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San Clemente, CA

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Coastal Cowboy

4.4 (313 reviews)
ModerateAmerican, Burgers, Tacos
Open • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

Order Coastal Cowboy Takeout or Delivery

Coastal Cowboy Photos

COASTAL COWBOY ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Touristy
Outdoor seating
Dogs allowed

Recommended Reviews - Coastal Cowboy

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Reviews With Photos

Coastal Smash Burger
Alison R.

You never forget your first love and Coastal Cowboy's Coastal Smash Burger hit me hard! I was brought here by a San Clemente local who said "wait until you try their food. They have the best smash burger and fries around!" But how often does someone say that and the hype is better than the bite? Well not this time. She actually didn't hype it up enough. There are so many fun and inviting things about Coastal Cowboy from the moment you walk up. There is both a cute outdoor space to a variety of seating styles in a big open room inside. A tall ceiling that has exposed ductwork is also painted with the color scheme of the dining room so it shows it was purposefully left that way as part of the rustic vibe. Vibrant yellow bathrooms, well at least for the ladies, welcomes you when you enter with a cute sign in the hallway leading to the restrooms. Again, another example of creating a whole mood for the customer from start to finish and we haven't even had a bite to eat yet. The menu board is up high on the wall to the left when you enter. It's large enough that if there is a line to order you can read it from a ways back. You place the order with someone who is behind the bar, sitting on a stool, at the far end of the bar. The bar is almost the length of the entire restaurant. There are menus though so if you all of a sudden panic you can glance down instead of trying to turn around and look straight up. I ordered the Coastal Smash Burger and kept it with everything exactly as they designed it. Got a side of the House Beef Tallow Fries. My friend got the Westcoast Crispy Chicken sandwich and the Crispy BBQ Potato Chips. They had a drink special cocktail listed on a sign by the register but I don't know what it was as she placed our lunch order. When I tell you I feel in love with the smash burger I am not joking. It was flavorful, moist, and melted in my mouth with each bite as it was married with the cheese, sauce, pickles and caramelized onions. Every single bite provided that satisfying sensation. I didn't even need any sides, although I did in fact enjoy both the fries and the samples of the chips. The smash burger can have a single patty but standard is two so be sure to order it with a single if that is all you want. They won't ask you if you want one or two patties. I think since my initiation into the Coastal Cowboy fan club I have returned over 6 times and each time I have brought new people with me. Each time, they also had never been before, and so it is fun to watch them fall in love, just as I have, with Coastal Cowboy. If you already have a favorite smash burger place, then maybe you don't want to come here because I'm pretty sure you'll either cheat on your long standing burger spot or you will break up all together because this is by far the best smash burger around!

Mare B.

Finally got to try this place! Been wanting to come here for quite some time, and we finally did with family visiting from Vegas! They too were WOW'd! It was perfect timing we arrived after the major rush...apparently the 30th annual classic car show had just wrapped up for the day! It was a beautiful day as always in DTSC, but we opted to sit inside since we found a table for our party of 6! You place and pay for your order at the counter and they give you a number, and your order is brought to your table. There were plenty of food and drink options on their menu. I went for the Carne Asada Tacos (seriously, one of the BEST I've ever tasted, bonus points for the tortilla keeping its form till the very last bite!), and my husband went for the Cali Brisket Cheesesteak, which he enjoyed wholeheartedly (omg, those housemade chips though!!!). I washed mine down with a Ginger Lime Booch, which was so refreshing! This place was a hit for me, and we will definitely come back again very soon! Side note: We even got to meet the owner that day (super nice and chill guy) and saw his classic car parked out front, which was a beast with the roar of the motor equally majestic!!! LOL. Thank you for the great hospitality. Looking forward to coming back soon! CHEERS and happy eating till next time...

Yew!!!!
Kevin S.

We moved to SC in early May and have been wanting to try Coastal Cowboy ever since. No seed oils and garbage in their food, our kind of food. The first move is you walk in and order at the counter, the line moves quickly and the girl who took our order was very knowledgeable and friendly. You can tell these employees are trained well. They give you a number and you grab a table. We were there on a Saturday night at 6:45 and we had no problems getting a table. Pro tip: Order beers & appetizers at the counter and then hang and have a couple of drinks and order dinner with your waitress. The food: Tallow Fries - Must order, the best fries you'll ever have. With the homemade ketchup good lawd! We got 2 baskets for 4 of us. We should have gotten 3 baskets. Coastal smash - 2 Pattie's, no seed oil sauce, pickles, onions, cheese on a fabulous brioche style bun. My wife LOVED this. Brisket tacos - An absolute winner. Smokey, salty, tangy, plenty of umami with cilantro and pickled onions. Fire! The only thing i would have loved was some sort of salsa. Maybe there was and I missed it. Caesar salad wrap chicken - this was a sleeper hit. My daughter is a Caesar salad conissuer and this was right up her ally. And with avocado oil Caesar dressing, no garbage! Comeon. Grilled fish tacos - very fresh and good. I think there was a sauce but these were dry. It needed more sauce and some salsa. Mind you the quality was there, so I had no problem eating them. But they were a bit bland honestly. 10/10 friendly service 10/10 easability if ordering and seating. 9/10 Food This will become one of our favorite family spots no doubt. Thank you Coastal Cowboy for caring enough to be seed oil free and health conscious with your cuisine.

