNA TARTAR and desserts!
MENU: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.moonshadowsmalibu.com%2Fmenu%2Fdessert&s=ce71acac39ec6795da25a92d2022701ec93344d5996b36af9bdd44c46bab6bf5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.moonshadowsma…</a>
P.S. Valet Parking is available b/c parking is limited
Its very nice location, however, my medium rare ribeye was overcooked by a long shot and they took it back and gave me another piece of meat that was equally as tough. Â Bread and potatos were burned and the Riesling was like water. Â For $120 for two people I expected more. Â
My friend did enjoy her surf and turf and was pleased with it all. Â
Wouldn't go back unless I had a coupon
Cute little place! I was carted here on a date after we struck out at The Bazaar at the SLS Bev Hills (we had dinner there, we both weren't super into it so we moved on.) I basically just ate what dude-face ordered, which consisted of:
-Iced Oysters (which were really good, very fresh tasting)
-Scallops (pretty good, but a little too much going on in the flavor department.)
-The most awesome and copious amounts of Cucumber Martinis ever (I think most of my dietary intake for the day was from these martinis.)
Cool, pretty place! I'd love to come back and try more.
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