Our party of four went on a Groupon prix fixe menu deal. Â We normally don't use Groupon and I was a little nervous after reading reviewers of many restaurants complain about "special" treatment under Groupons. Â I often wonder if Groupers are treated different, and if they earn it as picky tight wads looking for large portions rather than flavor development.
Upon arrival and presenting our Groupon on a busy Friday evening we were immediately seated at a quality table and provided excellent service. There were two minor missteps that tend to be the norm. Â While the rest of our party enjoyed wine I requested water with a lemon. Staff are generally attentive to bar beverages but more than half the time they do not bring my drink with lemon. Â Note to servers - 18% without lemon, 20%+ with lemon. Â They also cleared appetizer plates setting aside the silver for reuse. Â I consider this all to common practice to be coffee shop service. Â
We each ordered different appetizers and entrées and they were all very good. My pumpkin ravioli appetizer had a very nice flavorful sauce. The ribeye with a butter sauce was flavorful and nicely prepared.  Others in our party enjoyed the salmon, chicken and sole with positive impressions.  The potatoes and vegetables were fine but nothing special.  Deserts were good but basic. Investment in an espresso machine would be an improvement.
Overall it was a good experience.
We ate at The Shore with a groupon coupon. Was not sure what would get with a fixed menu but it was excellent. So if the fixed menu is good so must be the regular menu,
Beat Salad - excellent, and I am not ususally a beat lover, Callamari with Shrimp mixed in - very good , it was fried but tasty. Main course were the Salamon - cooked perfectly and with some very tasty side dishes. I had the panko crusted fish ( not sure of the type ) but it was so good. Deserts were the Hot Fudget Sundae and Fresh Strawberries...great way to end a meal. the only thing we would have done differently is eat dinner a little later because they have live music starting @ 9;30,
Dinner at the Shore is a must especially when you don't want to wait 1 1/2 hour down the street- Â Enjoy!
Always a good experience at The Shore! The staff is always friendly and helpful and i crave there food! The burgers are to die for! The filet scewers and garlic shrimp are also a good choice, off there app menu. On Friday and Sat nights they have bands that play that are usually pretty decent! Overall this is a great local gem in the heart of San Clemente!
Review Source:We live in Fullerton and were in the area found a groupon for 40$ for a 3 course meal for 2 people so we decided to give it a shot. Â Well they give you a small menu and you get to choose from 3 appetizers 4 courses and 3 deserts. Â At first i was a little worried that the food was not going to be good and that because it is a groupon we would end up getting lesser quality food. We chose the pumpkin ravioli, and calamari appetizer both were very good. Â I had the Rib Eye and my girlfriend had the Salmon both were amazing. Â Then for desert We both had hot fudge sundae which was very good for the price we had a great experience. Â If I am ever in the area again I will definitely come back.
Review Source:Been here a few times. A hidden gem in SC. Â Very creative chef brings a great attention to detail. I like the food here much more than Nicks down the street. Service has been spotty but when I mentioned it the mgr jumped in and took care of us. Â I like the use of fresh herbs and other seasonal ingredients, which make it one of my favorite places for a flavorful creative meal in SC.
Review Source:Was here 2 nights ago after waiting forever at another restaurant. We wandered by and peaked inside to see what it was like. It looked elegant inside and they had a friendly vibe. Menu looked great with a wide variety of selections so we passed on the the restaurant we were waiting for and decided to try this place. We sat in a small comfortable booth and promptly greeted. The food was great, the atmosphere nice and the service friendly. We will be back!
Review Source:Love their happy hour selection of foods. Â The homemade potato chips and dip are amazing, and you have to get another order of chips to finish it (only $1!!) Â My husband enjoys the variety on the menu, but I can not go there without getting the Bella Chicken Salad... it is AMAZING!! Â I've tried to order something else, but just can't...! Â Our teen girls enjoy coming here with us too, and always come away happy, which makes me happy!
Review Source:My husband & I went here for a date night. I was slightly skeptical as we had been to the restaurant that was there prior and it was run down and food was terrible. The inside is very modern and sleek. Service and food was nothing short of amazing. My husband ordered the braised Guinness short ribs, they were so tender that they fell off the bone with a touch of a fork. I ordered the Mediterranean Chicken, which was perfectly balanced and seasoned to perfection! We will delightfully return!
