Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Cambria

Chose this restaurant because I thought my Fiancé and I could enjoy a nice Valentine's Day lunch with the view of the ocean. Arrived here for lunch as they were not taking reservations, it's first come first serve basis. We were advised that the wait time was 1 hour and there were a lot of people waiting around already and a lot of cars parked on each sides of the street because they closed off their parking area. We decided to stick around because the other restaurant nearby opened at 5 p.m. Sitting or standing around for even 30 mins gets cold because you're by the water. Well, the 1 hour wait time turned into 2.5 hours. I was really annoyed because they misinformed us on the wait time, I was already starving by then and super cold!! When we were FINALLY seated, they had menu placed underneath the glass tables and we thought we could order from there. When our waiter finally came and we told him what we wanted to order, we were advised that the menu we were looking at is used any other days than that day. We were like, WHAT??!? Our thought process was, Why would they withhold a better menu selection on a special Valentine's Day weekend?? Didn't make sense, especially after waiting for nearly 3 hours just to be seated, and come to find out you're selection for food is so very limited, it's mainly just homemade burgers or sandwiches. I say this because there was nothing special on their food - the selection or nor the taste. So disappointing!! And they're food is quite pricey, not because it's good, but because you're by the water. To be honest, when you're sitting down, you could really barely see the water because the view and setup of the restaurant isn't all that great. I ordered clam chowder and the bag of biscuit given to me was already opened. I kept looking for our waiter to have the biscuit replace right away because I didn't want my soup to get cold by the time he comes around, but he was nowhere to be found. So I asked the waitress next to us serving the other tables. She rudely said, with her tone of voice, I'll get your waiter and walked away. She said this like she didn't work for the same restaurant, no apology, no "Oh I'm sorry, we'll get that replaced for you." RUDE! First time visiting Pismo Beach area from SoCal and only at this restaurant where we had a horrible experience. We will NEVER return here again. We'll take my money elsewhere where we are...

Perhaps it was COVID, which negatively impacted this restaurant, overlooking beautiful Moonstone Beach, in Cambria, CA, but I've noticed the menu choices have slipped slightly, & the bar wine choices have definitely gone downhill at Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill, the past couple years.

Dropped from the menu at least 2 years ago, was my favorite Lunch Item, Fried Oysters, which came with french fries. These Large oysters were fried to a golden brown, & they provided a ketchup sauce to dip them in, as well as lemon wedges to squeeze on these ridiculously crisp & flavorful seafood bites. My grandmother used to make amazing fried oysters, & you just can't find them anywhere, so I was bummed by news of this. The lunch menu looks a bit simpler, with several kinds of seafood tacos & basic seafood & Bar-Type food here.

Its takes approximately 45 minutes, to drive from Cambria to Paso Robles, where they grow some most excellent wine grapes, with my fave being the Paso Cabernet Sauvignon wines from this region. For this reason, Moonstone B & G should stock at least 5 to 6 of the better Paso Cabs. Last time we were here, they only stocked 2 Paso Cabs to pick from. I like Justin Cabernet, J. Lohr Cabernet, Robert Hall Cabernet, Vina Robles Cabernet, Liberty School Cabernet & Austin Hope Cab, just to name a few.

Years back, my wife enjoyed a Liberty School Cabernet, of recent vintage, but they've eliminated this tasty Paso Cab from their wine menu.

I recommend dining outdoors, on their large gorgeous patio, shielded from the wind, by a plexi-glass surround.

Check it out, should the weather be nice, when you arrive here, as it's got a killer view of the beach, from this patio. Be aware of these small, shiny black birds, that will greedily steal your food outside, should you abandon your table for even a second!

With a few minor tweaks, Moonstone Bar & Grill, could help themselves appeal to a more varied clientele. My wife & I usually dine here regularly, when we...

I want to begin by saying that Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill has been our family’s favorite spot for years. The food is delicious, the drinks are excellent, and the servers are always friendly and helpful. However, today's experience was so unbelievable that I felt compelled to leave a review, which I don’t usually do.

I went with my husband, our four-year-old, my parents, and my sister. We were enjoying our meal and conversation when a woman at a nearby table approached me with a condescending tone, asking us to lower the volume of our son’s tablet so they could enjoy their lunch. I should mention that we were seated outside on the patio, which was full and quite noisy. It was hard to believe that our son’s cartoons were significantly affecting their experience. I told her that her request was unreasonable and suggested they ask to be moved if it bothered them. If you're sensitive to noise, perhaps dining at home would be a better choice.

Her husband then complained to the management, after they had already complained to a server. The server offered to move them to another table, but that wasn’t satisfactory for them. The manager came out and, shockingly, threatened to call the sheriff's department if we didn’t lower the tablet’s volume or leave. To be clear, the tablet was at a reasonable volume; they were reacting as if we were blasting cartoons over loudspeakers. I felt disrespected and humiliated.

Upon reflection, I believe this situation was fueled by discrimination and racism. We were simply enjoying our meal, laughing, and speaking in Spanish. It seemed we were viewed as "loud Mexicans" who didn’t belong at a charming beachside grill. I am deeply shocked by this treatment and harassment and will...