The Reef on the Water — Attraction in Long Beach

Really nice place with great service and I thought a friendly staff. Food was well done but I did not particularly like the flavors or combinations. Read below for details but I would review the menu closely before going as I think you need specific tastes to appreciate Reef For a drink I tried the Penicillin which is scotch based. Scotch is pretty hard to do right in a mixed drink and this was no exception. While I wouldn’t call the drink bad, it tasted similar to brown/ yellow Listerine mouthwash. I have nightmares about that stuff from my childhood, so I really couldn’t take more than a sip before I discarded it. It would have been a real challenge to actually drink. Sucks to waste $13 on a cocktail, but that’s on me for being adventurous. Should have just got a Jack and Coke or Crown and Ginger. My partner liked their lemon drop a lot! Before the meal they give you some bread, and this along with the menu should have thrown up some red flags. Half the bread was some kind of nutty raisin bread which my partner and I can’t stand. They did have good pesto sauce, but I wish we’d gotten more regular bread. Turning to the menu I saw more of the same eclectic flavors. Lots of pineapple and coconut flavors, both of which I don’t like, so my choices for food were limited. Once we ordered it was 45 minutes before our food came out. Prime time I understand, but this was a wednesday at 8:45 pm and we were the ONLY people in the place that had an order in. One couple just left and another family just arrived. That’s a hell of a long wait. For the main course I got the seafood collage. I think I was expecting something more refreshing and light, and maybe I misunderstood the meaning of white wine sauce. What I got was a pasta dish with a heavy wine cream( texture no idea if they used cream) sauce. It came with half a lobster tail, 3-4 large scallops, 4-5 shrimp, and some cooked salmon. The lobster and scallops were good, the shirmp was okay but unpeeled when I got it, so I kinda made a mess trying to get the shells off in all that cream sauce. I ate 2 and gave up on the rest. The salmon had a weird flavor to it, so I didn’t eat that. The cream sauce was VERY rich, but not my taste, so I left the dish mostly untouched. Ultimately I was disappointed with my meal but I don’t hold it against the restaurant, which is rare for me. They have a very specific niche and you need to check it out before so you don’t wind up paying $150 for food you dont like and just throw away. I wouldn’t go again but if you check the menu and like those kinds of flavors you’ll...

Magnificent! I love this restaurant. Its location is excellent. Its right on the water (ocean) in Long Beach. I always take advantage of the valet parking. But the parking appears to be extremely packed Every time I go there. The entrance and parking lot are very clean and well-kept. And the grounds or the lot that the restaurant is on is well-manicured and has beautiful Greenery. the entrance has tiki torches and a fireplace right at the door. The entrance is Grand, with real oak wood paneling on the walls and beautiful ceramic flooring. You provide the hostess with the number of people in your party and wait to be seated. The wait is usually not long. Since we asked for a booth, our way is probably longer then if we had just taken any available seating. but it's definitely worth the wait because the view from the booth seeding is absolutely beautiful. The restaurant is extremely clean. Nothing is out of place and everything is arranged and decorated with every detail taken into account. Our waiter was nice, polite and professional. I ordered a cocktail before dinner and never received it which was a disappointment but the rest of the meal made up for it. I ordered the lobster bisque and a fish dish that has a seafood sauce over rice pilaf. It was delectable. the feel and the ambience of this restaurant is so incredible. It's the perfect place for a romantic evening. And on the other side and Upper Floor, it's perfect for large family events. They have a large open bar that provides just about any alcoholic beverage that you can think of. The restrooms are neat and clean as well as very well decorated. The Reef is just a fabulous restaurant. I recommend it to any and everyone. I'm sure that you will absolutely love it just as I do and always have. Many consider them to be a bit pricey but I feel that their prices are well within range for a five star restaurant. On Sundays they have an exquisite champagne brunch. All the dishes served on Sunday are what I consider to be Gourmet. At least that goes for the dishes you would eat for lunch and dinner. They also serve breakfast foods, mini foods that you would consider lunch and dishes that you would normally eat for dinner. They have dishes such as Lobster Newburg, steamed crab legs, eggs benedict, several different types of Breads and rolls, desserts, juices, and even ice cream. They're five stars are definitely...

Our niece celebrated her Quince at The Reef on 10/21/2023 in the Pacific Ballroom. My comadre spent a pretty penny booking this establishment, after I advised her not to due to previous bad experiences there as a guest of other parties.

The service staff at The Reef were all so very rude. Rolling eyes and letting out loud sighs when asked for something so simple as water refills. Then she walked away as we all sat there in disbelief. Upon sending in the RSVP cards, all guests provided the type of dish to be served. Chicken or Beef and that selection was also on the place cards. Guests were given the wrong items but ate it anyway to avoid complaining to the host, my comadre. When the servers came to our side, of course the bulk of guests were all given chicken and the beef was all gone. Again, we didn't want to complain to our host and ruin her daughters special event. At our table a guest asked about the meat not being what she RSVP'd for and the server slammed the plate down and said WE'RE OUT OF BEEF! When the servers removed the dishes selection cards from the table, they were being snatched and the card holder being tossed back onto the table.

This was by far the worst treatment myself and others have received at an event that was once a very prestigious location. When we entered the venue, there had been many upgrades to the hall and lobby area, so I was expecting improvement from the bad experiences in the past.

To put an end to the evening, we headed to our car to find our compadres truck window smashed in (parked next to us). The Reef has ZERO security and according to the venues Captain, no cameras. An added point, if you do have an event here, have someone posted at the door! Random people were wandering into the hall and they were guests from other parties in other rooms.

If you are going to spend a small fortune to host a special event, so it elsewhere because The Reef is awful. I only gave this 1 star because I...