We were there for a snack and ordered the tuna tostada and the quesadilla. Both were beautifully presented and tasted very good. The service was great and we would definitely go there again when visiting the area. read more

Located into the Hilton Del Mar is this restaurant. During my stay I did get some drinks and tacos here. Both were pretty good. My items did take some time to come out but both were good. I had their spicy mango margarita which was enjoyable. My tacos were also flavored well. The inside is small but they have a cute bar. The staff also is pretty nice. It's a decent place to eat and drink if you are staying at the hotel. read more

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We recently dined at Coastal Kitchen inside the Hilton San Diego Del Mar for the first time, as we were staying at the Hilton and decided to give it a try after checking out their dinner menu. As we entered for dinner around 6 pm, the hostess told us to sit anywhere we liked. Our waitress, Eva, and the server were very nice and attentive to our needs. Here's what we ordered: 1. **Crispy Calamari** - Really hot and crispy, perfect with the lemon aioli. 4.5/5 2. **Wagyu Cheeseburger Sliders** - Served with French fries, the flame-broiled burgers with garlic aioli were moist and paired well with the soft, tasty brioche buns. 4.4/5 3. **Herb Chicken Sandwich** - Marinated in rosemary and garlic, with provolone, spinach, and heirloom tomato. Served with fries, this was a great, tasty sandwich. 4.4/5 4. **Filet Mignon** - Tender filet served with vegetables, potatoes, carrots, and mashed potatoes. Cooked perfectly. 4.5/5 5. **Charbroiled Angus Rib Eye Steak** - Tender and very tasty Angus rib eye, with distinct grill flavors. Served with mashed potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and asparagus. The star of the show. 4.6/5 6. **House-Made Bread Pudding** - Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was moist and sweet. 4.4/5 The night was quiet initially but got busier as time passed. There was plenty of seating outside where you can enjoy the cool breeze and be close to the swimming pool. They even turned on the outdoor fire pits next to comfy couches and tables, making it a nice place to hang out after dinner. The restaurant was very clean, and our server Eva gave me a complimentary Birthday dessert, which was the perfect way to end the night. For breakfast they serve buffet $25/Person it's good but not really for me. Ordered Russian River Omelet for my wife and got to taste it for it was outstanding (4.6/5) Overall, we had a fantastic experience at Coastal Kitchen. The food was delicious, the service was excellent, and the ambiance was lovely. Definitely recommend for anyone staying at the Hilton San Diego Del Mar or looking for a great dining experience in the area. read more

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Service is good, but the food is definitely a miss, rather than a hit. This restaurant is located inside the Hilton Del Mar. We tried their $25 breakfast buffet. The food needs quick improvements. Unfortunately, their breakfast buffet isn't even worth the $25. I would be concerned about how long the food sits around, most likely unattended to. Not worth your time. Go to Denny's. So sorry!! I wanted to like this place, but fell short. Such a shame! But the area is clean! read more

The waitress refused to serve me at the table and told me to go to the bartender while serving the guys next to me. That's a weird service

Don't let this place fool you, food is really good here! We were staying a couple of nights and decided to have dinner at the hotel instead of going out in hopes that it would be decent. Well we were not disappointed. My husband got the steak and I got the chicken and both were very moist and they were cooked perfectly. It is pricey but, you are in a hotel. They have TV's and will change the channel for you in case you have a sports aficionado like I do. It is kid and pet friendly. The patio is lovely and they do have fire pits available for those nice summer beach evenings. Service is perfect and the staff is very friendly. read more

We stayed at the hotel many times and it's great, clean and everybody is very professional. The restaurant is a different story. There is a cranky waiter there (others were nice) and their food - no matter what you order - is so salty, almost like they are trying hard to bring some taste to it by adding a lot of salt. How can they mess up the chips and cheese dip, really? read more

This was so convenient for our stay at the Hilton. I always love it when a hotel has a good restaurant on the first floor. There isn't much separation from the hotel lobby - it's just slightly sectioned off. We could hear conversations in the lobby but that didn't bother me. The space felt more like a sports bar than a real restaurant. The servers showed up promptly and were pretty attentive. Now onto the food! I had the braised short ribs for one night and salmon for another. Both were well made and scrumptious. The portion was alright - not too much, not too little. From our stay, it doesn't look like this place gets that crowded. Oh and I peeked in when they had the breakfast buffet. It my honest opinion, the food was not worth twenty five dollars. Denny's has better options for way less. There are also tons of other amazing breakfast/brunch spots in the area. I'd only come here for lunch and dinner. read more