Review Source:We went around 4:00 in the afternoon. Â Walked in and stood by the door to be seated, and when nobody greeted us we just went to sit at a table. Â There was only a drink menu on the table, so we waited for a few minutes. Â Finally the bartender walked by, looked right at us and we said we didn't have menus she got an expression like we were talking into a foreign language to her, turned around and stared at "the game" on the TV, then wandered back to the bar. Â
After a few minutes more, I went and got a menu from the empty hostess station at the front door. Â There was only one waitress on the floor and several tables and the bartender pretended not to pay attention that the waitress could have used some help. Â
When the waitress finally did make it to our table, we were told that we had a dinner menu and not a lunch menu. Â I tried to order a burger from said menu, but was told that the kitchen could only make a "Lunch Burger", the Burger I wanted was apparently a "Dinner Burger" and the kitchen was not prepped to make said burger. Â The first place I had ever been where there were certain burgers are only made during certain times of day. Â Really, how hard is it to make a burger? Â After being told we could only have the lunch burger, we decided to leave and go to another establishment. Â
I don't blame the waitress, she seemed like she was really trying. Â I do blame the other employees for not helping out the poor waitress, and the apparent lack of good management. Â There was just a vibe there that most of the employees did not really care all that much, and it's really not a good idea to have your food prepared and served by people that aren't managed very well.
There are many good choices in San Clemente, unless this place gets it's act together, it won't last very long. This place needs Good management, Caring engaged employees, and if you're going to server a burger, serve it all day. Â Lunch and Dinner Entrees, OK, but lunch and dinner burgers?
We came down to the Shore to celebrate my dog's bday. Of course, we bough him a S'MORES treat from Three Dog Bakery down the street, but still... it was a joyous occasion nonetheless. My wife and I ordered the Fried Mac n' Cheese balls, the steak skewers, and the fried chicken.. all tapas style. It was all ridiculously tasty! The staff was very friendly and attentive as well. We would definitely come back and recommend this place.
Review Source:As far as the food goes, I cannot comment much on how good the food was because I never had a chance to try it. My boyfriend and I came in a few days ago and order a glass of pinot grigio, filet skewers, fried mac n cheese, and turkey meatballs. I took one sip of my wine and went for a bite of the filet skewers, which were over cooked and very tough and chewy. That was the last I got to try of the food or drinks, because I had choked on the steak and spent the rest of the time in the bathroom. We ended up having to rush out of there because I couldn't even drink water, the steak stayed stuck in my throat for about an hour.
While I was in the restroom, my boyfriend had asked for the check with full plates of food in front of him. The manager asked if everything was ok, and he said he had to leave because I was choking on the skewers because they were over cooked. She then stated they were supposed to be that way, and dropped the check at the full amount. She did offer us a to go box, but honestly I could not swollow anything and the last thing my boyfriend wanted to do was take home the food I choked on. We just paid the tab and left without consuming any of the food or drinks in front of us. I'm sorry, but I work in management for a very large restaurant group, and if one of my customers choked on my food and then was unable to finish their meal because they had to rush out with steak in their throat, I would handle that situation much differently so not only would they not have to worry about their uneaten meal, but come back. Besides the clueless manager that was working on Sunday afternoon, the staff was really friendly, and the hostess was nice enough to offer me water when she ran into me in the bathroom (even though I couldn't drink it).
Great tacos at an excellent price on Taco Tuesdays. Excellent banana cream pie as well for dessert. More of a place for middle-aged divorcees to go to though on the weekends...so not the most friendly place to eat with a family. Pricing of food is a bit steeper than surrounding establishments (excluding NICKS of course.)
Worth checking out to see if it floats your boat or want to hit on a recently divorced cougar.
My husband and I took my sister here for a casual birthday dinner. We went based on the reviews and had dinner in the back bar area.
The food was good and the small plates were actually large portions. The fish and chips entree was especially delicious but best of all was the bartender! I don't remember his name, but he was very entertaining and had a great dry sense of humor. He actually made it the best birthday dinner ever and is responsible for my new nickname "bumpy shirt" and my sister's new nickname "halibut."
The bar is nothing fancy and the tables are sticky, but the entertainment value is totally worth it!
