A late Saturday lunch took us to this restaurant that we'd not been to in several years. The firstvthing we noticed was that it hadn't changed. Somehow, that's comforting. We were seated and brought beverages right away. The menu is quite extensive so we took awhile to decide on our fare. Meg went for the "Thanksgiving Special" which was a turkey sandwich with all the expected T-Day fixings. Shevhad a tossed saladcwith it, and she loved her meal which she accompanied with a nice Chardonnay. I opted for their Steak Tostada, which is served on a pair of fried tortilla shells. It was fresh and delicious, and washed down with a tall Root Beer. Our server was very busy but managed us enough attention so as to meet our needs very well. California Grill leans toward a surfer flavor which we love. It's very ckean and nicely decorated in their theme's style. The prices are well within a family budget range, and you get your money's worth. I definately recommend it for any hungry person or group. Stop by and enjoy. read more

Okay so having already eaten in a lot of random places in the Vestal area we decided to look for somewhere new. This place isn't necessarily new but we haven't been there before so we figured we would try it. The service was good, I mean nothing outstanding but the waitress was attentive and made sure everything was okay with us. The restaurant itself was also nice inside. No random tables with dirty dishes or anything like that... And now on to the food... I had a burger, it was a specialty burger but I can't remember what it was as it's been a couple weeks. I do recall it had a slice of pineapple on it which was the reason I ordered it because I like pineapple. It was cooked to perfection the way I ordered it, & it was a pretty good burger. Nothing fancy nothing special but I would order it again next time I'm there. My wife had I believe it was a fried cheesecake for dessert and I had the carrot cake once again both of them tasted fine, my only observation that I would possibly change is the piece of carrot cake in my opinion could have been a little larger. And for my wife's entree. She had the jumbo half chicken. Oh my gosh this tasted freaking incredible. Apparently they smoke these half chickens on the premises every morning and they are doing it perfectly The Smoky flavor on this was in no way overpowering and the entire chicken had the flavor throughout. I know I mentioned above that I would order that burger again but actually probably not, when my wife and I go back here (notice I said when and not if) we are most likely both going to order the chicken There isn't too much of a chance either one of us will finish this chicken for lunch as it is indeed a jumbo size, however we took home what she didn't finish, I made some chicken salad out of it for sandwiches and holy crap, the best chicken salad I have ever prepared. The whole experience kind of makes me want to go out and buy a smoker however I'm not convinced I could duplicate the flavor that this had without questioning them a little bit as to exactly how they prepared it and if I were them I wouldn't answer me because why let me make this at home when I'll keep coming back and buying it from them. I believe the price for this particular chicken was $15, and I'm thinking it comes with a side which I'm also thinking is probably about the price you would pay these days if you stopped at a random Firehouse when they were cooking chicken outside and you grabbed a half with a couple sides. This one is better though read more

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Was very impressed with my salad today. A huge portion and a generous amount of chicken and dressing! I was majorly impressed with the prices. Me and my 4 coworkers were all able to order a salad with a side each (fries, chips, rice) all for under $100 (not including the tip). I can't comment on the service or ambiance as we ordered via Grubhub but I would definitely come back and eat in! read more

California Grill - Buffalo Chicken Salad - American Near Me - Vestal, New York

Should have had lunch at Taco Bell. $35 lunch that was terrible. Never again Absolute slop. What a mistake read more

Great staff, good prices and surfer theme to promote the Cali-vibe. Instead of my go-to Cali Club (so good!!), I chose the Buffalo Shrimp Tacos with sweet potato fries from the specials menu. Yummy! Chased with J Lohr cab by the glass. read more

California Grill - a plate of tacos and fries - American Near Me - Vestal, New York

Excuse the 1 star ..!!!!No stars!!!!!!!!! food is under seasoned and over cooked brisket/ribs /everything terribly , mac is terrible dry and awkwardly needs more cheese milk salt and everything needed in Mac I've never tasted such an excuse for ribs and their drinks are a far cry from what they are supposed to be if I wanted mediocre food I would've went to a food pantry on a day they felt like feeding the homeless (Even mediocre would've been better then what I got especially for what was paid for!!!!!! ) unless you love under-seasoned unloved and uncared for food please dont waste your money on food Noone should order even on a sad night read more

When we first arrived there was no one at the desk to greet us and take us to a table. Someone finally noticed us and sat us down. We ordered wings and burgers. The wings were good but before we even got halfway through them our burgers arrived. My husband ate his but said it was tasteless. I brought mine home because it was cold already. I didn't ask for it to be reheated because I don't know what would go on inside kitchen. I asked for box and explained why and she just said sorry. Was not very attentive. The waitresses were hanging out in a booth gossiping. Will not eat there again read more

Went there for dinner and lunch also. Great menu selections, large portions, reasonable prices and the service is excellent.

