DINING OUT: The Chart House—Surf, Turf, and Great Views

The Chart House Restaurant was one of two local establishments to be given the 2012 Diner’s Choice Award for the in the United States. I had never been to the Dana Point restaurant, which is located on Green Lantern, but given their award-winning status, I thought we should definitely try it.

The view is spectacular, even from the parking lot. We arrived on a lovely mid-week evening, and I was excited to try the Chart House.

Diners enter on the highest level of the restaurant and then descend a spiral staircase down into the dining area. We were led into a circular dining room. There is kind of a space-age feeling to the décor. In the center of the ceiling is a circular wood sculpture, from which lighting is suspended. The wall facing the ocean is made almost entirely of windows, which allows every table an amazing view of the coastline and harbor. Around the room are booths, separated by concrete dividers. The tables are made of glossy wood.

We were given a dinner menu, cocktail menu and a menu of specials. Our waiter came over quickly to take our drink order. The wine list covers the entire back of the large dinner menu and offers a wide variety of selections. The cocktail menu had quite a few intriguing options such as Cucumber Bliss made with Pearl cucumber vodka, Milagro silver tequila, agave nectar, muddled cucumber and black lava salt and Moscato Sangria prepared with Malibu coconut rum, Midori melon liqueur, Moscato white wine, fresh fruit and basil leaves. In addition, there are a number of flavored mojitos and martinis.

The dinner menu is mainly seafood and steaks, with a few other options. Appetizers include calamari, oysters Rockefeller, crab cakes and coconut crunchy shrimp. There are a few salads and soups as well as a salad bar option.

A nice feature of the menu is that there is a chart in the upper right corner indicating which of the fish entrees are fresh that day. The night we visited, the mahi, ahi tuna, Alaskan halibut, Atlantic salmon, tilapia and White Sea bass were all fresh. There are a variety of side dishes for diners to order, but many of the entrees come with mashed potatoes or other side dish. Most entrees range in price from about $27-$40.

After assessing all of our choices, we decided to order an appetizer to start. I chose gazpacho and Jim ordered the jumbo lump crab cake. For dinner, he selected the spiced yellow fin ahi with wasabi-mashed potatoes. I chose the best of shrimp, an entrée made of three shrimp preparations: scampi, crab stuffed shrimp and coconut crunchy shrimp.

Our waiter took our order and brought a basket of breads and crackers and we enjoyed the view. The gazpacho arrived in a little metal bucket and was garnished with a strip of cucumber, croutons and dollop of sour cream. I loved the presentation, but unfortunately, it had an unusual tangy taste and I did not really enjoy it. The crab cake was spectacular, however. It came on a plate with a swirl of sauce. It had huge pieces of crab and was delicious.

Thank goodness, we ordered an appetizer, because it took a very long time for our dinner to arrive. After we had been seated for at least fifty minutes, our waiter came over and said our entrees were about eight minutes away. He apologized and said the kitchen was backed up. Ten minutes later, we were given our entrees.

The ahi was well prepared and tasty. My husband enjoyed the soy sauce preparation as well as the wasabi potatoes. The coconut crunchy shrimp was the bright spot in the best of shrimp entrée. It was slightly sweet and crisp and was served with a great, spicy sauce.

By the time the meal was over, and we were having difficulty getting our waiter’s attention to bring us our check, we were feeling frustrated. The manager happened to come by and agreed to bring us the check. He was apologetic and graciously took our appetizers off our bill.

The Chart House Restaurant has a stunning view and offers an appealing cocktail menu and the dinner menu has a nice range of fresh seafood. The night we visited, the service was quite slow and a little spotty. I am not sure if this experience is representative of the restaurant or if it was just a fluke.

I give the Chart House 3 Patches out of 5.