Bluegold — Restaurant in Huntington Beach

Last night was our second time eating at Blue gold. The first time was a few months ago, when we went with a group of 9. Last night it was our sons birthday pick.

The first time I went I was looking forward to the muscles, clams and oysters. I did order their hot pot. It was very disappointing because it was a moderately sized pot. It was made up of 80% rice, 10% buttery and well balanced sauce, 5% shells and 5% shell fish. The shell fish were very tiny. The 2 shrimp were slightly larger than salad shrimp, 3 scallops were are big as my pinky nail and the clams and muscles were few and so tiny. Disappointing mostly given we are living next to the ocean and we have a bounty of large shellfish available at our local markets. Several other people at our table ordered the fried chicken but there was only one order left. The child who got the chicken was unable to eat it because it was too salty. Several of the adults tried it and agreed.

Last night we had a party of five. Two ordered the Friday special fried chicken, but they were out. My daughter ordered the French onion soup. She loves French onion soup. It came with no cheese or toast and had a heaven layer of beef fat covering the surface. It was very hard to actually get to the soup. Then when she finally skimmed off the fat, the soup was badly burned. We did complain and it was removed for our bill. She then ordered the smashed potatoes, she doesn't like to eat meat, so these were the only things she could find to eat. She liked the smashed potatoes, but them found a large lobster tentacle in her potatoes. After that she refused to eat.

I ordered the salmon. It was fresh. Properly cooked. About 8 oz. it was under seasoned. Nothing special, but nothing was wrong with the fish. It was garnished with a subtlety seasoned sauce and strangely cold uncooked unseasoned baby green beans.

My son ordered the Vietnamese flank stake. We love Vietnamese food. His stake was ok. It clearly had not been tenderized or marinated the way Vietnamese food normally is prepared with robust and mouthwatering flavors. The side dishes were poorly seasoned and did not remind us of any Vietnamese food we have ever had. The side dishes were chunks of underripe tomato and lightly vinagared thin sliced cucumbers with this bitter and tough skin intact, and bowl of sticky white rice topped with Japanese rice seasoning. The stake was topped with a traditional fresh mix of herbs, chili and red onion. He had a hard time cutting and chewing his stake and gave up half way through.

Both times we ate here we had good service, not great as there was no anticipation of our needs, but certainly friendly and helpful.

I really hope that this restaurant works out its issues because the menu looks amazing if they could deliver on the customers expectations. There are tons of amazing Vietnamese cooks in the area and the most amazing ripe fresh produce and fat juicy seafood. We will try it again in a few months. Please work out your issues. We want to see...

We just got back from eating here tonight. We had reservations at 5:45 pm. We were seated quickly with practically all the tables empty. The hostess sat us in the corner with no view so I asked to move to one of the tables with a nice view. She replied no they were reserved? I asked if you could reserve a specific table and she just responded by saying they were all taken before we made our reservation? That was an immediate never coming back here again reply. As I thought when we left not all the tables with a view were even filled. There is a definite attitude there and it is not friendly. OK, I will give the food a fair shot since she is not the one making the food. She might as well have been. First I ordered the Lobster and corn kettle. Sounds good... to bad they were out of lobster on a Tuesday night at 5 pm??? Really? Sad. So I figured I would try something else and opted for the Toro Tartare and a bowl of Manhattan Clam chowder. Well bad on me for not yelping this place prior to eating there or I would have avoided the Tartare since it was awful, like others have said. No flavor and had some tendon in it, not to mention it was so small that I thought it was a joke they were playing on me. I guess the joke was on me. The clam chowder bowl was very big and had a lot of clams in the shell, which I had to get out of the shell, kind of a project, which I would have preferred if they had just done it for me since I was paying a lot for the bowl. I guess they think it is fancy. I think it is fancier if other people do the work for you and you just eat and enjoy. Silly me. The chowder would have been good if it were not so spicy. I found it ironic, since my wife ordered the Pan Roast Kettle and our server specifically asked her if she liked spicy because it is spicy, but her's was bland compared to mine and she said nothing to me? I am talking spicy as in hot peppery like, not spices. My father had the special porchetta, Pork, which was quite good. My son had the Shellfish pot and it was good with good flavor. Spicy as well but he likes it that way. On the way out I got to see all the empty tables with a great view. If you have a few hundred dollars to waste then come here and try the food, or better yet try some place else with better food and a better attitude. Our server was very nice and was very attentive so I give her a 5 *, but she could not make up for lack of selection and poor quality of the food. Do not waste...

Went with a group of 8 and though they accommodated us, but I could tell they were frazzled by the number. I did call the day before to make reservations and their policy is very fussy: if there is a cancellation within 24 hrs the credit card on file will be charged $50/person. Even though many, many tables were open it took about 10-15 min to have them decide what to do with our group so just a heads up for groups larger than 4!!!! Everyone was so nice and helpful, but it was definitely a process to be seated for 8!!

The drinks were very tasty and everyone ordered something different and we did some taste testing. I would say drinks are worth the price here and not filled with sugar or watered down. I do want to go back for their unlimited mimosa for $20/person because I couldn't take advantage that day (I was wayyyy hungover hahah). A handful of girls at the end of the table got the unlimited mimosas and it was nice that the bottle was left at the table for us to have easy access.

The waitress suggested the milk rolls and I would have to say I could order a pile of those and go home happy!! They are that tasty!!!

Being around brunch time we all ordered different things and split the bill evenly coming out to about $55/person with drinks for all so it really isn't too pricey, although I see how it could be! The sandwiches don't come with sides and neither do the breakfasts so once you add some tater tots or a side dish and have a drink or two, then it can all add up fairly easily. To be fair I would say they have dishes from $14 and all the way up depending on if you're having a sandwich versus seafood versus a dinner meal.

All food was really good and we all picked off each other's plate. Portions are worth the price. I had the tuna sandwich and tater tots and would have to say both were a little salty to me (I think it was to mask the fishiness of the tuna). I tasted some other foods and can taste salt as a common flavor enhancer. Disclaimer: to be fair I don't add a lot of salt to my food. Everyone was happy with their choices and said they would return to eat here again. FYI they do not have ranch, but they have other dipping sauces.

Beautiful floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean front. It really is a beautiful place/bar and all the staff was very friendly.

We got there at 1030 and only a handful of tables were seated, but it was much busier by 1130 on a...