Chart House — Restaurant in Dana Point

30+ Year Customer Lost - 4th of July Experience

TL;DR: Chart House lost a 30-year customer due to multiple issues on 4th of July, including parking, food, fireworks, and management. The support staff was not at fault.

The Long Version

I’ve been a loyal customer of Chart House Dana Point since childhood, celebrating countless special occasions there over 30+ years. However, after last night’s 4th of July experience, I may never return.

Overselling Venue Space

Chart House recently began selling exclusive dining experiences on their patio and terrace lawn, promising “private” fireworks viewing. While these events may be profitable, they negatively impact the rest of the restaurant. When making our reservation, we weren’t informed about the private event’s impact on access to areas like the terrace lawn.

Parking Issues

The additional seating for the event strained the already limited parking. Arriving 30 minutes early, we found no parking and had to park half a mile away at the Ocean Institute, arriving 15 minutes late for our reservation. The host staff was understanding and seated us within 10 minutes.

Slow Service

We expected slower service due to the event, but it was extremely slow. Seated at 7:40, we ordered dinner around 8:30, received plates around 9:15, and asked for dessert to-go at 10pm. Despite this, our waitress Heather was great, and our issues were not her fault. Additionally, the restaurant ran out of basics like bread and straws.

Fireworks Viewing and Management Attitude

The main reason we won’t return is the restricted access to the lawn for fireworks and the manager’s attitude. In past years, we accessed the terrace lawn without issue. This year, wristbands and ropes blocked the lawn. Our waitress mentioned a small unsold portion of the lawn, and we took our 5-year-old there. However, the manager immediately stopped us and others from viewing the fireworks. One patron, who spent over $1,000, loudly expressed his disapproval.

When my daughter returned in tears, I took her back out with the help of supportive staff. We watched the fireworks from unoccupied benches on the terrace lawn, while another patron confronted the manager again, voicing his dissatisfaction.

Final Thoughts

My daughter enjoyed the show, unaware of the adult commotion. To avoid losing more guests, Chart House should stop overselling the night or at least inform customers about restricted fireworks viewing unless they pay $150 per person for a VIP event.

I won’t be back and look forward to trying new restaurants at Dana...

I used to love this place. Now I won’t be coming back anytime soon. The service is some of the worst I’ve received in years, especially for a restaurant of this caliber.

I came on a Wednesday august 28th in the afternoon and there were no busboys. My table was dirty, and although our server was visibly busy, we never got serving plates. I actually had to stand up and get them myself from the bar area. Every time an appetizer came, they still never brought serving plates. Nobody cared to check or clean the table.

When I ordered the steak (the best one on the menu) and it came out cold. I asked the server to verify, and he agreed. He took it back, then the manager came out with another steak and simply said, “This one is hot,” as if that solved the issue. No apology, no acknowledgment. I had to stop him and explain the situation. I refused the steak and ordered the swordfish instead. They comped my dessert, but the bad taste (literally and figuratively) was still there.

Fast forward to today September 1st. I ordered food to go. When I went to pay at the front desk, they sent me to the kitchen. My wife and I were left standing there while servers passed by without acknowledging us. Nobody told us how long the food would take. Nobody asked us to sit down. Nobody offered us water…nothing.

Finally, I asked the front desk guy for help, and he said it wasn’t his responsibility. I told him to find someone to help us. Eventually, he came back and told me to wait 10 minutes because they were still making our desserts. That’s when I told my wife to sit, and I sat down with her to wait.

When it was time to pay, I presented my gift card and they had to call a manager. I explained the situation to him, but instead of apologizing, he got defensive.thst whey were closing and that’s why it was like that, I told him I’ve worked in this industry for years, and the first thing he should have done was apologize and reassure me, not make excuses.

He eventually apologized and comped my dessert, but by then the damage was done. This is supposed to be the Chart House, a name that should mean something. Instead, the service felt like a mediocre restaurant. By the way they seem to like to hire kids with no experience.

To top it off my to go food had no utensils and no bread or butter maybe they don’t include bread and butter but no utensils and no napkins?? I wonder if they are going out of business or something...

I dined on a Friday evening table for 1 at 5:30. Although I made my reservation the same day, I was still able to secure a seat. I felt bad for my server, Heather. She was the only competent person I dealt with this whole experience.

I arrived around 5:35 because parking was hard to find and the host had me wait until 5:50 for a seat even with a reservation. There was no real explanation why. I did request a nice view so a simple "we're getting the best view cleaned for you" would have done but nothing was offered.

During the15 minutes I spent standing awkwardly in the lobby the host's were talking rudely about other customers and offered a walk-in table of 4 a 10 minute wait time even though my reservation took 20 minutes to seat and I was one person (sat at a 4 top by the way. So please don't assume it was a different party size and different tables were available. This was poor customer experience stemming from mismanagement of the seating chart).

As I mentioned before, Heather was the shining star of this experience and takes her job seriously. Her recommendations were spot on, she was quick to stop by if I needed something but wasn't hovering, and she showed patience with me as she was sat a 10+ top table and I had questions about a dish. Truly a gifted server.

I will say, the food was incredible as well. The flavors and sensations were quite good. Not necessarily Michelin quality but very much fine dining.

It's a shame the support staff for the servers was completely missing. I sat with every single one of my dirty dishes from appetizer through main course, as I sipped my dessert drink. Once I finished my drink and packed my leftovers myself, I sat with a second set of dirty dishes until there was time to process my payment. See both sets of dishes in the photos, please.

There were no bussers and Heather had to clean my table herself, while juggling a full section and a 10+ top who continued to add guests (no idea how the host let that happen in a fine dining restaurant).

I guess the Happy Hour is difficult to manage or something because there were children running around screaming outside in the court yard, no one was cleaning, and the only polite staff was Heather.

If you're looking for good food with an excellent view, I recommend this location. Unfortunately, their standards do not match the pricing and I'd be cautious if you're trying to...