Came here on a Saturday night, greeted by friendly staff and sat no problem. The restaurant made me feel like I was at a tiki bar, it was interesting but unique. My friend and I decided to do the restaurant week menu- and maybe that was our mistake. The food was fine, nothing to write home about. Overall it just was not what we were expecting. We both left the place hungry and ended up getting more food on our way home. It was worth the try, just did not meet our expectations. read more

Went in on a Tuesday night everything was very clean and staff friendly. The food came out fast and tasted delicious read more

California Grill - The half chicken with rice and beans - American Near Me - Vestal, New York

Unfortunately, I'm going to concur with the rumors that everyone in the area says about this place being inconsistent. We went there twice over the past month. The first trip is really what warranted this any stars because it was decent and we didn't wait long on a Wednesday at 2. Tonight, we (a party of 3) came in and it was pretty empty. It took us a few minutes to be seated, and quite a bit more for someone to finally check on us. We got margaritas (they're on the rocks) which were pretty blah. After another 5 minutes, we stopped our waitress for our appetizer order. We got the dip trio and two of three dips came out correctly, but we were given queso instead of buffalo chicken dip. We then ordered chicken tacos on corn tortillas (my mom has celiacs), a pulled pork Cali burrito, and steak fresco tacos. Our waitress asked us several times what it was again that we wanted both for our meal and sides. When our food came out 45 minutes later, literally nothing was right but the sides. The chicken tacos were on flour tortillas, the pork Cali was instead a chicken and bean burrito, and the steak fresco tacos were pulled pork and avocado. We had eaten so many chips to tide us over waiting for the food that I wasn't even hungry and took it all home. The entire bill was $75. Our waitress was funny and nice, but had she just written down our order, this could have all been avoided. We won't be returning. read more

I ordered a trio of shrimp tacos. The flavor was good but the corn tortillas fell apart. I don't normally finish a restaurant meal but I finished these and was disappointed because each taco only had ONE shrimp in it. I'm a woman with a small appetite and was barely satisfied. Any man ordering these will walk away hungry. read more

Love getting to come back to the California Grill after months of being home. The food is still great and appreciate the outdoor seating. There is something on the menu for all of the picky eaters in our family. Keep up the great work. read more

The food wasn't very good and I was bombarded by rather loud country and western music the whole time. The ribs were rather dry and tough on the surface, and they didn't have much flavor. read more

I'm going to be honest with all of you... I try my absolute best to not leave bad reviews but... I just paid $15 for like.. 4 baby back ribs. 4 baby back ribs that were hard, tough and somehow crunchy? It was near inedible. I'm giving them 3 stars because I have had "alright" food there in the past. read more

If you know me you know I am a love of the Q especially slow smoked but to serve this would be a disgrace. Didn't trim the fat which means they wasted expensive spices because it won't penetrate the meat also not all the fat on a brisket will render so you trim down to 1/4". Or don't season that side and cut it off after the cook. Lastly the brisket was cut wrong you go against the grains to achieve the best results. This was not worth the cost. My son and daughter had ribs and they were okay. For the sides I tried the beans, which reminded me of Bush Beans out of the can and Frye coleslaw I spit out because it was not edible. read more

California Grill - Garbage brisket. - American Near Me - Vestal, New York

Drove by this restaurant while visiting family and their sign mentioned that they are not a chain and that I should support local business. This struck a chord with me as it's very hard to avoid chain restaurants in Vestal, all of which aren't that great and which come with several annoyances such as those ridiculous iPads on the table, sometimes spotty service and inconsistent food. California grill has a large menu and while it seems from the outside you are entering a Cali-Mex restaurant, those items are only about a third of the menu. There's an entire barbecue page and the descriptions sounded pretty good. I had the beef brisket with sides of chipotle cole slaw (a nice variation on the classic) and fries. The brisket was moist and both sides were delicious. There was also a decent list of draft beers available in two sizes. Four beers (two of them microbrews) and two of the fancier entrees came to $44 after tax. Can't complain about that. All in a much nicer environment with better service than the chain counterparts along the Parkway. read more

Great food great service and we well be back had the fish and chips it was fabulous !

