The DEPOT Restaurant — Restaurant in Long Beach

I rarely leave reviews, but feel compelled to because the dining experience was just weird. Showed up for our reservation time and weren’t seated for at least 20-25 mins. The host was very apologetic and offered us free drinks to have while we were waiting, which was extremely kind, however we didn’t even receive them until after being seated so maybe was a bit of a moot point. We ordered the oysters for an appetizer, pan fried, however they came out deep fried. Not a big deal and they still tasted alright so we didn’t send back. We then ordered the Duck Confit and Prawns with noodles for mains. The Duck was really dry. The prawn dish was okay. Neither were remotely worth the price, however, but not so terrible that we would send back. Our server maybe stopped by 2-3 times during the entire evening—once to take our order, and another time to fill up our water/take a drink order, and then once when we had flag her down to tell her the check was wrong.

We ordered a second round of our drinks during dinner, which may have been input in the system wrong, because the bartender brought us out another drink a little later that we didn’t order, and then again tried to bring out another order of our drinks that we didn’t order, which we would have gladly taken since they were already made, but then they decided to give them to another table (rather than us) for free since no one ordered them for fear of “over serving” us after we’ve had two drinks over the span of a two hour period we were at the restaurant? The night ended with us receiving the wrong check twice before finally getting it correct. Overall, the staff were nice, albeit inattentive, and the food was just not particularly good for the price point. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend after having to shell out $120 for a lacking experience/meal.

After reading some other reviews, I understand the owner response is likely “we would have been happy to correct any of the issues you identified if we had been informed” which is fair, however trying to “correct” any issues with the food would have likely just led to us being stuck at the restaurant for another hour (in addition to the two that we were already there for) based on the speed of service we were receiving that night. And trying to “correct” service isn’t something I want to spend my night doing, you know? I totally get it’s a small place, and busy on a Saturday, so I in no way think the staff were rude or just plain terrible at their jobs. But this type of situation at a small busy place if something is lacking I’ll be more understanding if (1) the service is not as attentive but the food is great or (2) the service is amazing even with meh food. But not both at the same time. Maybe we just caught it on...

We’ve been going to The Depot for years; to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, Mother and Father’s Day…pretty much any kind of celebration we can celebrate, The Depot is our go-to restaurant. The service is good, the atmosphere is interesting and the food is sublime. I felt like there was a bit of a hiccup when ownership was transferred, and wasn’t too happy with what I felt was a culinary blip in time, but, having been back a few times to see if things had improved, I am happy to say I feel like they have! So, let’s talk about the food! The Clam Chowder is wonderfully flavorful and clammy! It’s not a thick chowder, but a sublime broth that wakes up your tastebuds and gets your tummy going for the next course ahead! The perfect way to whet your whistle!Don’t forgo the chowder. My husband always orders the Ribeye Steak with garlic mash potatoes. It fills him up and satiates his caveman carnivore persona. He is always pleased with the sear of the steak and the accompanying potatoes are heartily enjoyed. This time around I ordered the Seared Scallops on puréed butternut squash, with apples and radishes. What a happy plate of food! I was nervous about the radish part, but they were so sweet and yummy, I couldn’t taste a hint of any bitter radish. The smooth squash paired beautifully with the Scallops, who were truly the star on the plate. Dare I say old Gordon Ramsey would have been proud, I’m sure! I snarfed up the entire plate, and the best part is, I wasn’t overstuffed. The portion size was perfect. A wonderful, lighter dish than my usual go to, which is the Southern Comfort Pork. Now THAT is a perfect plate of food for a cold, wet PNW day. Oh my, it is so good! Make sure to try the pork at least once…..and if it’s cold and rainy. Mmmmm! Truly, you can’t go wrong with any of the offered fare at The Depot. Take some time and get yourself over to the peninsula’s best hidden gem. The Depot...

I went to The Depot for the first time on Saturday night. When we got there there was another couple that had gone in right before us and was talking to the hostess. That area is very small, and they were taking up most of it so we couldn’t get all the way through the door, so we waited right behind them and the door didn’t close all the way. They left and my husband asked the hostess if there were any available tables as we didn’t have a reservation and she said there was one table available due to a cancelled reservation, but we would have to be out in 90 mins. Due to the small space i was waiting outside and my husband stuck his head out the door to ask me if that was ok when hostess scolded us as if we were small children about the door being open, I was so turned off by that that I just wanted to leave, but he really wanted to eat there so we stayed. We had 90 mins which is plenty of time for dinner, but we were still super rushed by the waiter, we felt like we were bothering them by being there. We ordered the Thai calamari, the ribeye special and the sea scallops, all of the food was really good. We ordered the New Old Fashioned cocktail, which was excellent also. When we ordered the second $14 cocktail, the bar tender dropped them on the table and said “sorry guys, out of cherries” and walked away. I felt like the cherry was a fairly big part of the drink, so I was disappointed and really thought he should have asked first if we wanted them without the cherry. The food was good but the overall experience was not for a meal that was just under...