French Fries (really good)
Brian M.

Coastal Cowboy is a good spot for a meal with friends or family. You order at the counter and select your food and drinks. The food came out pretty quickly even on a busy night. We ordered the Sweet Corn Chowder (6/5 - awesome flavor), the Spicy Mac and Cheese (5/5 - nice bite), Smash Burger (3/5 - just ok - there is a lot of hype about this one and I think it ranks as fine but nothing special), Crispy Chicken Sandwich (again, just ok), and a side of fries (4.5/5). I know that I am being a little tough on the burger and sandwich, but the burger and chicken sandwich game has really gone up in the past few years. Maybe they were just off their game when I was there, but these are not solid signature items. There are also plenty of huge TVs if you want to watch your team. I will definitely be back again to try more items and absolutely get some more of that soup.

Mercede R.

Went there for couple of beers. You order at the counter, they give you a number and bring you your order. Place was not busy and we ordered two beers. Waited a while and see one waiter at the bar taking care of a custoner and 3 other very young waiters behind the bar chit chatting. Got the attention of an older gentelman behind the bar and asked if we could get our drinks as we had been waitting a while. He said, and I qoute, " Take it easy" and looked up our order and brought over our beers. No apologies and he just made an excuse for the staff's lack of service. I don't understand why the machine suggest large sums of tip when you first order, and am very sorry I had paid a tip.

Hank M.

Eclectic. Decent food and decent service. Super informal, relaxed, no frills. Probably better for lunch than dinner. Outdoor seating options. Check out the menu online before you go.

Sandy C.

Thought we would come by for an early dinner today, it was late afternoon and not too busy, everyone was sitting inside due to the heat. I agree with some Yelpers on the service, it seems as though there is 'no service' I had to walk up to the counter to ask for a refill on my iced tea. Not a deal breaker, I know. The food however, was really underwhelming for the price. I know they use good ingredients, I appreciate the absence of seed oils too, but for the prices, I'd expect better. Husband had the smash burger again, he said it's good but again, underwhelming. I ordered the Asian chicken salad, I've had this a few times and the last time I had it, it was actually pretty good. Today, it tasted and looked like it was made a few days ago and refrigerated. Lettuce was all wilted, tasted like I was eating leftovers. It's cabbage, should be crunchy. It was soggy and just not good this time.

Keilab A.

I wish more restaurants like this existed. Clean ingredients, cool vibe, and delicious food. You place your order up front and find a table. I got the southwest chicken wrap that came with a side of their addictive homemade maple bbq chips. While it is on the pricier side, the wrap was enormous and really tasty. It was packed with chicken and veg, and their sauce mixed in was fantastic. I'd highly recommend stopping in for some good eats.

Outside dining
Frank P.

The place is nice and the employees were friendly. I didn't care for the fish and chips. The fish had no seasoning whatsoever. The fries were cold and soggy like they have been sitting out for awhile. I was there at opening so everything should have been fresh. It was hard to eat my meal. I doubt I will return.

Baja Fish Taco
Shirley S.

Fun place for bar food and drinks. Coastal Smash with Tallow Fries hit the spot but I do like my smashed burger on the really smashed and crispier side and my fries not as crispy (or well done). Also ordered were their House Potato Chips, Rodeo Mac n Cheese, Baja Fish Tacos and Golden Saddle Cake. All good for bites with drinks and to share. Counter service with your food delivered to your table. Pretty quick. Parking on a Saturday early evening was really tough. Wear comfortable shoes as you may need to walk a ways.

Spicy marg
Haley B.

I've been here many times!! Love their chicken sandwich and house chips. Love that everything is made fresh without seed oils! Wish I had a picture to share. Recently came for drinks. They have a great spicy marg! Such a lovely vibes. Their patio is so fun for a little happy hour drink! Will always come back!

Victoria P.

