The Lookout Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Oxnard

I stopped by The Lookout with a buddy several months back to grab a bite and a beer (or two) on a whim; We were in the area and feeling like a drink, and when running a search for nearby bars The Lookout seemed the best.

Walking through the front door, you run smack into a flight of stairs heading up; The bar looks over the entire marina/harbor, offering a nice view. Walking up to the bar, I saw that if you followed it to the right they had a small outdoor balcony with a few tables and chairs; It would be a nice spot to meet up with someone for drinks. The place itself was larger than expected, with several tables and chairs, and a large, clean bar with several TVs and a full view of the harbor. The bartenders and hostesses were all very friendly! You could hear them address regulars by name, and we chat about football as my buddy and I got all the different games going on all the TVs.

It's a great spot to catch a game! Well-made drinks, friendly staff, warm atmosphere, a good beer selection, and solid food make for a good experience. The food menu is rather simple and like most places of the sort focused on the grill and fryer; Though their clam chowder is better than you might expect. They're more a bar with some dine-in style seating and a (very good) full kitchen, less a grill/restaurant with a bar serving drinks, and it shows in the menu (I have zero problem with this). I had clam chowder and fish n chips with a couple beers while a game ran down, and everything was excellent.

I'll definitely be coming back here; I visited during a short break in a social event, and this would be a great place to spend a few hours on a lazy...

Great location, however this one feature wasn't enough to save it from the countless things I found wrong with this place. I'll try to keep this short. There were four us going out to celerbrate a birthday on a Saturday night. Instead of opting to go to downtown Ventura we ended up in this dive, and yes it's as dive as dive bars can get. Front security asked us "are you guys going to eat?", I found that to be an odd question until I realized they had no servers. I figures this was a minor inconvenience I'm sure they'll find someone to take our order. After deciding to sit outside to soak in the view and avoid being indoors where a crumby local duo were playing guitar (definitely needed more practice) we waited. Guess what, we waited some more. We spent over half an hour and it wasn't even a full house. We finally had to find someone that would take our order. I think we would have been better off pounding drinks than consuming what we had ordered. This place can be great for people to drown their sorrows in but I don't see it as a place of celebration. Way to go "lookout bar and grill" for a less than mediocre...

During a recent visit to the area with friends, we were on the lookout for a lively bar that served good food. We came across this spot through Yelp (or Google Maps) and decided to check it out. Arriving early—likely before 9 PM—we enjoyed our time before the karaoke kicked off. Since the ladies had an early tee time the next morning, we opted for an early night. Initially, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to order, but one of our friends mentioned the tuna melt, which reminded me it had been a while since I’d had one. I went with that, accompanied by a bowl of clam chowder and shared some onion rings. The portions were generous, and everything was excellent—the tuna melt paired perfectly with the crispy onion rings, and the clam chowder hit the spot, offering comforting warmth and flavor. The only minor drawback was the extra tax added for dining at the docks. It didn’t bother me initially, but after dining at Waterside, which doesn’t charge such a tax, it left me wondering about the...