The Fish House Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Watsonville

We decided to try this place out as it had such amazing reviews. When we ate there it was hugely disappointing and didn't live up to the 4.8 stars it currently has. I'll first review the service and go from there onto the food.

The waiter was very good, Xavier was very articulate, knew the menu well and what was in each dish. He was very non intrusive and gave us our space (which I prefer), and made sure we had everything we needed. Constantly refilling our glasses of water. However, the kitchen was obviously slow or something because it took a very long time to receive our appetizers and main courses. I realize this has nothing to do with Xavier, so I won't blame that service on him.

The food left something to be desired, especially with all the excellent reviews this place got. We ordered the oysters in half shell and the crab cakes. The oysters unfortunately had too much sand in them (more so than usual), were very chewy, and were very plain besides cocktail sauce and horseradish (not two things I usually have with my oysters either) they had no embellishments with them other than slices of lemon. I had actually gagged eating them as the texture was off (no exaggeration and I usually love raw oysters!). The crab cakes were fine but not great enough to ignore the oysters, as well as very expensive (12$ for one cake is pretty ridiculous when I ordered it I expected 2), and they weren't more special than other restaurants who charge about the same price for more.

For our main courses I ordered scallops scampi style, and my boyfriend ordered the chicken marsala. The scallops were perfectly cooked and scallops are very easily ruined but they were done perfectly, however the "scampi style" was a bit overdone and the scallops were basically drowned. For the sides I got veggies which were meh, and the pasta which was very good. The chicken marsala had alright flavor, however the chicken was heavily overdone leaving a very dry chewy chicken.

Now the kicker, the real reason why I probably won't ever come back to this restaurant : the Creme Brulee. I don't know if it was because the waiter made our dessert (I'm inferring this based off of him saying "I wanted to make sure it was hot when it got here"), or if they just simply don't know how to make a Creme Brulee but it was by far the worst creme brulee I've ever had. Which is disappointing considering it's my favorite dessert. When we received it the waiter had told us "sorry but I wanted to make it pretty with a berry or something but I couldn't find any"; so we just got a plain ol custard on a plate; this is pretty alarming in a restaurant, and the brulee part of our creme brulee had not set yet meaning when we put our spoon in it it was still gummy because it was just torched and it didn't have the signature creme brulee shell it's supposed to have. As well as the creme part being very grainy (probably because when they mixed the custard the egg had started to curd because of too much heat).

In conclusion, I think this is the most honest review on here, because I don't see how it has such a high rating considering such basic mistakes that the restaurant made. They need to get a better chef and perhaps not make their waiters do the cooking.There are other places in Watsonville to get a way better meal for the same price.

EDIT - I decided to try this place out again, I don't know why, I like the atmosphere and it's the only place in Watsonville that feels "high class". I got food poisoning from the crab ravioli I'm pretty sure, and there was a giant piece of shell in the ravioli that ended up cutting my mouth pretty badly. They comped it but that is just something that shouldn't happen. Also the waiter that served us was going to not accept my Canadian ID as valid identification, not sure why but that's extremely unprofessional, just because I don't live in the country doesn't mean my ID is invalid. Seriously every time I go I have a bad experience. Where are these amazing reviews coming from because I really want that...

A Seafood Lover's Dream at Fish House Bar and Grill! 🐟🍹

What a delightful culinary experience we had at the Fish House Bar and Grill in Watsonville! It was our first visit and we were simply blown away.

Our server was an absolute star. Engaging, attentive, and full of great menu recommendations. But what truly stole the show was the food - every bite was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented.

If you're a seafood lover like me, you cannot miss their sand dabs. Perfectly cooked, delicately flavored, they were an absolute delight. We also tried the crab-stuffed ravioli - a dish so decadently delicious, it's sure to win over even the most discerning palates.

And let's not forget about the drinks! They offer a full bar, catering to all tastes. We opted for the Moscow Mule, and boy, they nailed it! Refreshing with just the right kick - a perfect pairing to our seafood feast.

Fish House Bar and Grill now holds a special place in my gastronomic heart. So whether you're a local or just passing through Watsonville, do yourself a favor and pay a visit to this place. I'm already looking forward to our next trip back when we are in the area again. 5 stars aren't enough for the delight that this...

We stayed in the area for a week. After reading the reviews, we decided to have dinner at this restaurant. Honestly, I don't know who writes all those reviews and if any information can be trusted. First, it took them forever to get the order even though the restaurant was almost empty. Then, it took forever to prepare the food. About the food: I ordered crab ravioli. The order came on a large plate with a lot of reddish sauce covering the pasta. I assumed it was crab ravioli. It could be any other pasta because I could only taste the sauce. Plus, the filling in ravioli was barely noticeable. Again, they could have named it anything. It would still be impossible to tell the difference. (Returning to the reviews: ravioli was mentioned a few times in the reviews!! I can’t imagine anybody honestly liking it.) Then, it took more than forever to get a check! We asked a few times a few people but were just ignored. Finally, after a really long wait, a busboy brought the check. Our server was chatting with someone. In addition, there is an ambiance of an old and worn-out place and quite steep prices for the quality of the food. I strongly recommend avoiding this place. There are a lot of other choices...