Horrible service. We sat at the front for 10 min before they even acknowledged us. Finally got seated and then sat around as all the servers ignored us. No wonder this place was empty. Oh wait there was a geriatric couple that has nothing better to do than sit around in a restaurant that even looked pissed off. I think every employee in the place looked at us at one point and just ignored us. Left to go to Nicks down the street to get an awesome meal and excellent service. Worth the wait. Â Good thing the Shore ignored me so I could get a real meal. Cheers. Â If I could write a review with zero stars I would.
Review Source:I loved this place! Randomly picked out this restaurant as a meet-in-the-middle between Oceanside and Irvine. I loved the happy hour specials. I had a 3-taco plate w/ rice & beans, a margarita and shared an order of guacamole. My only complaint about the food is I wished the guac was colder. It was room temp and not as refreshing as I'm used to. The margarita was nice and strong. The fish tacos were tastey! Not sure the identify of the sauce used, but had a nice cheese flavor to it as well. The staff was super friendly too. If I'm ever in the area, I will go back there again.
Review Source:The Shore is a great place for dinner and a super place to just hang out. The atmosphere is casual and on the week ends there is usually  some great entertainment. I have had the Pot Roast, but our favorite is the Tres Tacos.
Aside from the food and drink, the best part of The Shore is warm and welcoming feeling given by the bartenders Angie and Amy. Every time we we walk in the Shore they always make us feel welcome and never let our glass get empty.
It is this friendly attitude and service that makes us keep coming back to The Shore time after time. They are the best bartenders in San Clemente!
Ok, so we went there hoping to enjoy a nice meal with my favorite beverage, but this is another restaurant that seems to think they're too hoity-toity to serve a rose wine....look, rose wine is simply a lighter pressing of a red grape...what's the big deal? Â You have a full bar and you serve light beer, so what the heck?
We were greeted promptly by a friendly host. Â Unfortunately, as is often the case when a restaurant is not busy, the service was not good. Â The server spent most of her time in a back room, did not bring any sweetener with the iced tea and seemed surprised that we asked for it. (none on the table.) Â It took at least 30 minutes to get our entrees and then I had to eat with my fingers. The fork with my salad disappeared when it was cleared and a new fork was never brought....guess she figured I didn't need a fork for fish and chips?
This server obviously wanted to be somewhere else and doesn't have a clue about customer service. Â Too bad, too, because the food was excellent. Â Even the tartar sauce and bleu cheese dressing were exceptional.
However, there's no reason to come back.
This is really more of a bar than a restaurant, with either drunk or hungover patrons.
Food: 4
Service: 1
Ambience: 1
Best tasting burger I've had in a long time. I don't mind spending 12 bucks on a burger if it worth it and I mean worth it. This burger was enjoyed with every bite. It was the Kobe beef burger and usually I don't get to excited about Kobe beef but this thing was damn good. They had a band in there playing Sublime music in the corner. Really nice modern look with a great bar.
Review Source:Food was OUTRAGEOUS. Â Had garbage fries and the cheesburger with yam fries. Â Best burger I have ever had. Â The Trash fries were out of this world. Â I thought my husband was going to have a coronary when he saw them coming! Â The only negative is the bartender kept screwing up my drink (Vodka & diet)
Review Source:The Shore is a great place for dinner.
You have to try the asparagus fries. Â I had a burger (fresh angus beef, delicious), my wife had the chicken (tender, juicy). Â There were so many items on the menu that looked so good....seems you can't make a bad deicision.
Ice cold beer on tap (seriously...there is ice that forms around their taps!), real good energy and ambiance....we are going back soon!
Went in here on a Sunday, and we were seated at a table near the bar. 8 minutes later, no one had come to take our order, and two bar seats opened up so we moved there. 10 minutes after that, the 2 bartenders STILL had not taken our order (or even looked at us). We finally flagged one down and she apologized and took a drink off the bill. I noticed a lot of the other patrons at the bar had empty glasses and were kept waiting.
Overall I did not like the "vibe" at this place. Crowded and slow service.
Came here for dinner with fiance and some friends. I had the turkey loaf, and it was amazing. It was topped with a lovely sauce. It came with a side of creamy mashed potatoes, spinach with butter and big chunks of garlic (awesome), and some squash (pumpkin?) I really enjoyed the whole thing, especially with some Stone IPA.