I went here on the recommendation of a friend with several others primarily to try their wings. Someday perhaps I'll try their smoked BBQ but I went there for wings and that is what most of us had. The menu says "jumbo" wings (or something like that indicating they are larger than normal). I'd say that was misleading. Between the 3 sets of wings (why can't i get a dozen anymore...10???) they were all very standard size. Given that they weren't "jumbo" by any stretch of the imagination the $7.99 they charge is pretty steep. I won't go back for wings again at that price. With that said, the wings were good. I got "sweet and sour" and liked it. The others got something else. One set was "Chiptotle Ranch" and the other was "Hot Garlic". They have perhaps 50 varieties. Everyone said their wings were good. I thought mine were good too BUT the stigma of the price destroyed the experience. I'm probably living in the past but $8 for 10 (not a dozen remember) wings is pretty ridiculous. Had I known in advance how much their wings were I probably would had have skipped the place entirely. As it was, I paid a steep price for wings and walked out hungry. read more

Okay at best. Inside is fun and beachy, and it's clean. Went on a slow day, but still had relatively slow service. My fish tacos had mahi mahi that definitely tasted as though it had been microwaved, and the rest of the meal was underwhelming in the lack of flavor and flair. My side was grilled pineapple, which which was 3 canned pineapple rings. They had been grilled, and although the menu didn't indicate "fresh" pineapple, it would significant improvement that as a side dish. Boyfriend's burger was decent, but a uncooked in the middle. Fries were nothing special. Wanted to like the place, but won't be going back. read more

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Great steak asada, my main dish here. The mozzarella sticks are also really good. I asked got a side of cocktail sauce instead of marinara for the mozzarella sticks and was charged $.59 which I thought was ridiculous. I agree with the previous reviews that the food is very inconsistent. I've had this dish 5-6 times and it's always prepared differently. Most recently, they have started decorating the top of burrito with sour cream. How can u eat a decorated burrito without making a mess? The answer is, you can't. I mentioned this to the waitress who acknowledged this is common feedback from customers but the kitchen refuses to change the way they prepare the burrito. Overall, good food at a fair price that is inconsistent. read more

California Grill - A "decorated" steak asada burrito - American Near Me - Vestal, New York

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Great food , fast service, loved it try it yourself too see! It was clean and refreshing to eat somewhere different. Drove by 100 times finally glad we stopped are new hotspot! read more

California Grill - God clean place !Great service great food! - American Near Me - Vestal, New York

Food is great. Service is fast and friendly. To Go packaging is done right, too. I definitely recommend!

California Grill did a great job of providing us with a relaxed dining experience under "new normal" circumstances. The food was great! Kudos!!! read more

Food was very dry. The California burrito had little to no cheese and sour cream just extremely dry. We had the side of Mac and cheese and the milk in the cheese or the cheese itself was spoiled and had a rotten taste to it. Won't be going back. I'll only give it a 2 because the waitresses were very friendly. read more

This place is my go to local spot. There really isn't anything on the menus you can go wrong with. Awesome bbq, great wings, again not really anything you will be disappointed in picking!!! read more

I recommend this place for families and large groups. Great seating, excellent parking and well lit. The food isn't bad either, with a grill in the front parking lot always smoking. You can smell the food for miles. The drinks are decently priced and one thing that will immediately stand out is the unique menu, filled with their own brand of entrees. Very warm staff and TVs at the Bar with everything playing from the game to prime time programming. I was really impressed. read more

California Grill is a curious place. It's more of a family restaurant - kinda, sorta. The decor is kitschy and California-esque (see the website for pics) and comfy and fun. Lots of booths. TVs mounted on the ceiling are visible from said booths. So the decor is relaxing and casual, but it's also sort of schizo. (The bar area is separate. There is a long menu of specialty drinks/cocktails. My husband and I once went straight to the bar in the middle of a drinking evening. It was all good. There are also plenty of tables in the bar, etc., if you prefer to eat in that room. I think they have happy hour app specials, etc.) The website claims that the food is "fresh, never frozen." If this is really true - then mad props. (Did I just write that?) The semi-neg is that I couldn't really tell that the food was fresh and not frozen. It didn't seem *that* much better than standard fare. It was tasty, don't get me wrong! It just seemed fine, great, what I would expect at an Applebees. Maybe a notch better. The menu (on the Web site) features a large variety of things - lots of pineapple and avocado, per the Californian theme. My husband got ribs - he said they were quite good. Smoky BBQ. Service is okay to fine. I've been twice. Once I ordered a spinach salad with chicken, and the server forgot that I ordered chicken and put the blame back on me. And she did that thing where she puts your used silverware back on the table so she doesn't have to bring a new fork, etc. That sort of irks me, but it is just a casual place, so it's probably my pretension. :) They advertise king crab legs or prime rib specials on weekends. I've not been. The crab sounds tempting... UPDATE: 10/10 -- So, I've been again - for a real meal, this time. I had a better experience. I ordered a chicken sandwich with pineapple rings (it had a catchier name), and it was pretty darn good. I mean, unlike the slimier, smaller FamilyMcChain type of chicken breast, this one tasted better - fresher, even. And the fries are really good. They are sort of textured or "furry." (Perhaps furry is not the best term.) I'm tempted to give it 4 stars for the category. Maybe one more good visit will push me to do so. read more

