Islands — Restaurant in Santa Clarita

I usually don't frequent too many "chain" restaurants, but Islands is one of the rare exceptions. Their chicken sandwiches are top notch and very tasty. One of my favorites is the Toucan, which features teriyaki sauce, pineapple, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a giant grilled chicken breast....highly recommend. My other "go-to" is actually an off-menu chicken sandwich from days past called the California Flyer, but it's worth asking about and getting the special order. It features lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, little shredded fried onions, and a perfectly grilled chicken breast....a superb sandwich!! So that's some of the good stuff about Islands, but here's the reason why they get a 4 star rating instead of a 5 these days....it's just not acceptable to raise the price of burgers and chicken sandwiches to $11-15, and not give a free side of fries with those!! Islands used to ALWAYS give unlimited fries with every entrée sandwich, and now you have to pay extra just to get fries!! I understand that restaurants took a bit of a loss because of Covid19, but now that places like Islands have dine-in service again it's time to bring back including fries with the sandwiches!! A sandwich, fries and drink with tip used to cost approximately $12-17 at Islands. It's unconscionable that the same meal with tip now costs $17-22. Give us a break Islands....your customers are hurting financially from Covid-19 as well!! And seriously, when a family restaurant gets rid of one of their best incentives (the unlimited fries that were included with every entrée), makes virtually every menu item à la carte, and also raises the prices on those items....well, it just seems like they're nickel and diming their customers. Where's the incentive for the average working family to support that?? The food is great, but nobody these days should be paying over $20 per person for a chain restaurant sandwich, fries, drink, and tip. So here's the real tip for Islands corporate: drop the price of every sandwich back $1 to where they used to be, and bring back the included fries with those entrée items!! I think you'll have a lot more satisfied customers, and will fill more seats as Covid restrictions...

I've been a long time fan of Islands. I normally get their endless bowl of tortilla soup, but on this occasion I went with the Kilauea Burger and regular Island fries, along with some chips and salsa.

The chips and salsa came first and were warm and the chips were thin and crispy, nothing special but the salsa was delicious.

I had a longboard Beer in a large / tall mug. The beer was cold and tasty, perfect for a 102° day.

The burger and fries came out next, the fries were crispy and very hot and they were essentially perfect. They stayed crispy and flavorful to the last fry.

The burger however, was another story. It smelled funny. Not unappetizing, just "off". The bun was heavily charred on the inside, and the burger itself was burnt on the outside, but rare on the inside, even though they say they only cook them medium and higher.

The burger itself quickly fell apart and I used a fork to eat most of it. It was not a great burger, I give it 6 out of 10. Everything that came with the burger was fine, it's just that the meat patty left a lot to be desired and that off-putting smell. It tasted fine, just smelled..."off" is just the best way to put it.

The staff was friendly and helpful and at no point was I ever in need of a refill of my water or another beer. Twice the waitstaff came and insured that I was happy with my meal. When I was finished with a plate they quickly came over and asked if they could take it, again very very good customer service

All in all I think I'll stick to the tortilla soup as the burgers were lackluster at best and nothing is cheap anymore so I expect quality, high quality at that, when paying $15.75 for a burger and fries.

Parking is plentiful as it is a very large shopping center, kids are always welcome here and they do have a nice bar area where you can watch some games and grab a quick bite without having to wait for...

I used to come to Islands almost weekly years ago and always loved their fish tacos, burgers, and cheese fries. It had been a long time since my last visit, so I was looking forward to coming back.

When we arrived, the greeting at the host stand was a bit disorganized. The restaurant was fairly empty, but there was some confusion among the hosts about who was seating us, and we were eventually taken to a table in the far corner by the bathrooms. It took a while for our server to arrive, so we were ready to order everything at once.

We started with the cheese fries, which were excellent, served on a hot plate so the cheese stayed melted and the fries stayed warm. For mains, we ordered sliders, a cheeseburger, and the classic fish tacos. The fish tacos were unfortunately dry and lacking flavor, the sliders were just okay, and the cheeseburger was solid. Service throughout the meal was on the slower side, and even the water had an off taste, which led me to switch to a Diet Coke.

While seated, I happened to look down at the side of our booth and noticed dried splash marks from old food and drinks. It was not a good look for a restaurant and made the space feel less cared for. At the end of the meal, we asked our waitress for a to-go box twice, but it never arrived. We eventually had to ask the host, who finally brought it to us.

Overall, while it was not the worst meal I have had, it did not live up to the fond memories I had from years past, and I do not see myself returning...