Please don't be fooled by this establishments overall ratings. I'll break it down by category. Note this was for dinner coming in around 7p after the Del Mar races finished. Food: 2.5 - We tried the Turkey Club and California Burrito. Both were just ok and nothing to write home about. Turkey club was supposed to have bacon but instead they substituted ham. I assume this is because they ran out of bacon?? Regardless it didn't have alot of flavor and I was forced to add mustard and mayo to make it edible. The California burrito was also just ok. It was loaded on French fries and very little meat. I thought it needed salsa but was told they don't have any and gave me Tabasco. Service: 0 star. When we came in, the place was nearly empty. We asked to sit together and we had to put our own tables together. Because we had a decent sized group (12) I did expect to have to wait for our food. It took almost 1hr after ordering! We didn't get our food until almost 815. Drink service was terrible. We were looking for our server on many occasions as she would disappear randomly and never checked in on us. Drinks were not refilled timely at all and at one point, 1 member of our party went up to get the pitcher of water and refilled our glasses. Had the waitress been on top of her game, our party easily would have had 2-3 drinks each. Instead most of us had 1 and if lucky got a 2nd. Very disappointed with their service. To top it off, Nicole (our server) had 0 personality. She auto added 20% tip and then tricked many of us into adding additional tip because she wouldn't provide the itemized receipt until after we paid. Very shoddy business here. Overall: Save yourself the headache. You may be tired after the races but do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. In fact, I'd even go to Dennys over this place. There are plenty of other local businesses to eat that are within 10m drive (Lyft / Uber) that offer much better food and service. read more

Coastal Cantina - California Burrito - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

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I had an amazing time here at CoastalKitchen. The food is just splendid and fresh. The service is super fast and professional too! The ambiance is really nice also. 5 stars for sure. read more

This is the restaurant inside the Hilton. I have eaten here before with a nice menu full of good nibbles but the menu now is 9 things. No kids menu at all. That being said we were able to get a plain Cheese flatbread for the littles that they liked. Special of the day was filet mignon. They were kind enough to approve all our substitutions but do not take temp requests! It comes one temp and pre sliced. I didn't eat it but my dinner mates ordered 4 of them and everyone cleaned their plates. I got the roasted chicken and it was good. Nice an juicy with good flavor though the skin was fatty and it crispy so I had to take it off, which did take some flavor away. It came with creamed corn- which was pretty much the reason I got it- and there was like a tablespoon schmeared all over so that was disappointing. You can sit inside or outside and there are TVs al over so it's good for hanging out and no pressure to leave your table, you keep on doing your thing. Server was nice, bartender was as well. Our server told us there was a new chef that day and they hoped to be reviving some of the old menu which would be great. The food was fine, actually good for a hotel but we needed the variety that they used to have. Also, they have Pepsi products and not coke which is blah to me. read more

Coastal Cantina - Herb chicken - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Went on a Saturday night. It was surprisingly calm and somewhat empty. Maybe because it's hidden inside a hotel. The staff was nice and helpful but some times it would be hard to flag someone down. We had a party of 7, for a large party we expected to wait awhile for our meals but it was timely. There is a kids menu, which is helpful for families traveling with kids. Kids got th grilled cheese sandwich, and chicken tenders. They were happy. I got the salmon. It was a tad on the saltier side for my liking but good. Also, ordered the angel hair pasta (it came with shrimp) it was a little bland. Everybody else on the table was happy with their meals. All in all it was good dinner spot that had kid option as well. read more

Whoever said that hotel restaurants are boring has not been to coastalKITCHEN. My girlfriends and I stopped in for a late lunch on a Saturday in the off-track season and were pleasantly surprised. From the moment we stepped into the large, open hotel lobby we were impressed. The modern decor of the hotel is punctuated with pops of fuchsia color which was energizing and beautiful. We took a table outside with a view of the pool and started with dirty martinis that were strong and delicious. Moments later our appetizers of shisoto peppers and shrimp ceviche arrived with lovely plating. details such as grilled lemons and edible flowers added a touch of class. My girls split a cobb salad and I opted for a lobster roll with fries. My roll had a decent amount of lobster and soft fresh bread. The massive portion of french fries were hot and delicious even though I was the only one partaking in the decadent treat. Kudos to the kitchen for their unique plating, fresh ingredients and a diverse menu. I will certainly return to coastalKITCHEN when the Del Mar races are not running. read more

