Claire's At the Museum — Restaurant in Long Beach

I don't typically write negative reviews, but my recent experience at Claire’s left me no choice. I hope this feedback encourages the owner to take steps toward improving staff training and overall service quality.

This place used to be our go-to spot before the pandemic. We would visit weekly, often bringing friends for brunch. Sadly, the charm and quality that once defined this place seem to have vanished. I decided to give it another try recently, but the experience was extremely disappointing.

I went in for a cappuccino and dessert. When I placed my order, the girl behind the counter turned to the kitchen area and yelled, "She wants a cappuccino!" A woman in a white cooking uniform gave us both a confused look, as though she'd never heard of a cappuccino before. Then, a group of three staff members gathered by the register, whispering about my order to make one.

When I inquired about dessert, the same girl had to look at a menu to find a desert list and then asked a colleague if they even had any. Eventually, she handed me a small note listing "today's specials" – a turkey sandwich and a vanilla crepe. She didn’t bother checking with the kitchen about other options if they have, which felt dismissive.

When it was time to pay, things got worse. The menu listed a cappuccino at $6, and with the 10.50% tax, it should’ve been $6.63. Yet, I was charged $7.73. I handed over $10 in cash, but the boy at the register struggled to calculate my change, didn’t have a cash change in the register and had to ask another employee for help. He finally handed me $3. Since he overcharged me, I didn’t offer to pay 73cents. I decided to let it go, as by this point, I just wanted to leave.

Then, I searched for sugar. There was none in sight, only creamers. A staff member from the kitchen had to ask another employee if a small packet she found was brown sugar. I confirmed it was, and she handed it to me.

Then came the worst part: the so-called "cappuccino." It wasn’t a cappuccino at all. It was lukewarm milk poured over a light coffee that had been sitting too long, and it tasted flat. Charging $1 more than the listed price for such poor quality is unacceptable.

The current state of this place is a far cry from what it used to be. The lack of training, coordination, and attention to detail among the staff is disappointing. I truly hope the owner takes this feedback seriously and invests in proper staff training at least to make a cup of cappuccino in a proper way to restore Claire’s to its...

My family and I (a huge party of 8) ate here for brunch this past Saturday to celebrate two birthdays, mine included. It is a tradition in our family for the birthday person to choose the restaurant. I have my go-tos in LBC, and so does my family, but we love to try new places. This place was recommended by a bookkeeping client of my mom’s, and after looking it up online, we decided to give it try and book a reservation.

My one aunt and her partner, who live a short walk away on Ocean Blvd., have eaten here on several occasions. They have always had a 5-star experience and encouraged me to leave a positive review. The rest of us were first-timers, and we will 100% be back again.

I split the avocado toast (added smoked salmon) and the salmon BLT with my mom. It was very yummy, and we devoured it. We shared our side of fries with the table, and they were super crispy and a huge hit. From salads to eggs benedict to chilaquiles, everyone enjoyed their dishes. (Btw, my family members are big foodies. And we each ate EVERYTHING!)

Our table also ordered the mimosa special, and the seasonal juice was peach, which was the favorite for Bellinis. We even had juice left in the three carafes. There were also other libations: a signature Bloody Mary and a signature margarita. Everyone loved the presentation.

And of course you can’t beat the ocean views! You’re literally right on the bluff.

This was such a special birthday brunch, and I’m beyond glad we...

I would have rated this experience a 0 if I could. This was my second time at Claire’s at the museum. The first time was prior to the pandemic I had an amazing experience, this second time was horrible.

The night before Sun Jun 24th I looked up the public information about the restaurant on its website and instagram account. And it clearly stated that a party of 4 or less do not need a reservation however a party or 5, 6 or 6+ need to make a reservation.

I went to Claire’s that Sunday with my girlfriend and we signed up on the waitlist as we waited. After us was a party of 6 that arrived.

After we all waited for almost 2hrs they got seated while we still waited and I approached the male seater with black earrings at the podium and he was rude and awful.

His argument was it is a party of 6 and he has to sit them before us even when they didn’t have a reservation for their large group. The seater was very rude and was not helpful at all. I lost my taste for appetite and I left because I won’t sit and spend money where people have no sense of customer service

I would appreciate if Claire’s public information online can be more specific and not have people look stupid without a reservation even when your website does not offer an option for smaller groups to have reservations and educate your staff to respect customers because we all own businesses and how you treat your customers is how your business...