Birdseye Rooftop Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in San Diego

If giving a negative amount of stars was possible, I would absolutely do it for this restaurant. The service was abysmal and I was very obviously and deeply treated with disrespect. There was not only a severe lack of customer service but also a lack of humanity and care. I was blatantly ignored by all three employees that I saw at the time. I understand they may have been understaffed but the place wasn't overrun with customers and a simple acknowledgment would have gone a long way. I was blatantly ignored by one young lady in particular who made eye contact with me several times over the course of the almost 20 minutes that I was waiting very patiently to be helped (and I only waited that long because I was waiting for a friend to find parking and get to the restaurant). After that amount of time, a large party arrived and was standing behind me on the steps and the second woman who was working, and had also intentionally ignored me, quickly grabbed her iPad to attend to them and ask them about their potential reservation or reserving a table for a wait. I stepped in and told her I'd been waiting for quite a while, as she saw, and she pretended to be surprised and dumbstruck , as if I hadn't been there and she hadn't looked at me multiple times as well. My friend really wanted to try this place - which by the way was not at all what it's advertised to be on Instagram, so don't be fooled or waste your time and money - so I reluctantly stayed and was eventually seated in the back at a corner table. At that point another server arrived and after being further ignored by the first two women and the bartender, he came along and introduced himself and eventually brought us two menus. After sitting there for a while longer without water or any type of service we decided to leave and I asked to speak with a manager who wasn't there at the time but was expected to arrive shortly. Thankfully, after a short trip to the bathroom he arrived and I spoke to him about the experience and he made the situation more annoying by failing to genuinely acknowledge or apologize for the lack of service that we received, the blatant disrespect that I personally endured, and the overall experience. He kept saying they had areas where they could improve but blamed it on the fact that the restaurant was busy and that they were understaffed rather than acknowledging the staff's racism and intolerance, which I very calmly explained. It had nothing to do with being overly crowded and everything to do with me as an individual, which i told him felt very personal considering their desire to help everyone who didn't look like me, at which time he made a face and brushed it off as if I don't know the difference between lack of customer service skills and discrimination. It wasn't until the final moment of the exchange, before we left, that he attempted to weakly apologize while still blaming factors that really played no part in the situation. Ultimately, this restaurant isn't worth your time, your effort, your money, or the very bland looking overpriced food they were serving. It seems as if they rely solely on people wanting to have an Instagram moment, which by the way, this wasn't the place for that as it was dirty and dingy and certainly not the new space that they promote it to be online, considering it's been open for at least a couple of years at this point. So try at your own risk, and particularly if you are part of the BIPOC community (and not surrounded by our less melanated friends), good luck! There will be no second chances for this establishment....

New rooftop space with gorgeous views. Attached to the Cormorant hotel. From the street level, take the side stairs on the right to the top. We came here on 5/4/22 at 7pm and it was busy due to the sunset. But at about 8, everyone cleared out.

They had no hostess and we were told it’ll be 10-15 minutes by the bartender. No wait list either. Another couple came after us and we waited patiently to be seated. But then a third couple came and just snatch the bar seat in front of us. When that happened, it was evident that it would be first come first serve and we weren’t going to wait to be seated. We saw an open high top table and sat ourselves.

Venue/Atmosphere (4 stars) This space can only seat 49 so it’s a bit small. The view is not for free as it reflects in your food and beverage. A bit over priced but hey, it’s La Jolla. Beautiful decor with succulent walls.

It started to get cold and I wished they had outdoor heaters. That’s a must for San Diego outdoor dining.

Food/Drinks (3 stars): We had order drinks but they were so behind and short staffed that the food came out first. We then discovered that the empanadas came out wrong too. We ordered beef but corn came. As soon as we notified them of the mistake, they brought out the beef as complimentary.

-Beef empanadas (3-$16) - This came out warm and puff pastry was soft and crispy, my first bite reminded me of pate chaud from the outer shell but as I took another bite, it was loaded with meat and saltiness.

-Corn empanadas (3-$16) - I liked the corn better but this too, was salty. I couldn’t taste the Béchamel sauce and adding the chimichurri didn’t help.

-Veggie lovers flatbread ($18) - grape tomatoes, red onion, olives, arugula, mozzarella. This was salty too!

-Linguine far diavolo with shrimp ($27) - very flavorful but the shrimp seasoning was salty.

-Spa Day ($16) - kettle one, cucumber, lime, mint, it was refreshing like cucumber water.

-Bee’s Knees ($17) - gin, lemon and lavender served in a martini glass. This one was syrupy sweet and strong.

Service (5 stars) We had an outstanding sever named Arthur. Poor guy was working a double shift but he was very attentive, friendly, and made sure we got what we needed.

We had a long conversation with the GM about the space, the menu, the food, and he said a hostess will be starting soon. We told him the chef was overly generous with his punch of salt and made everything salty. He apologized and said to come back for another try.

We inquired about group dining opportunities but because the space is limited, he said the accommodations should be no larger than 6. Unless we rent out the entire space for $10k.

I paid a total of $60 per person and lost my Zara black cardigan from the time I entered the bar to the time I seated myself. About 30 ft away. Not sure how. They helped look but it disappeared.

Overall, it’s a very nice view of the ocean. Very disappointed for paying this much, lose my cardigan and to have our meals come out salty. Even our server agreed with us. Hard to determine if I’ll be back when you can get similar views next door at Duke’s and We Olive and Wine Bar.

Parking: La Jolla parking is a pain if you want it for free. Most spaces are two hours before 6pm. Otherwise, plenty of paid...

This rooftop bar is incredibly OK. There is nothing super special about it. I feel like I would give it a better review if the food was of a higher quality - don't get me wrong - it is decent edible food but, for its price point I would expect something a little bit more refined or, a little bit more eccentric. This restaurant is attached to a hotel, which makes sense as to why the prices are what they are.

Nonetheless If you want to use the bathroom, you actually have to go into the hotel and use one of their public hotel restrooms, which is nestled in the hallway of rooms. Heaven forbid you have to get up and move around during the course of your stay here. When I got up to use the restroom, It was like navigating maze of tables, people and chairs all of which were too close together for anyone to feel remotely safe in the event of a pressing emergency. I felt worse for the people sitting who I was passing by, with my waist getting dangerously close to some of their faces. I cannot imagine being a plus size individual trying to get around in this place.

As for the space itself the key point of this rooftop bar and restaurant is the view. If you ever find yourself wanting to get some drinks and order an appetizer this place is actually pretty darn good...

However, if you dare to venture into the realm of entrées... Beware... you will not be impressed and perhaps even begrudgingly sated.

This venue is trying to maximize everything they have and it really shows. I feel that if they just pulled back even just a little bit and focused in on what they do best or even try to elevate the elements that were lacking, this place could have a line out the front, but they're doing fine with what they have and that reflects in their food, service and atmosphere. It is perfectly fine. Just OK. Not good and not...