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My good friend was super sweet to treat me to CoastalKITCHEN's wine dinner, which includes 4 courses with a dessert with a wine pairing for each step of the meal! Let's just say I had such a fun time and it was one of the coolest dining experiences I've had. The whole experience was extremely intimate and candle lit. There's even a host that explains the background of each and every wine who has a really inviting personality and after every course that comes out, the head chef Alex Emery comes out and describes the dish, which makes the meal more special. On a normal basis, you just kinda go to a restaurant and enjoy the food, but actually seeing the chef talk about their creations and to see how passionate they are about it, it definitely adds to the experience. My friend has had this head chef's meals in the past and has raved about it, but seriously after I experienced it myself, he really knows what he's doing and he puts so much attention into his preparation. Everything he made was so delectable, but what I thought was really cool was the dessert - pannacotta in which he incorporated milk + cereal as ingredients. It was SOOO good & it had this really soulful flavor.. if that makes sense. There were a lot of "Oooh Ahhhs" throughout the night, that's for sure. I believe this wine dinner costs roughly around $75/person, but I really do think it's worth it. Definitely a cute anniversary date idea or shoot.. if you simply just wanna treat yourself & be kind to yourself! I would be really happy to do the experience again :) read more

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OPENING WEEK AT DEL MAR !!! What's better than a day at the races??? coastalKITCHEN is located in Hilton Hotel poolside and they are back what looked to be full dining capacity (they were working off soggy takeout breakfast sandwiches during the pandemic). Went with traditional Eggs Benedict but they have several Mexican influenced choices and traditional eggs your way with a protein. This is a spot many locals forget about but should consider more often. Very relaxed atmosphere and they completely redid the pool area landscaping and patio area. read more

Coastal Cantina - Eggs Benedict - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

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So, while attending a wedding in the Rancho Santa Fe area we stayed at this Hilton hotel. The staff was very friendly, very helpful, and the food for breakfast was very good The ambience of the hotel is very elegant and I don't think I've stayed at a property quite so large. A bonus was that they do have EV charging, although it is not the "rapid charge" it is very convenient to be on the property while you're at the hotel. I would return read more

This review is only based on my service with ordering drinks and food on the patio outside. The patio area is gorgeous and it's really nice and clean, with lots of places to sit and multiple fire pits. Wine was good and the whole restaurant was packed. Caesar salad wasn't good, the croutons weren't garlic brioche like described on menu and tasted like they came out of a bag that you could buy at a grocery store, minimal dressing and 2 baby tomatoes cut in half, with a few pieces of wilted lettuce in it. Service outside was disappointing. There was maybe 3 other people our waitress was helping and the inside eating area was packed. We ordered drinks and a salad. She brought out the margaritas and after trying them and realizing they were just cups full of margarita mix, we wanted to get a different drink. Someone else brought the salad to the table and she didn't come back to check on us at all. We had to get up and go ask her if we could order some wine instead and we were nice about the dislike for the drinks, I know it wasn't our servers fault. Someone else brought out the wine. We had to leave and she never came back to check on us at all. She had been serving everyone else outside though. We had to flag down the manager who was serving food to ask for our check, when she brought it over she left the margs on there and said they were cheaper than the wine, but I showed her the wine was cheaper. She fixed it for us. It looked like everyone else was enjoying the service and the food/drinks and maybe it was just an off night. Very convenient when you're staying at the restaurant and the other food we saw people order looked good. read more

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Horrible customer service and food was worse! We stayed at Hilton and tried coastalKitchen for breakfast. The server was very rude. He was working by himself with many tables. It seemed like he didn't want more table so we made it to-go. Food quality was worse than the service. Carne Asada tasted like a fish! Two eggs were served with grilled Sandwich Ham! read more

Coastal Cantina - carne asada eggs benedict - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Nicole was amazing! She provided great service, hot food, and a smile! She made our Thanksgiving night after a long trip!