A couple generic craft beers on tap do not make up for the bland food which is somewhat overpriced. The interior decor is a ridiculous attempt at imitating a beach-side/surf-side restaurant. You can see what I mean by going to their highly amateur website and perusing the photos there. Service is friendly if a little slow. They seem to employ high-school students in their first waitressing jobs, and it shows. I have no idea why this place is sometimes busy. read more

I eat here frequently and love the food because it's different than the usual fare in the Southern Tier. You can get a tasty casual meal (I recommend the Cilantro Ginger Turkey Burger) or a delicious entree (Pacific Chicken is my fave). I love the wings too! They come in 50 different flavors and are cooked crispy. Food aside, the waitstaff is friendly and the restaurant is probably the cleanest I've ever been in. read more

This place is sad. Feels like it's past it hayday and needs to be updated. I feel like I time warped into the 90's. Tried it once I don't think I'll be returning. Graphics are really bad. Walked in and tv's were 10 years old and off on the wall. The lighting was really awkward and dark. Service was very slow. Also the music was like a Dave Mathews playlist and I wanted to cry the entire time. DONT DO IT! read more

California Grill - You can get the same cheese at a gas station. - American Near Me - Vestal, New York

I picked this restaurant because the place was very crowded. That led me to believe that, "wow, this place must be great". I was wrong. The interior is a combination Polynesian buffet/beach/sports bar. Way too many "surf boards", thatching, etc., while the tables and booths were regular run of the mill. Service was okay. I couldn't decide what to get. I ended up picking the California lettuce wrap appetizer. It was described as Asian-spiced chicken, but I thought something was missing. However, there was enough on my plate to fill me up. BJ got a Philly cheese sandwich, which he said wasn't really what he was expecting. It's an okay place to eat, but nothing to get excited about. Probably should have went to McDonald's. read more

I had not gone here in a while since the previous times I found that I was still hungry after eating here and the food was not anything to rave about. However, either they are much improved or I just got lucky. Not so sure. This time around I split a burger and the spedie salad with a friend. The burger was well cooked, and the fries were EXCELLENT-- nice and crispy. Luckily I split them because I would have devoured them all. The salad was also pretty good. Between the two meals (healthy salad + sinful burger+fries) they made for a very joyous belly. read more

I love California Grill! I am there every Wednesday for Trivia and I have a blast every time. All of the employees are soo nice and helpful. Management is great. Food is great. Even the lighting is great. Definitely try it out. read more

This is a great place to eat. They have a big menu. The food is really good. We have never had a bad meal and we have eaten there many times. read more

My recent visit is the follow up to my first trip when the California Grill first opened. On my first visit, they were definitely still working the bugs out. I'm assuming my more recent trip is representative of what one should expect. It's laid back, casual, great for families, not terribly expensive. I ordered their cob salad. My biggest gripe is that they use packaged pre-cut lettuce. That doesn't work for me since I can taste the plastic or the preservatives or whatever...God knows how long the stuff has been cut for, but it never browns. The rest of the salad was okay, though. My boyfriend's meal included a seasoned rice and black beans. He enjoyed them. I sampled, but didn't go back for seconds. If I visit again, I'd be curious to see what the server recommends. Perhaps, I'll find something more inspiring. I'll never get past the image of its predecessor, Yesterday's. I even recognized one of the servers as a longtime Yesterday's waitress. I'm hopeful for them. I like to see the local guys do well. read more

Resilient and brilliant fighters... Got knocked down and came back with a vengeance!!!! Love the "hometown" feeling you get when ever entering here. Having such a variety of wings makes it just about difficult to choose what flavor to get. And of course my favorite!!! The Prime Rib special every Friday and Saturday!! To die for!!! (I can never finish it so of course for me, steak and eggs for breakfast the next morning). Staff is always friendly and helpful. Come check out the new and improved California Grill!!! read more

Worst food of all time. Never thought I would experience a true definition of a Kitchen Nightmare. California would be insulted by this. The food is so horrible. Bland, old,taste and smells freezer burnt! Dried out. French dip on a hot dog bun! The dipping sauce was just as bland. They really need to stop their family and employees on writing good reviews! Real customers are all saying the same thing! Close the doors before you poison someone with this crap! read more

Ok food was ok but the service not so good. The waitress seemed to he in another world. Not a bad place.

Decided on lunch here because of Yelp recommendations. Really cute place, California beach decor. Friendly staff. Clean. I had the pulled pork with a side of chipotle Cole slaw. Very tasty!! The side of bbq sauce added a nice touch. Hub had the California club. It was okay. Side of black beans were sweet. Chips and salsa weren't anything to write home about. Refills on soft drinks without having to ask. All in all a nice lunch stop and lovely alternative to the usual chain/fast food chains. read more

California Grill - Looks like a fun place for happy hour. - American Near Me - Vestal, New York