Salty's at Redondo Beach — Restaurant in Des Moines

Short version: 1 star for the food, 1 star for service recovery. It was a nice location and view, but a bucket of KFC on the beach right next to this place would have probably been just as nice.

Long version: I went to Salty's at Redondo Beach because the Alki location was booked for the time I needed. I don't know if the experience would have been different had we gone to Alki or not, but I'm not sure I'll be giving either location another chance.

Let's start with the seating. We sat outside in flimsy plastic chairs too close to the table behind us on either side. It wasn't horribly awkward, but you definitely felt that you needed to stay close to your table if you didn't want to sit literally back-to-back with the guests behind you. It's a popular place, so I didn't mind it too much; they have to maximize seating as much as possible to get as many people in so they can make money...I get it. Still...once you check out the menu, you realize the food and view are what you are paying for, not comfort.

The service was very slow. Every step in the process just took too long. 5-10 minute wait for everything. Water showed up 5+ minutes after we were seated, drinks ordered shortly after, but then another 10 minutes to get them. Would you like a refill? Sure! ..................5-10 minutes later, it finally shows up. More bread? Sure! 5-10 minutes later, it showed up. Etc. Not sure if they were short-staffed or not, but the large group of 10 close to us had their waitress at their table almost constantly...ours was spread too thin apparently because we rarely saw her. She was good, so no complaints about that...just think she was spread too thin last night.

Okay, food arrived! Aaaaaaaaand it's cold. All of it. I got the steak with mashed potatoes. Potatoes were "creamy garlic"...tasted like cold, day-old, unseasoned mashed potatoes. Steak was cold, but cooked correctly. The other meal was the Seafood Trio starter (nice mix of options that works out to a dinner-sized portion of food). Calamari? Cold. Coconut prawns? Warm-ish. Crab cake? Cold and burnt. Truffle fries? Cold.

The waitress came back to check on the food and we told her that the seafood and fries were cold. She apologized and asked if she could replace it or get something else for us. At this point, we'd been there for over an hour and we were done. They offered us free dessert, but who wants dessert when you haven't had dinner? Okay...I've done that before, but still...

Then the bill came and this is where they went from 1 to 2 stars: they comped the seafood trio and the fries and were very apologetic again, even going so far as having the manager come over and apologize (and offer us free dessert again).

So, why so low? Why not 3 stars? They tried, right? Well, sure. They tried to fix the problems and get a star for that. But when you go somewhere to eat food and you can't eat the food, how can anywhere expect to get more than 1 (or zero if you could) stars? Instead of having a great meal and a great experience, we had a pretty bad meal and the staff worked hard to fix the horrible meal (earning...

It was a sunny day & decided to take my kids, niece & nephew to eat on the watar then go play at beach afterwards. We were told we could sit on patio. It was full with 2 tables in the middle of couples so I decided to sit away from them since I had the 4 kids with me to the farthest table. Apparently THIS table was a closed section table. NO-ONE bothered to come and tell me. Instead every server looked over at us but never came to tell us we were seated in the wrong area until I waved a server down after waiting more than 15min. She was very rude and blamed me for sitting in a closed section and asked if I wanted to now get on a waiting list for patio seating. I asked for the Manager. It was simply the most predudice and discriminated I have ever felt at any restaurant. I was a bartender and server so I know how to treat all customers. The manager proceeded to approach me very matter of fact and coldly also stated over as if I was death that I sat in a closed section so I could get on a waitlist. She then proceeded to tell me that Happy Hour wasn't included in the closed section I was seated at. At this point it was clear she had a perception that I came for happy hour to eat for as less as I could with all my colored kids. She wasn't more wrong! I own my own business and she ruined our evening. The kids kept asking why were the workers so rude and mean to us. This was so humiliating and sad. I never raised my voice and after mgr went to see what she can do we for up from our table to leave as by now we had been there for over 30minutes. Aa we went inside to leave the manager changed her position to her saying she would open the patio for us. I told her I wasn't looking for any special treatment and that it would be unnecessary. The kids were starving and getting restless and I told her we just wanted to enjoy dinner together so id she could give us a table immediately inside then we would take it. She sat inside and apologized foe my misunderstanding and that the section outside should have been closed off. Outside of the manager & ride server from the patio our experience was changed with our server inside the dinning room who was quick and kind. The kids said he should be the manager and the table seated behind us complimented the kids on who well behaved they were. I wouldn't recommend this place again to anyone. They have a great location and take advantage of knowing their the only restaurant so treat you like they want and charge you for food that isn't nearly worth it. My scallops were plain and mashed potatoes were bland. They only thing that was delish was my shrimp and the kids fish & chips😌 I will keep my dinning experiences on Alki's restaurants for sure! So disappointed. Oh this profiled single mom of colored kids here for "happy hour" spent about $80.00 and tipped our wonderful server. Live and learn. Treat people with dignity...

My visit/service last Friday was totally unacceptable. I chose your establishment for a special occasion for several reasons, the food, ambience and service. First, the food. Crab Cake for starters. My guest had the Fish and Chips and I, the Seafood Fettuccine. She commented that they were good and mine being excellent. Second, the ambience. I asked for a window table when reservations were made. She would try but “all our tables have a nice view”. We did arrived approximately 30 minutes before our reservation time. I mentioned the window table and the girl said she needed to get our table ready. We were placed at a four seat table. There were window tables open but we’re seated here anyway. It was ok, but disappointing. The view was still nice. Third, the service. Our waiter was nice enough but we were rushed our entire time. Being asked every few minutes if we were ready to order after receiving our drinks. I told him we were in no hurry tonight and he understood. He shows up a couple minutes later with “ready now?” No, not yet. Being a former restaurant owner, I understand turning tables but the restaurant was only half full. No need for hurried service. Less than 5 minutes later, he shows up again. He can see that we have been in conversation the entire time. Ok fine, we ordered, our starter and entree. We received our Cake and was enjoying it tremendously when a few minutes later, our entree’s arrived. We had only a few bits, less than half of it gone. I let him know my displeasure and he offered to take my meal and place it under the warming light. What? My choice is to hold it under a warming light? I said no, I’ll take it. I had this image of my very expensive dish just sitting there under a warming light. We ordered dessert and it arrived, along with the check. He did mention that he could redo the bill if we wanted to order something. We were rushed our entire experience. Even after asking that we not be rushed. Why? It didn’t seem that way with other tables. Why was it us? We looked the same as everyone else in the establishment. Well, except that we were a mixed couple, both handicapped in wheelchairs. I understand that your response is that it would never be a consideration or your intention. But it happened! This visit is too hard on my budget to have this experience. Food equals...