Love this little bar because 1) the food is great 2) very relaxed and lots of seating and 3) Jeremy!! His service was amazing, and I can't wait to go back. Love their Brussel sprouts dish. read more

Food was super delicious! Quite a surprise for a hotel lobby restaurant. I had the pork chop (medium) which was served with a side of bacon and caramelized onion (amazing!) and diced potatoes, and baked brussel sprouts. A very hearty meal. We had some issues with speed of service, but our waiter was very kind and courteous when tending to us. Also recommend the chocolate lava cake for desert, which comes with two scoops of vanilla ice cream on the side. read more

Coastal Cantina - Crab cakes - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

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This review is for the catering services, not for the restaurant itself. I have been catered by Coastal Kitchen for a couple of days attending a corporate event and we were offered good farm-to-table type of sandwiches and other goodies. Fruits and coffee super fresh, as well as the content of the sandwiches. However, the focaccia bread was very hard and too thick. That was a minus for a great content! I guess we were too many people to offer good fresh bread, so in that case, I would suggest if you are in that situation, opt for the vegetarian one, which consists in some sort of burrito with very nicely marinated veggies of all types. Service really good, attentive, friendly and fast. read more

Coastal Cantina - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Love it here! It has a great vibe and Kelcey makes the best drinks! I'll be coming back again.

We have tried this place twice and unfortunately it was not very good both times. Our server was not attentive at all, didn't take away our menus after we ordered, it took forever for us to get our food and we changed it to to-go because of that. Then, when it took forever to get our to-go food, we had to get up to notify them that we'd like to cancel and just get our check because the waitress was taking so long. After that, the waitress showed up with our to-go food and the full bill. They do not seem very organized or professional. The lobster cakes could have been better. Also, I'm not a cheapo but the bread was $7. read more

This is our 2nd time dinning here within a month. It's conveniently located in the Hilton Del Mar (across for the Del Mar racetrack). Our first visit was decent but the menu was so small (9 or 10 items). The food was pretty good so thought we could give it a second try. I checked online and their new menu looked really good...about 25-30 items to choose from with a lot of variety!!! We arrive, sit down and were given an entirely different menu than what was posted on their website AND what we had prior. I asked which menu is this and can we get the one online. We were told the menu just changed as of Tuesday (today is Saturday) and they don't update their website. Any who...don't think round three will be coming anytime soon :( read more

We decided to eat at hotel restaurant. A little pricey for the buffet but we got to have fresh cooked eggs and liked the other options. Fresh and very clean. The waitress was so friendly and very attentive. She found out it was our anniversary and wanted to bring us a cheesecake to celebrate. We were stuffed but nice gesture. read more

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I was staying at the Hilton Del Mar and flew in on a later flight so most restaurants in the area were closed. With little choices of open restaurants, I decided to give Coastal Kitchen a try! I love businesses that offer Yelp check in offers (yes yes!). I walked up and there was a large party standing at the bar talking, it was super lively and a great vibe. I grabbed a menu and floated around the entry way. The entrance was hostess-less and no one approached me as I walked in. I wandered around, grabbed a menu, and tried flagging down a waiter. Strugglesss. I approached the bartender and asked if I should order at the bar, but he briskly told me to go sit down anywhere I wanted. I ended up choosing a seat by the fire outside. I sat for a little without any notice from the waiters, so I got back up and asked the bartender if I could order. He saw me standing at the bar and told me he would get a waitress for me. I wandered back to my table. A waitress approached me quickly afterwards and was extremely sweet throughout my meal. They were caring and helpful and made up for the lack of service at the beginning/from the bartender. I ordered the poke bowl, got a glass of wine, and finished off the meal with some tea. The poke was a little on the salty end and the helping of rice was too little to balance the dish, and a little too mushy. I dont know if I walked in on a bad day, but I was not too happy with my visit. The waitresses were extremely sweet but I left feeling uncared for. Hoping this was an anomaly, but probably won't be coming back here. read more

Coastal Cantina - Free wine with check in! - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

First time at this establishment. The vibe was very cute, my girlfriend and I decided to sit in the patio cause it was nice out. They were playing live music as well. The manager walked us to our table, and shortly after we were introduced to our server. Got our drinks in and a couple of appetizers. Let me tell you, amazing thus far. Appetizers: The salmon belly tartare Oven roasted bone marrow (shareable) Entrees: The animal style burger Braised bone in short-rib And for drinks an old fashion + Tito's orange juice. Overall, it was amazing. So filling, the waitress was sweet and checked back with us as she made her rounds. The executive chef name Alex I believe, came out and asked us how was our food.. like what? Talk about AMAZING. If I were to rate an overall score it'll be a 9.5. ONLY because I had 1 cocktail because I was being responsible. Here's some photos from our dinner. Perfect place for families and or date night. #cute read more