Fiance had the pulled pork sandwich and was less than impressed, unfortunately. I didn't taste it, but  I did have some of his french fries which I also enjoyed. Unfortunately we came too late, but they also have some reasonable happy hour deals. Service was good.
Given that The Cellar (another favorite San Clemente spot of mine) was packed, my boyfriend and I needed to find another place to eat. Â A quick 3 minute walk down Del Mar and we saw The Shore. Â They had a huge chalk wall, music playing, lots of people inside, so the place had promise.
On a Saturday night our table wait was a bit less than 5 minutes. Â The dinner menu was small but everything on there seemed like a winner. Â The BF had a kobe beef cheeseburger. Â The meat was tender, juicy, and just plain delicious. Â Not to mention the great shoestring fries and buttery bun. Â I had the seared Ahi sandwich. Â I wish I could have another one tonight. Â The bread was perfectly toasted and crunchy and that tuna..... .:::drool::: perfectly seasoned and seared just right. Â The standout was the wasabi mayo that packed a punch. Â Yam fries were a great compliment.
The Shore seemed like a great place to hang out. Â The back bar had loud music blaring and lots of people looking to make out where as the dining room was a bit more calm but still had great energy. Â I look forward to trying out some other things on the menu.
Ventured into The Shore on a Friday evening after waiting on the Thai place across the street to open up. Best thing I ended up doing that day!
It being our first time there, we did not know what to expect. Upon entering, the vibe was totally bar-like...Did we just walk into a bar? We definitely were not feeling bar food for dinner. But wait! Let's look at the menu. Yum. Yummy. Yummier! After glancing over the menu, we were quickly sold. The food looked fabulous. We soon learned the quality of the food was far from what most would consider bar food.
It took us a long time to decide on what to eat since everything on the menu looked so good. We finally went with the Little Big Macs to share. The Little Big Macs were very good. The shoestring fries that came with them were so addicting; it must have been the grease...but delicious nonetheless.
For our entree, we went with the Fish Special to split (the Little Big Macs and fries filled us up!). Without requesting, our amazing server brought us our meal on 2 separate plates, both perfectly executed and plated. Our dinner that night was out of this world. The seasoned delicate white fish, accompanied with the sweetness of the spaghetti squash (DROOL), garlic spinach and fluffy herb mashed potatoes was absolutely perfect.
The Shore, whatever you are, whatever it is that you want to be, whether it's a sports bar or a 5 star restaurant, continue putting out delicious food and top notch service. I will be coming back!
Heads up:
The Happy Hour menu is a bit misleading. It states that Draft Beers are $3. The only beer on Happy Hour at that price is Bud Light.
This place isn't a restaurant anymore, starting to look more like a bar that serves food. This restaurant started out with such promise, solid food, a great craft beer selection and good service. I have given it good reviews in the past. That said our last visit really solidified our view that this place is going backwards not progressing. The menu is solid, but I don't think has been changed since they opened. To be a consistent diner, you need to see some new dishes. The beer selection once very promising now looks very pedestrian, not an IPA or stout to be found. Food was still solid, but service on this visit was painfully slow, too many diners not enough waiters. Very loud with sound of the basketball game audible in the restaurant area? Sounds like a bar to me.
We are locals and you so want to have a go-to place near you, but this visit will be our last.
Sorry to say they did not live up to my expectations...We were a party of 8 and had reservations and we were seated in a make-shift "stage- like" area that was not suited well for 8 people. When I mentioned that we didn't have enough room and we had reservations I was told that other reservations for parties of 8 came in on the same day so this was the best they could do...Not good!
The service was not great. Â The restaurant was noisy and the food was just O.K. I won't go back.
We were in the area and wanted to hit up nicks but the wait was way too long for our large party. So we decided to go down to The shore instead. It's located right down the street from nicks at the corner of the street. It was pretty empty as we got seated immediately. The place has a very contemporary feel to it with all the dark colors and modern chairs/tables. All the waiters looked like Abercrombie models with their slick back hair and super tight black shirts. I guess it was good eye candy for the ladies. ;)
Anyhow we just made it in the nick of time for happy hour so our waiter let us put in our happy hour order immediately for last call. The food menu had your typical traditional American foods ranging from sandwiches to steaks. For appetizers we got the Edamame topped with sea salt, and the chips with ranch. You can't really go wrong with edamame, but the chips were pretty average. I was expecting a super thick Kettle chip kind of texture but instead these were abit on the thin side.
