Calico Fish House — Restaurant in Huntington Beach

Update 6/2/25 (second visit, weekday): Not changing the star rating based off of this less-than-stellar experience, but we'll see how the next time is.. Everything, more or less, was off for this visit. We were seated right away and hostess was great. Food- everything was too salty- the previously amazing calamari was still an awesome portion. I was going to ask for salt to put on the calamari with the lemon, but oh no, already too salty. Unfortunately, both of us also got the grilled shrimp in two different dishes and it was so salty that it was verging on inedible (but the shrimp baguette was a pretty awesome presentation, although I would ask for very light sauce in the future). My mother ordered shrimp at a restaurant near her house the next day and I couldn't even eat it because of the memory of the super salty shrimp from the day before.

Service: The server was friendly, but not on top of it, at all. Didn't check on us after either food course was delivered. Said your fries are coming right out (after main course food was delivered), but they never came and I had to remind the server before we were leaving, so they were just given to go. First time here, fries were awesome so I was looking forward to them. These ones looked like they gave a 5 year old a knife and said cut up these potatoes for us to make some fries- trying to make them artisan looking or something??! Also, my water was empty and not refilled once; luckily my wife doesn't drink much water so I had a backup.

5/18/25 (first visit, weekend): Really good quality food, portions, and presentation, with friendly service. Refreshing to see a restaurant that wasn't too frugal with staffing. Looking forward to going back..

Short ribs were excellent. Ahi looked about as fresh as it gets. Fried calamari is some of the best and really decent portion. Scallops were cooked perfectly, although herb sauce wasn't my favorite, nor were the accompanying tots. Instead, next time I would do the choose your fish (scallop) and side. Loved the fries. Standard Bloody Mary underwhelming.

You could easily easily get a delicious meal here for a really reasonable price; we spent a little more because we ordered too much food.

Nice sitting on the patio and watching the Sunday joyrides of interesting cars coming by; I imagine it could be a bit too hot and stuffy in hotter summer months. Maybe they are able to open up the patio glass for more breeze if needed??

Easiest check out with inkind app- if you don't know it,...

We came in on Memorial Day around 5pm. We left our name with the hostess and was told it would be about a 15 minute wait. We only waited about 10 minutes and the hostess came out and called out the wrong name. We corrected her and she just gave us a weird look and took us to our table. We had a party of 3 with a toddler and she tried to sit us at a small table with two chairs. We were confused and told her we obviously need a bigger table for 4 people. As we were sitting down at another table, I asked my party if they thought the hostess was okay. She acted high or just very out of it. So, that wasn't a great start to the dinner. It was a little chilly so I asked our waitress if she could turn on the heaters in the outdoor seating area. She brought one of the bus boys out to turn it on, however, he could not figure it out so he just gave up and walked away so we were pretty chilly while we ate. Next, we ordered our drinks and food. My husband and his friend liked their fish and chips but stated some of their fries were so fried they were inedible. I got the fried cod sandwich which came with fries. My fish and slaw was good, but there was too much lettuce and two large mushy tomatoes on the bottom of the bread which made my sandwich soggy. All of my fries but maybe two or three were inedible. My food was so greasy I felt sick after eating. Lastly, I went to the womens restroom before leaving and it was filthy. Paper towels flowing out of the trash onto the floor and the sink had scum and mold all over it. Plus you can see into the next stall because the slits in the doors are way too far apart which made me uncomfortable. Im suprised how much this place sucked based on the reviews. This place looks like it is ran by teenagers. We will NOT be back and I do...

This was our second visit in a week. The first visit was a solid "ok". What we were really after, however, was some steak. So, tonight we invited our son and daughter-in-law. We had two rib eye steaks topped with lobster, one grilled salmon, one grilled cheese sandwich and one NY strip with baked potato (that was me). Our server, Kayla, was quite attentive until we placed our order - then she went dark (lots of attention to her mobile phone). What a disappointment, Part of a server's job is to check the order for accuracy with the kitchen before bringing it to the table. My NY strip was not grilled medium, but more like medium well. The baked potato (a $5 upcharge) was not freshly baked but gnarled and cold. I ordered it with no butter, just sour cream and chives. It was delivered dry with cold butter in a condiment container on the side. Out of the gate, it was clear that attention to detail and care for the food was lacking. Because we had two little kids with us, we asked for bread and butter to hold us over until the food arrived. Kayla suggested small rolls and butter - we agreed. Instead she put in an order for the lobster butter side dish (a $10 side). Little kids don't want lobster butter. Our side order of grilled veggies was very overcooked. Fast forward to the check - $300+ for a party of 4 adults and 2 kids under 4 years of age. Whew! Not affordable, not responsive and not the caliber of food or service that will ever bring us back. There are so many great restaurants in Huntington Beach - no reason at all to ever eat here again. Sad because I respect Chef Andrew Gruel and think his talent as a restauranteur is not being enhanced by...