Kincaid's Fish, Chop & Steakhouse — Restaurant in Redondo Beach

I hate to leave a negative review since I have been eating at the Kincaid’s in Burlingame for years and it’s one of my absolute favorite places to eat. That said when I saw there was one in Redondo Beach I was super excited! Drove down, paid for parking $2 per hour, and got in early before the place got crowded. Get seated in the bar area which was already concerning to me - but my booth had a nice view and I was party of one so was okay with it. Get greeted by my waiter Chris. First thing he asks me is “can I get you started with a cold beer”. Already that bothered me as I don’t drink alcohol! Why couldn’t he have simply asked “can I get you started with something to drink?” I told him water, and went ahead and placed my food order. Again I didn’t want to stay long - and wanted out before the crowd and while I would still have time to walk around and watch the sunset. Anyway he recommended the Fish N Chips which sounded great. I kid you not after taking my order it took a good 5 minutes or so to have my water brought to me. I sat patiently - then some rude waitress walks up to me and says “have you been helped”. She had a attitude - but I simply told her “yes Chris already took my order”. She gave me a odd look and just walked off. Almost like she was mad Chris took her table or something. But she was clearly rude and the rest of the night she kind of walked around the area doing a lot of nothing. I couldn’t figure out exactly what her role was. Anyway back to my story…Chris took my order, took quite a while to bring me my water, but at the time it was all good. I sat enjoying the view and watching a little baseball. Fish and Chip come out and look and taste great. Chris comes by a few minutes after and refills my water and asks how I like the Fish and Chips? Great. Here’s where the story changes. I swear after this I don’t see Chris again for almost 40 minutes!! I sat and ate and he never came back to check on me. He was around but totally focused on the bar and the customers order alcohol. It’s like he forgot so was there or something. I eat my fish and chips…then sit…and sit…and wait…and wait. Nothing. The bus boy comes by and picks up my empty plate and I said “he man can you ask my waiter for my check”. I sit and 25 minutes before Chris comes back to my table. Let’s be honest. It doesn’t take long to eat Fish N Chips. I know I sat well over 30 minutes after I was done eating before Chris came back to my table. My water was long empty and my plate had already been long picked up from the bus boy. Then Chris really upset me when he finally showed at the table and his first works were “did you save room for dessert”. I felt like telling him dude it’s been song long since I saw you I could almost order breakfast!!! It was extremely frustrating. There was some private kind of party in the main dinning room and I am watching all these associates standing around doing nothing but watching this dinner party. Heaven forbid one of them help Chris out as he clearly had to much between the bar and the dinning booths and tables in the bar area. The service was terrible. When he finally came back to my table I think he could see I was rightfully frustrated. In his defense the couple times he came to my table he was nice enough - but he just never came around. Also he knew I had been waiting forever and was frustrated - so why not comp part of my bill, or offer me a free coffee or tea or dessert….but the last thing he should have done was ask me if I saved room for dessert. Sorry it just shouldn’t take over an hour to eat Fish and Chips with a glass of water when all of this took place before 7:30pm. In summary - nice atmosphere, tasty food, but I caught them on a terrible service night. I felt like all they cared about were the big party’s and alcohol drinkers…and forgot about the little people like me I guess. And again Chris seemed like nice enough of a guy - but man he just totally forgot about me. 😔 I would totally give this place another chance in the future as I truly think maybe I just caught them on...

We were in Torrance and it was evening close to rush hour. We have decided to have some seafood before heading back since we just drove by Redondo Beach pier.

After a quick search, Kincaid’s came up 2nd. The first one seems so expensive and a bit farther away. We then chose Kincaid’s and we were glad we did.

The parking is free for the holidays, which is not happening in LA or Santa Monica. The sound of waves and the smell of the ocean are just perfect for the seafood.

Upon entry, an old couple came out and I asked them about the food, they said good with a to-go box in their hands. I think that is a good sign.

Unfortunately, together with us, there is the other 5-people group waiting. One of them says no idea with no one is in the front after she takes his name and is gone for more than 5 minutes. We’ve waited quite a long time without anyone asking for or taking our name down to the waitlist while it looks like a lot of empty tables and there are enough people working here. There is no sign of understaff issue here.

She comes out finally and explains that everyone seems to come at the same time so she gets busy. We feel better after hearing this.

We get a table by the window with a big wood frame in the middle of it, not the best yet not the worst. Without reservation, we are grateful.

Caroline is the best so far (I went back again a few days after the first visit.). She is attentive and never misses anything like what happened at my 2nd visit. She is prompt, friendly and funny. Her recommendations are always good. We thought too little for us, in the end, we were stuffed. She is right and she is really the best we can have.

Why do I highlight Caroline? She spends time with us and everyone else she serves. She comes back fast and takes care of everyone with forgetting anything like water, as simple as that. We don’t have to call someone else to give us extra spoon or fork, she is there for you. As a result, we accepted her recommendation to apply for the membership card and that is the reason we came back a few days later.

The 2nd visit is still good. Maybe we request to switch to the window seat before seating. Our waitress also seems busy and we don’t see her much except taking orders. We have to get someone else to get us spoon and water. Not saying she is not good, it is before Christmas Eve, we can understand. The food is still good, the place is still quite empty and the sun is bright, the view is really nice when sun is up. She is still very professional in terms of explaining the difference of the Christmas menu.

This is a really nice place. Caroline explains to us that we can make a reservation by 4:15 so we can see the sunset around 4:45 by the window. If we arrive early, we can walk on the pier first. We did not get to see the sunset the 2nd visit, but it is still a very beautiful place to visit and the food is still as awesome as the first visit.

Will definitely visit again. And I hope her name is Caroline if my memory is right. 4-Star because nothing is perfect except God...

Visited Kincaid’s in Redondo Beach for Father’s Day, expecting a memorable meal. Unfortunately, the service left us more frustrated than fulfilled.

While the food was generally good in flavor, the overall experience was disjointed and far from what you'd expect at a fine dining restaurant—especially at over $350 for the evening.

Despite a fixed three-course menu (which should have simplified things), we had to ask for basic items like bread service—twice. Dishes came out completely out of order. Our mac and cheese side arrived with the appetizer (coconut shrimp), and my wife’s entrée (ahi) showed up before her first course (lobster bisque). She sat with her plate while the rest of the table had nothing for over 10 minutes.

Kids’ meals came out while the remaining adult entrées were nowhere to be seen. When they finally arrived, my ribeye was dry and barely warm, and the filet and shrimp plate tasted like it had been sitting under a heat lamp—definitely not fresh.

Our server was barely present throughout the evening. We ended up interacting with at least six different staff members just to get basic needs met, including retrieving a cocktail that had been sitting at the bar for ten minutes.

We ultimately asked for our food to be boxed up and skipped dessert, only for it to be brought out boxed anyway—but haphazardly. The crème brûlée was dumped into a generic cardboard container rather than a proper to-go dish. They handed us our remaining food in a thin grocery store plastic bag—not what you’d expect at a place marketed as upscale.

As someone who has worked in fine dining for over a decade and regularly dines out at all levels, I understand how service should feel. This wasn’t it.

The food alone doesn’t justify the cost or the chaos. If you value attentive service and a smooth dining experience, I’d recommend...