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Still waiting for our meal after 11/2 hours! Crazy noisy with a zillion kids and not enough staff. Our server is clearly overwhelmed and doing his best. Yikes read more

Paige was our server. She's a natural. Very warm, welcoming, and genuinely inviting. She knows the menu very well, and her recommendations are direct and honest. She also has the talent of a ninja, periodically approaching our table to refill our drinks, clear our table, without intruding an ongoing conversation or compelled to blurt out manualized cliche questions. The Hibachi Salmon is absolutely amazing and highly recommend it. I would stay it's a divine fusion blend of Japanese & California Cuisine . If you love ginger, this will be memorable. The CK Salad is absolutely delicious. It's truly a California salad. I'd be proud to highlight and introduce this to my out of town friends. The ahi Poke Appetizer is good, ok, but wouldn't order it again due to the dryness and hardness of the rice. Still gave them 5 stars because the positives overweigh the bad. I'm here for a long conference weekend every year, therefore looking forward to the rest of their menu this weekend. read more

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If you check in, you get free house wine. Ordered the salmon flatbread because it seems like it has the most mentions (like 2). So i decided to try it out. So i learned I don't like the taste of arugula by itself. But with the salmon and onions the flavor actually worked well together. they put decent amount of salmon too. The flatbread itself is kinda more "crispy" instead of having the same consistency of a pizza which im used to. Overall, the flatbread is ok. I also wanted to try the chocolate cake but they were out and instead had brownies. So i skipped it. Not sure if they're the same taste. The service is ok. Btw, I did not know that they hAve deals throughout the week. When i visited for dinner, Tuesday is supposed to be BOGO tacos? I didn't get to take a picture of the actual deal. But if youre wondering how i found out about this deal, it's when I went to the rest room after i had my dinner. There were signs that showed the deal of the day. I wish i couldve known it sooner or someone told me, like i dont know maybe the server? Overall ok experience. Hotel pricing as expected. decent selection of booze. read more

Coastal Cantina - Salmon flat bread - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Dylan at the bar was soooo nice. She bonded with my daughter right away and made us happy. Good service and good people skills.. I will come back for sure!! read more

Best part was the warm sourdough bread when we sat down. Haven't had good sourdough since I moved to Southern California in 2013. I'm giving a 3 because I don't think the price-value ratio was really worth it. I got the tuna melt for 13$ and asked for a side salad instead of fries and the salad was more then lacking. Literally 2 cherry tomatoes and a quarter of a handful of mixed greens. My husband got the fish and chips at 18$. The fries were tasty but the coleslaw needed salt pepper and vinegar. Fish was fried alright, decent texture. Overpriced (maybe because it's in "Del mar") and lackluster. read more

I stopped by Coastal Kitchen since I was 1 hour early for a Painting & Vino class right here at the Hilton Del Mar, which was a birthday treat for my beautiful mother. Not having been to this location before, I wasn't sure whether we should be seating ourselves and a waiter/waitress were to greet us and take our order or if we were supposed to go to the bar and get the menu so I just took it upon myself to get a hold of the menu from the bar and seat myself. It took a few minutes but when I finally got service, it wasn't 1 person...but 3 different people who came up to us to get our order. Not very organized but at least they were friendly. Aside from that, I have to praise the food! Slightly overpriced but expected. The calamari appetizer has to be one of the better appetizers I have tried compared to some other dine in restaurants I've been to in a long time. It was cooked to perfection, delicious, and thought how it was presented was a nice touch. The aioli sauce complemented it really well. I ordered the organic tomato soup with grilled cheese/bacon sandwich. The tomato soup was hearty, chunky, and filling. The grilled cheese sandwich I may have to replicate at home. Loved it! The other order was the classic Angus burger with a mixed side of onion rings and French fries. The type of meal a big boy would enjoy and that's a compliment. Little did I know that I could have ordered where I was seated in the painting class that I took. I'll remember that for next time since I felt a bit rushed to eat so I wouldn't miss the first part of class but no matter, I'll definitely dine here again keeping in mind that I arrive much earlier. There is also seating outdoors which is beautifully arranged. Highly recommend. read more