We also got the lil big macs with kobe beef served with a side of sweet potato fries. These were definitely pretty yummy and a good deal for $7 on the HH menu. The kobe beef was cooked perfectly tender with there own house "thousand island" sauce on a slider bun finished off with some chopped lettuce.
The Memphis Style pulled pork Sandwich: Homemade pulled pork, bbq sauce, topped with homemade cole slaw on a french bun, fresh hand cut fries was also very yummy. It was REALLY hot in temperature so definitely don't get burned by the burning hot juices dripping out like i did. :( The meat was perfectly grilled and seasoned with the sweet tangy bbq sauce. Although the slaw on the side was again abit dry and flavorless to me. It probably needed abit more of a creamier sauce. The thinly cut sweet potato fries were ok too.
The Trailer Park Fries: Fries topped with melted cheese topped with jalapeno bits, bacon bits, hot sauce and dollop of sour cream off the HH menu was definitely a big hit for our group. These fries had some KICK to them from the jalapeno and hot sauce. If you're shy or sensitive towards spicy foods i would definitely stay away from this one. Otherwise chow down on some delicious spicy fries!
Overall i would say the food is ok here. The atmosphere is ideal for  sitting around and chatting. They even have a awesome lounge in the backroom during nights. The servers are all pretty friendly, although they definitely were abit slow on the service. One of dishes didn't come out till just about everyone was done eating. But we packed it up togo and saved it for dinner so no biggie. I would probably still go to Nicks instead if i had a choice...
The first thing I can say about the shore is that the Location is Ideal. Â Its appx. a mile away from the ocean and has above average aesthetic appeal. Â
The food is definitely some of the best I have tasted in San Clemente. Â It is both healthy and delicious and reasonably priced. Â Its about 13 dollars a plate and you wont need anymore than that. Â
The wine selection is limited but they have delicious cocktails. although they will run you about 11$ a pop. Â Your better off drinking wine or beers. Â They show every NFL game on Sundays and also show every Laker game during Basketball season. Â Overall the shore is a moderately priced restaurant with five star taste and five star service.
Overall: A-
In addition to Nicks down the street a few steps, The Shore is one of the few great newcomers (or new-ish) to the San Clemente dining scene. Â Nicks has great food, a nice open dining room with patio seating, and a fun crowd/atmosphere.
I've been here twice so far, and plan to return for solid grub and good drink. Â The calamari appetizer is perfectly battered and fried, and comes with an amazing spicy mayo/aioli. Â The cedar plank salmon is perfectly cooked and flavorful, and the seasonal vegetables - which included a spaghetti squash with a little butter and brown sugar, was DELICIOUS. Â Decent wine list with great prices on by-the-glass and bottles.
Definitely add this to your list of places to try in SC.
One of my favorite places. The food is good and the service is great. After a few visits, though, the menu (lunch) gets kind of old, but at least they keep it simple, with maybe 10 items that are all full of flavor and prepared with care.
Been there for drinks in the evening and must say that the bartenders are very generous. The cocktails are yummy and will leave you loopy after just a few.
Haven't spent any time in the back bar area, but it's often full of lively conversation from happy patrons.
Stopped in today for lunch. Waited about 5 minutes for the hostess, we were seated promptly and she was really nice and moved us toward the back of the restaurant, away from the front door since its a rather chilly day, this was great until the door in the bar area kept getting opened, creating a wind tunnel effect, BURR.
I'll just say it, our food was fantastic, our service was so slow I couldn't believe it. Had we been hungry when we sat, we may have passed out by the time our food was delivered! We were moderately hungry when we sat so we were really appreciative when our food FINALLY arrived because we were starving by then.
Server was nice, just not attentive. I don't think she was the only one working the floor, but it sure seemed that way, it was literally 20 minutes before we got 2 glasses of water and a cup of hot tea, then it took another 5 minutes for the 'tea box' to be delivered. Once we ordered, it took an eternity to get our food. Mom had the 1/2 sand and soup (California chicken sandwich and potato leek soup. I had the California chicken sandwich with the side caesar salad. The food was delicious. Thankfully, the sandwiches and soup were warm and the salad was cold. I would have been peeved if the food hadn't been the right temp because it took WAAAAAAY too long to come out.
