OLD SLO at The Cape (formerly Cape Cod) — Restaurant in Pismo Beach

Local Eval: CRAVING FRESH LOBSTER? Go here, in our little neighborhood of Shell Beach! The, air-mailed & fresh from the tank, lobster tastes fresh, sweet, and excellent. Ironically, it was better lobster, than I could find, in a week long quest of the best lobster, in Maine.

Since I did not want the hassle of cracking my own Lobster, nor have it cold in a sandwich, nor "diluted" in a mac-cheese dish...I opted for a Lobster Fondue. I also sat right next to the kitchen window, on a hard narrow metal seat, which was not too comfy.

The presentation of the "Fondue" was impressively served in a hot cast iron pot, where fresh sweet Lobster swam in the "Cheese" flavored sauce. It was served with several pieces of light toasted White bread for dipping. While it was not a true Fondue, it was a creative way to serve Lobster at a nice warm-hot temperature. The cheese sauce on it's own tasted like some reconstituted powdered cheese. I did not care for the sauce, except as a vehicle for eating the Lobster. The Lobster itself was stellar and was at a decent price for this area. I would have preferred to have it swimming in simple hot clarified butter and may request it next time.

The 1/2 dozen Canadian Oysters for $16, were medium sized, and had a sweet flavor. They were served on a plan iron platter with just lemon slices. The were great about getting me real fresh grated Horseradish, as well as, cocktail sauce. They had to ask the chef about the origin of the Oysters. I rather have local Morro Bay Oysters. Of course, if you can get Happy Hour Oyster shooters for $1-2 in the area, you may not be too happy to pay nearly $3 each & $4 each for BBQ. They were sweet, crunchy, savory, and tasted of the sea. You can probably get a better deal in Morro Bay, but then you have to drive.

While I did like the Clam Chowder, which was indeed fresh and homemade, it lacked enough clams, & had many potatoes. The broth was nicely flavored and was not creamy, nor like the "wall paste-cream/butter" variety that one too many, poor deluded souls, thinks goes for good "Clam Chowder" in these parts. It was more of a Potato clam flavored stew than anything else. Even though I ordered a bowl, it was served in a tall take out type of container. It was a far cry from the nice presentation done for the pseudo-Fondue.

I also ordered a basket of fries which while good, was oily.

Sadly, I am not sure if it was my choices [which lacked roughage & veges], the funky oily cheese sauce, or the Oysters, but I had trouble sleeping with ingestion & had the "runs" the next AM. If you want to add corn & a plain salad, this will run up the tab. You are paying a premium for an Ala Carte meal, partial self-service, oil, & hard metal chairs. While I did not try the beer taps, they seemed to have a good selection, but do have cumbersome ordering process. The staff was very attentive and were pleasant, polite, & helpful.

If you do not know the pleasures of the many wonderful coves, mini-beaches, parks, overlooks that are all along Shell Beach Bluffs, you are missing out. Here it is far quieter and serene compared to downtown Pismo Pier area. You can catch a serene sunset and then have Lobster. If you are looking for a fine dinning experience, then you are better off at either Oyster Loft or Lido's. There are no cheap places in this area. Be careful of both ongoing construction & vigilant police. They do strictly enforce full stops & the 15 mph limit.

I am quite happy that we now have a Lobster place. I really cannot think of anywhere else on the Central Coast, where I have had such good Lobster, nor Lobster right from the tank. You can tell that they fly them in.

They are surely not cheap, and it is more of a luxury. Next time, I think that I will grab a Lobster item for take-out & add all the veges & drinks at home.

While they have fried items, sandwiches, and more, your best deal is the Lobster & raw Oysters. Who needs a ton of oily breadcrumbs, nor the filler of a bun/mayo & such?

GO FOR THE FRESH TANK LOBSTER &...

If I could give this restaurant no stars I would. The food is overpriced, and my experience there with customer service was awful. The wind picked up and I watched a patio umbrella fall on a customer. At the same time, the wind knocked my table number into the fire pit and it caught fire. So the smell of burning rubber is now fresh in my nose, and a growing flame is blowing towards me while they deliver my food and tell me, “It’s fine. This happens all the time”. Next, they got my order wrong and I chose to ate it anyway without a complaint however the wind picked up some napkins and they flew straight into the fire pit. Those napkins caught fire and the wind picked up again, spitting out flaming napkins at me and my friends. One of the flaming napkins landed on my food and the entire plastic basket began burning and my food caught fire, meanwhile another napkin was burning my friend’s drink on the table. None of the staff came over to help put out the fire, but instead just told us that the table would not catch fire as the flames grew larger on my food that I was still eating. A local next to our table helped put out the flames. The staff came back upset and almost blaming us for the experience we were having before they finally offered to replace my bread bowl, but it turns out they were all out of chowder for the night at 5pm so nothing was compensated and I did not receive a refund. The waitresses were rude and inattentive, but overall if you’re going for the food, it isn’t worth it.. Go to Splash Cafe or...

Let’s start with the good. They have many beers and ciders on tap. Food was good. Selection was good.

Now the bad. When you first approach the restaurant. You wait in a line to order. Which is fine. Then you pay for your food. If you want a beer, you are given a beer card. Which then you are expected to return and pay for later when you are done dining.

Ate the food.

Now here is where I get irritated. The line is still long, yes the line you originally wait in to order your food. With the one cashier. They expect you to wait in that line again, to pay for your beers that you just served yourself on tap.

So they have this box that states ‘ if you do not want to wait in the line, drop the tap card here, then we will add 20% gratuity to your bill.

Well here is the catch. They don’t add the 20% to your bar tab. They add the 20% to your entire meal, that you paid for, in the beginning.

So they mess up your bank accounting with refunding you your original meal price, then they recharge you, adding the bar tab, then adding the 20% on top.

And all the waitresses did were bring out our food and clean the tables. They did not even help us find a table to keep us from the cold. Then when we asked for them to bring over a heat lamp, the lady was rude and told us none were available. When most of them were not being used. Which was clear to see.

So overall the chances of me returning are slim. The chances of me recommending this establishment is...