Woodward Marine Market — Restaurant in Watsonville Water Treatment Plant

Went on a Saturday at 1:30pm after whale watching. Patio was full, but inside was empty (~50% capacity). Had hoped this place might be a successor to Phil’s, which had to relocate. Wow, were we disappointed.

Was told they were already out of fish and chips and burgers, which seemed strange as it was only 1:30pm, but cest la vie.

Ordered clam chowder and calamari as starters, and the bouillabaisse, grilled cheese, tri-tip, poke, and crispy artichoke sandwich (5 people).

Clam chowder (2-stars): Was surprised by how modest the portion was for their “large” size. Chowder was not “broad appeal” but very herbaceous. Some might like it, but if you are looking for a solid, traditional, delicious chowder… this isn’t that.

Calamari (4-stars): Great breading, delicious sauce. Would have been 5-stars, but portion size seemed off for the price (and for what you can get at comparable places).

Grilled Cheese (0-stars): Came out 5 minutes before any other mains… served on 1” thick bread, and half the cheese was unmelted & cold. It was supposed to have “mango ginger chutney” and “grilled onions.” My sandwich had a thin, unevenly applied layer of chutney liquid, and 0 pieces of actual chutney. It had TWO small pieces of onion per side.

When I asked the server if I could have a side of chutney and my sandwich heated again, as the cheese was cold, she said “you’ll have to bring that to the front” and walked away… back to the front. Why did I need to follow her there myself? Who knows.

Sandwich was reheated, but I was not given a side of chutney. Server came back and said “I checked with the chef, you’re all set.” Sandwich still had 0 chutney, and a small, unevenly applied layer of chutney liquid (it is clear they had run out of chutney, and were giving me what was left at the bottom of the container).

Bouillabaisse (2-stars): Bland shrimp, bland fish, broth seemed a bit over-seasoned; we added the provided lemon wedge to try and balance, but didn’t improve it much.

Tri-tip (0-stars): Pathetic, paper thin slices of meat, horribly overcooked. Served on a huge roll (and cold) with a laughable meat/bread ratio. Supposed to have caramelized onions and aioli, couldn’t find much of either.

Poke (1-star): Rice was not cooked correctly. Supposed to be “sticky rice,” but was a giant mush ball. Fish was fine, but it is hard to mess up frozen, sushi-grade tuna. Tasted like a worse version of poke than what you’d get at a fast-casual poke chain.

Crispy Artichoke Sandwich (4-stars): The best main we had. Properly sauced and seasoned, actually served hot. Downside… it came 15 minutes after the first main (and with a comically large “side salad”).

When we asked where the sandwich was after 10min of waiting, we were told “this is a craft kitchen, not everything is going to be served at once.” As if that wasn’t baffling enough, the server then said, “because it’s a craft kitchen, the chef makes multiple orders of a dish at once.”

Yes. The server admitted that they were waiting for another order of the sandwich to be placed, before preparing our last main. And this was glaringly obvious, as dishes came out of the kitchen in waves: we saw all the calamari for various tables come out at once, then all of the tri-tips, etc.

——

Problem seems to be rooted in the menu, which is all over the place. It is clear that very few dishes share ingredients (or even a flavor profile), which must make prep and service a nightmare.

Given that we only saw 3 people working (1 chef, 1 server, 1 hostess), it is head-scratching that they are trying to do: burgers, falafel, poke, tri-tip, bouillabaisse, tacos, fish & chips, clam chowder, and an assortment of salads and starters - and expecting to do any of them well.

Apparently they will be offering wood fired pizzas soon, which won’t help the issues. Hopefully they find a better direction. Maybe cut a lot of the menu (e.g. tater tots and falafel burgers), and focus on some staple dishes done right. Pizzas and a selection of seafood-oriented pastas is an idea that...

The only reason a star has been deleted is because of the sauces served with the food. The tartar sauce is called tartar sauce, but it is thin and runny and doesn't taste anything like traditional tartar sauce. It tastes like a creamy pickle juice. The sauce served with the French fried artichokes didn't taste anything like an "olive and roasted garlic aioli". It was very spicy and tasted much more of horseradish. Finally, I asked for ranch dressing on the side because French fires and ranch are...well, the best...but they do not have ranch dressing. Even though they have salads on the menu, they don't have ranch dressing. My husband can't eat vinegar...so had he ordered a salad, he would have had to eat it dry. There needs to be an option for something beside a vinaigrette or Caesar. I appreciate homemade sauces and dressings, but I would love to have the more traditional flavored...

It has a cute vibe. Opened later than the listed opening the day we visited, but there was a slight bit of rain, so I guess that slowed them down. We ate outside on the patio area. It's set up nice, but be aware that you will smell the sea, and the sea lions. We had our bulldog with us, and one of the servers brought out a water bowl. One of the servers, a male, mean mugged me pretty much the entire time I was there. I guess he did not appreciate my t-shirt! He made me laugh. I ordered the fish and chips, I was not a fan of the taste, but the presentation was pretty cool. The wife ordered the Ahi dish, I think it was a daily special. The presentation was pretty impressive, decent flavor. The service wasn't overly impressive, or disappointing. I thought it was fairly pricey, I but I guess location. There isn't much around the area, but we visited during off season, but I wouldn't eat there on...