California Fish Grill — Restaurant in Irvine

I didn't even know there was more than 1 type of clam chowder until I was like 9 and I wasn't aware there was another type of tartar sauce until I came here. Tahtuh sauce if you will.

Holy crap my last review was almost exactly 4 years to this day. A lot has stayed the same so I'll simply elaborate. Still love the huge grill, love the freshness of their entire menu. My go to items are the salmon with garlic butter sauce (extra sauce, trust me). Firm, flakey, fresh and whether you go with the fries or rice it's good. The coleslaw gives a freshness, coolness and cleaning lightness to the plate. 2 pieces of salmon. Shrimp burrito with New Englang style tarter sauce has dill and less mayo-ish color and consistency. The calamari is dressed up and breaded superbly and the cutlet strips are not chewy at all, firm and meaty.

Lemon lemon lemon lemon rocking everywhere. I've eaten whole meals here where all I did was squeeze 4 lemon wedges across my whole plate and dig in. It's the perfect complement or almost anything from the sea. White ruffy is very flakey and light. I find the tilapia a little bland, could use more seasoning because it's such a plain fish. I prefer more of an Italian herb. They should offer a herb or bread crumb crust on more than just the Pollack that would take some fish a notch up. Prices have remained roughly the same all these years.

Part of my previous assessment was lacking was service. It's crazy busy sometimes where the line is out the door and to the parking lot. The parking lot is just as bad and doesn't let up after rushes. Poorly designed and set up. The pick up spots are not adhered to and people be grubbing for an hour up in here taking up all the designated spots for to go. The cashiers are excellent, attentive and accurate. The staff that brings you items are pretty good and bring it immediately after plating. The chef's are super consistent and have never overcooked my food, but that's it. There are no servers so unless you order to go it's hard to give them more than slightly above average.

I see quite a few recommend to order to go. I can not agree with this. In the past year, the 6 times I've come here during my lunch break I've ordered to be picked up and not once did they get my order right. Missing cole slaw, missing coleslaw and rice, forgot the brown rice upgrade, didn't give me soda for combo, forgot to not put cabbage in my burrito, failed to add extra garlic butter, forgot my dessert. What sucks is I often order for multiple people in my office and when I recommend a place I too put my name on it. I refuse to be paranoid, but fool me once, shame on me, fool twice shame on you, fool me 3,4,5,6 times and I'm docking stars. I will continue to come here, just never to go and never for a...

Chaos was the name of the game, and I felt like I had accidentally wandered into a fishy comedy sketch. It was like being trapped in a whispering contest at a rock concert. When I placed my order at the counter, the employees seemed to have mastered the art of silent communication. I strained my ears, but it was as if they were playing a game of fishy charades. Needless to say, I couldn't hear them call my name when the food was ready. Maybe they were secretly training as ninjas, but I digress.

I had high hopes for my fish and chips, while my girlfriend decided to give the fish taco a try. Let's just say that her fish taco had a mind of its own. As she picked it up, the taco disintegrated in her hand, spreading fishy chaos all over the place. It was like a fishy explosion in a B-grade action movie. We were left shell-shocked and covered in taco bits. Bravo, California Fish Grill, you've mastered the art of edible confetti! My order was missing a side. It's like they played a game of culinary hide-and-seek with my food, and the side dish won. Maybe it was off on a tropical vacation while I was busy trying to assemble my fish taco debris.

The manager, sensing the chaos in the air, decided to take matters into their own hands. They began yelling at customers with an intensity that would make Gordon Ramsay proud. It was like being in the middle of a culinary boot camp, where the customers were the recruits and the manager was the drill sergeant. I half-expected them to start throwing fish at us, but thankfully, that didn't happen.

To add insult to injury, the restaurant seemed to have forgotten the concept of table service. Gone are the days of having your food brought right to you. Now, you have to channel your inner Olympic athlete and sprint to the counter to pick up your order. It's like a fast-food relay race, minus the medals and the cheering crowd. If chaos is your cup of tea, then this is the place for you. As for me, I'll be heading to McDonald's next time I crave some fishy adventures – at least they have a clown to entertain me while I wait...

CALIFORNIA FISH GRILL! Let me welcome everybody to the wild wild west a state that's untouchable like.... Oh wait wrong song. It would be nice if Dr Dre could write some beats about California Fish Grill Love. I have heard so many great things about this place and I have finally tried it! I heard nothing but positive things except for when I ask a friend to have lunch here the general response is "ugh! Parking sucks and it's always super busy!". Maybe in LA that's a way of life but this is Irvine. Just saying. That is a mucho problemo for me. I hate lines and hard to find parking areas. I will always choose a second best restaurant than wait in line at places like In-N-Out or Boiling Crab. Today was different because I badly wanted some fish but I didn't have time to go to a fancy restaurant. CFG was the perfect amount of casual appropriate for lunch time in Irvine.

For my first time, I tried the Charbroiled white fish with garlic butter with zucchini. I badly wanted to try the clam chowder and the fish taco special, but that would be way too much food. I didn't want to get a CFG overload on my first visit. The White fish was de-lish! I would ask for more butter and skip the brown rice. The brown rice was not very brown at all. It was like Wayne Brady making Brian Gumbell look like Malcolm X! That was an odd Chappelle Show reference. Seriously, Brown Rice cost extra and it didn't taste or look like Brown Rice. My rice looked like fried rice after you apply some soy sauce and oil but not dark at all. The white fish was tasty and had the right texture sooo good! I had to pace myself eating it. I almost scarfed the whole thing down.

I planned to dine in but ended up ordering To Go. The line was almost out the door so I just took the food back to the office. I don't work too close by. My only regret I should place my order ahead of time next visit to save some more time.

Overall, I do recommend California Fish Grill but keep in mind this place gets busy during lunch time. I can't wait to go back but I will also cringe thinking about the wait...