Manta Rey Restaurant — Restaurant in Cambria

A Peaceful Dining Experience at Manta ray in San Simeon!

On our anniversary trip, we were on our way to Hearst Castle we decided to stay one night in San Simeon. We weren’t really looking for anything in particular. We just wanted to see the elephant seals, and made an early tour in the morning in Hearst Castle.

We stayed at the Sea Breeze Inn, a nice hotel in San Simeon, and then wanted to find somewhere nearby to eat within walking distance. We crossed the street, there isn’t much traffic, and after about four minutes walking, we arrived at a restaurant Manta ray.

We were welcomed by our waiter, Oscar, a very kind man, who showed us to a table. We started by ordering fried calamari, which came with a couple of sauces. We were served fresh water with ice, along with a glass of wine for me and a beer for my husband. I ordered a Zinfandel (about $13, though I don’t remember the name), and my husband ordered a beer. After the calamari, we shared a clam chowder bread bowl. It was delicious, with warm fresh bread and great flavor.

Later, we ordered a house Pinot Noir, one of the affordable options. Oscar, our waiter, was respectful, attentive, and very polite. But then the restaurant filled up quickly, a group of 15 came in, then a couple, then another group of four, then two, then another eight people. Suddenly, the restaurant was full.

I was surprised at how popular the place was, the service and the food were great. But they are short-staffed. If you come here, remember this: • Sit down and calm down. • If you’re in a hurry, this is not your place. • If you’re coming with kids, this might not be your place either.

This is a peaceful restaurant, a local spot where you can enjoy the experience with kind people. Oscar was extremely hardworking. He was cleaning tables, bussing dishes, taking orders, making drinks, serving wine, delivering food, refilling water, and even bringing bread, all at the same time. He was essentially running the entire dining area by himself on a Saturday night rush, while just a couple of cooks worked in the kitchen. In less than 30 minutes, around 25 people came in, and the restaurant can probably hold about 30 in total. Oscar and the cooks did an amazing job doing everything they could to provide good service and tasty food.

If you come here expecting fast, five-star service in five minutes because you’re starving, then go somewhere else and pay the extra price. But if you want to relax, have a bottle of wine, order appetizers, and enjoy the atmosphere, this is the perfect place.

We stayed from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., enjoying every moment. We had the fried calamari, then clam chowder, then a cioppino, along with battle of wine, beer, and water. The music was relaxing, the atmosphere was peaceful, and the people, locals and travelers, were friendly, kind, and smiling.

Please, don’t write a bad review here just because you came from the city expecting to be treated like someone “special.” The special ones are the local people working hard to make your evening better. Be patient, be respectful with the staff, and you’ll have a great experience.

For us, it was a memorable anniversary dinner, and we are thankful to Oscar, our waiter, as well as the chefs and staff who made our night special. If I ever return to San Simeon, I will definitely come back to Manta...

Food was WONDERFUL, especially if you consider the restaurant is located in a hotel. Great choices, affordable prices for the quality you have.

Why only 1 star? Because the service was AWFUL. And they did a FRAUD (tentative). Honestly, I never complain about service, but it was the worst service I had ever. If bosses read this : our waitress was tall, blond hair, large shoulders.

She was nice with a group of customers, but we had 0 service (we were 2). No water refill, not asking for pepper, didn't ask if it was good, we had to make big signs to have another basket of bread, never ask if a wanted another drink. Minimal service, no smiles. And we are easy-going.

Our bill was 55.53. The service was so bad I gave her 3$ tip. I felt bad for her because usually I give 15-20% tip depending on quality, but as she didn't deserve any tip at all, I thought it was still generous.

I paid with my credit card, and you add the tip by hand, not the terminal. I've kept a copy of the bill with the amount I gave (because I was afraid of a fraud, only 3$ tip...). I've checked today, and OH MY GAWD they charged me 3$ more!

I've contested it and I had a refund, but I hope the owner of the place (and/or the supervisor of this waitress) will be aware of this fraud tentative and the bad service she gives. Maybe because we have an accent in English? But still, it's bad service. I have an accent in all the almost 30 restaurants we have visited in our USA trip. But come on, your restaurant is in a hotel, you should be used with strangers.

The worst service I ever had (+ combined with FRAUD). Go there only if you pay cash. Because food was...

We came from Morro Bay for a two day vacation. Our hotel was in San Simeon, when we arrived we were very hungry. We looked at all of the restaurants near by and and this restaurant seemed the nicest. When we entered it was decorated for Valentine's Day but was very busy. We asked one of the waiters how long the wait would be and they said half an hour. So we made reservations and went back to our hotel to settle in. A little more than half an hour later, we arrived and had to wait in line for another 30 minutes. At this point we are starting to get hungry and regretting coming here. Finally, the waitress seated us and we ordered. People behind us got their food faster than us. When the food came everyone was unhappy. The fish was over-cooked, the Alfredo pasta had no Alfredo sauce, the ravioli was drowning in sauce, and when the ribs came they were under cooked so they kindly offered to take them back to the kitchen to cook them. They came back with my meat by the time everyone else in my party was done eating and the meat was still under cooked. In addition, in the description of the ribs it said there would be garlic mashed potatoes and there were none so we asked the waiter about them and they said they ran out of potatoes so they couldn't give us any but they said they would make a new batch for us. When they came they were undercooked and had too much garlic. Overall, the service is very friendly but the food and wait was not worth the amount of...