I requested a wine list, never got that. Dessert was not offered, no one acknowledged or thanked us on our way out. Service standards are terribly low from what I saw. (That's a big disappointment for me...)
The atmosphere is fantastic and again, the food was really good, the lack of service was just too noticeable to not drop a few stars.
If you are not in a hurry, try this place, it's cute, and yummy and I will try it again, hopefully they were just having an off day.
I hope it does well and sticks around because Nick's has been a disappointment to me twice.
I really like this place and I want to see it do amazing. Â Unfortunately our last visit wasn't up to par. Â :( Â
My lovely friend Stephy and I sat at the bar and our bartender was slammed almost the entire time. Â He was making drinks for the entire bar and had no bar back, so that is why I am going easy on this review. Â
I usually love the margaritas here, but the one I ordered was just not right. Â I got it replaced with a Snow Cone. Â I really loved the Snow Cone. Â It is basically a margarita with cilantro and muddled raspberries. Â I had three of them and did not feel a headache or icky. Â Good sign. Â I believe it is made with Peligroso Tequila. Â
My friend Stephy ordered the Pink Halo and all three times it didn't have a sugar rim....???? Â Hmmm....when I have ordered it in the past, it always did. Â I know it probably was an off day. Â But is still was kind of frustrating.
BUT Still a FAN!
The place is much nicer than its previous life. Â A lot more modern and the atmosphere's welcoming.
I ordered the pink halo martini since it was the "People's choice" drink - pretty stiff and tasted kinda like robitussin's :( Â So I ordered a raspberry lemon drop and guess what... they rimmed the glass with SALT instead of sugar. Â Fail - but the waitress was nice enough to take that off the bill. Â The waitress was very nice and friendly btw - good service :)
The food took awhile to get to the table but it was tolerable. Â I had the special of the day - blackened mahi mahi with sauteed spinach and spaghetti squash. Â The fish was done perfectly! Â The spaghetti squash was too sweet for me. Â Mr. S had the filet mignon, which was just so so.
Eating at The Shore is kind of like riding a roller-coaster at a traveling carnival. Sure, it looks fun and indulgent, but while you're there you feel like things could fall apart at any moment, there are more than a couple close calls, and at the end you leave somewhat dejected, thinking, I spent all that money on that?
"The Shore" is San Clemente's revamped "Shore House Cafe". It's been given a nice facelift in menu and decor, subsequently attracting tons of young people you would have also seen at Beachfire, Nick's, or El Ranchito.
Unfortunately, like many  a 'hot ticket with a new face', The Shore has a matching attitude to go with it that I did not appreciate. The hostess sat us down and forgot about us for literally 15 minutes. No water, drinks or food, or even a hello from our server. Rather than wait for the kitchen to close, I went up to ask the hostess if anyone was coming by, and I then had to point out our table to her. She apologized, and must have reamed out the server (whose fault it actually was, I can't say), who showed up at our table in a huff five minutes later. Though she mellowed out after her first line, the whole experience was really uncomfortable.
The drinks were just OK. Stay away from the mojito here, it was bland and lacked muddling, although the Thai Lemonade was delicious. Fresh bread and great cesar salad were the high points of the meal. Â My boyfriend's sandwich was comically small (smaller than Sun Dried Tomatoes). For $12, you should head over to Board & Brew instead and get 3 times as much food for that price. Food was served promptly and the TVs for game watching are better here than at Nick's, but I most likely won't come back here anytime soon.
There's a reason Nick's has an hour long wait on a regular basis: it's delicious, a good value, and the service is impeccable. The Shore could learn a thing or two from them.
Wow - what a makeover!
San Clememente now officially has its own spot for the beautiful people to gather (my invitation must have been lost in the mail). Drinks are strong, music is low enough to have a conversation, locals are getting caught up with one another and people are making new friends all over the place.
I didn't try the food, but the grilled cheeseburger with sweet potato fries next to me looked and smelled great! I look forward to sampling from the menu very soon.