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The only reason I ate at Coastal Kitchen was that work purchased a room that came with breakfast. The first day they didn't have the buffet set up so I was allowed to order off the menu and got their Del Mar Benedict which was not impressive at all; the hollandaise sauce was clearly prepackaged and the eggs were overcooked, also the potatoes were burnt and cold. The next 4 days I had the breakfast buffet which consisted of pastries, cereal, cheeses, eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, french toast (one day waffle sticks); it was not very impressive and they charge $20 for it if you are not on the hotel meal plan. The staff was great here and made sure that my coffee was filled and that I was satisfied. They were too friendly to tell them that the food wasn't great. At night I never ate at the restaurant and judging by the business not many did; however I did enjoy happy hour and after happy hour at the bar which was great during happy hour, but prices were skyrocketed afterwards. The bartenders were ok, but slow and were more interested in getting some digits from the females at the bar than waiting on their customers. Clearly if my employer had not purchased the breakfast I would not have eaten here. read more

Restaurant and bar inside of Hilton hotel. The bar tender was super chill and knowledgeable and let us sample every beer on tap. He said the managers make an effort of bringing in all of the beers from the local breweries. He will also recommend the good breweries to checkout. Modern bar. Had to chill here while waiting for the room. We also had the Brussels sprouts and it was amazing!! read more

Coastal Cantina - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

I came here for a Paint and Vino event this past weekend and was thoroughly impressed with their smoked salmon flatbread. B/c we were there for a special event, we did not sit in the restaurant area. Instead, they set up this platform in the lobby that actually worked very well. They had orange infused water that tasted great and for $15 my friend and I shared the flatbread. We each got 5 slices which is more than enough for a meal. The smoked salmon tasted like the ones from costco (which is great) but it was the bread that really made the dish. And the picked onion just took the dish to the whole nother level. The only reason that I docked a star is b/c the service was spotty. There was one waitress for the lot of us and it took forever to order our food. However, i'd be more than willing to come back and give this place another chance. Hopefully it'll be a 5 star review then! read more

Coastal Cantina - Smoked salmon flatbread, best I've ever had!! - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

I was at a business meeting 12/10/13 and we had lunch here since they changed the restaurant and has a new concept. For appetizer we had the butter lettuce wraps and pepperoni flatbread. The chicken lettuce wraps was delicious!!! The flatbread had pepperoni from a local meat place and it was great!! Since I was at the meeting I wanted to eat light. There was a salad with dates and goat cheese and everything was fresh! A very good step in the right direction! Nice change, Coastal Kitchen! read more

Coastal Cantina - Yes, there is a pickle in my drink! This is Pickled Gin at Coastal Kitchen. - Lounges Near Me - Del Mar, California

We have had the opportunity to eat here a few times and tried several items on the menu. Appetizers were great, the burgers are amazing and overall it is a good place and a good value for the money. The only meal I did not like here was the breakfast. The value for what you got was not worth the money to me. The breakfast buffet is $18 and there was nothing impressive on it. We decided to order off the main menu and save some money thinking we would get something better being prepared fresh, nope.... If you do not have a choice for breakfast it will suffice otherwise I recommend going somewhere else. As for appetizers and food off the menu which seems to be the same for lunch and dinner, there are a lot of good choices and I recommend this place for that. The staff is friendly and service is good, so you cannot go wrong with that. read more

Hotel Restaurant Exceeds Expectations! My friend and I both work around the area and decided to grab a quick bite to eat. Since it was a Friday we knew the Del Mar/La Jolla area might be a little congested and wanted to find a simple spot to dine before calling it a night. Hiltons have never disappointed in the past so we decided on a Hotel restaurant that was situated at a great location right next to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Both of us can agree that dining at Coastal Kitchen can be equated to finding a hidden gem. We were greeted immediately by Adam and sat outside where the live music was playing. Suemi was our server and was great! She was not only knowledgeable of the menu but also very attentive and personable. They were having their new dinner launch with the new Executive Chef Alex Emery. We ordered the oven roasted bone marrow and salmon belly tartare to start. The bone marrow on the cranberry bread was melt in your mouth perfection and the tartare was light and satisfying. My friend ordered the play on the animal style burger which he loved. I got the braised bone in short rib that was (surprise!) amazing. The portions were great for the price. Besides the taste, the presentation of each plate was impressive. It is the little things that count and you can definitely see the dedicated time that was placed on each dish. It was much appreciated. The ambiance and staff turned up the volume to our intended casual Friday night. We will definitely return to this new found treasure. Thank you, Coastal Kitchen! Cheers! read more