Great spot for health conscious folks who are trying to avoid consuming seed oils. Tried a couple of things: tallow fries, dirty cowboy fries, Asian crunch salad and the Al pastor ahi tuna tacos. Personally I was thrown off with the ahi tuna being cooked. It was my least favorite from what I tried. I didn't realize there was a burger patty in the dirty cowboy fries due to the lack of flavor. Don't get me wrong, for a healthy dish it was still satisfying, but something will missing in flavor. Service was amazing! Staff were attentive and kept this new spot clean at all times. There is bar, table and booth seating along with outdoor options. There's a couple of TVs at the bar for sports games and live rodeos shown on the additional TVs throughout the restaurant. I'd definitely come back to try other dishes. Overall I'd recommend, and think it's a great spot for San Clemente

Brian K.

Great restaurant in hot weather. Wonderfully homey feel and really nice service. That being said, the food was squarely in the OK column for me. We had the seaside baja fish tacos and the fish and chips. Both were ok, but a little under seasoned. Good in a pinch if you're in the area, but not something I would drive out of my way for.

Barrel Roll Tuna Sandwich

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1 month ago

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15 days ago

Best food and great atmosphere super friendly staff you need to check it out plenary of gluten free options

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4 months ago

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4 days ago

Awesome happy hour prices and menu! Outside dining was great. Service was attentive and food was good! Will be back!

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29 days ago

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Coastal Cowboy Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Coastal Cowboy

Can you purchase the house microbrew in bottles or cans to take home?

Hi, Not yet. We are currently in the process of canning it. Will let you know once we have. Appreciate you giving us a try:)

Is this a sit down establishment ? Does it have nice atmosphere?

Yes. It's a sit down establishment. 10 person bar with lots of indoor and outdoor seating. Best atmosphere in san Clemente

Do they have gluten free bun for the burger?

Yes, we have a gluten free bun for all of our sandwiches.

Family of four with two kids. Is it hard to find a table? This type of service can be hard for families with littler ones. Thanks!

Not at all. We are never more than 10-15 minutes to order in line and we have families of 4 come in all times of the day with no issues. Hope to see you soon

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

Primo Foods - Asada fries

Primo Foods

4.4(126 reviews)
1.8 mi
•$

A really nice and convenient--albeit small--grocery store not far from the San Onofre State Beach…read morecamping areas. They have a large selection of beer and wine, plus some fresh produce, basic supplies, tortillas, and lots of yummy homemade salsas (the medium salsa verde is quite good). They even have a deli in the back that serves lots of Mexican-style meats and takeaway items. I came by to buy tomatoes, salsa, corn tortillas, and cilantro to take down to my camping site on the July 4th weekend. Everything was really fresh and yummy! Definitely recommend checking this spot out when you're in San Onofre.

The environment is small carniceria/taqueria store that sort of specializes in a handful of…read moreceviches (love the spicy pulpo), horchata and similar styles of drinks, salsa, guacamole etal. Everything is excellent. At the back of the store is the kitchen with a huge focus on tacos. 10 different options of which nine are a meat (including one fish) option and a vegetarian choice. Among the meats are asada, adobado, birria, chicharon and sometimes buche. Daily taco price is $1.49 but on Tuesdays and Fridays, tacos are 69¢. They have a very good chile relleno as well. There are other things available but it hard to get away from the range of street taco options. The folks working the taqueria are amazing, having to make plates and plates of tacos. Today, one work crew had 20 taco orders in front of me. Long lines await the tacos on Tuesdays and Fridays. Despite the load, the taqueros are friendly and fast. No photos as it really isn't necessary as the food is that good.

Photos
Primo Foods - The Primos taco line

The Primos taco line

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Aguas Frescas

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Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Chile Verde Burrito Wet

Chelas Mexican Kitchen

4.4(248 reviews)
2.4 mi
•$$

A++++ I stumbled on…read morethis place toward the end of the afternoon and I'm glad I did. It's a cute little bistro in the industrial area of Saint Clemente around some other restaurants, including a Starbucks around the corner. The staff was super friendly when I walked in, need to use the restroom and the restrooms were super clean, and then I ordered a burrito the way I like it made made a couple of adjustments extra meat less cheese and I ordered the ribeye burrito and it was fantastic. Great amount of flavor. Didn't require any salsa or anything to help enhance it. Juicy and just well-made. Their chips were fresh out of the oven or at least tasted like it still warm. Very impressed. This little place. I'll definitely be coming back. Deserves five stars plus

We were in the Laguna beach area during optimal brunch time so a lot of breakfast-y restaurants…read morewere PACKED. Little unassuming Chelas was the perfect little spot for some brunch. They had a nice dog friendly ground level area so we could bring our pup. We ordered their chicken tortilla soup, 1/2 pint of guac, and burrho de alambre! 10/10 for everything. The chicken tortilla soup as hearty and toasty, perfect for the cooler weather. The guac was exactly my style, not too salty, not too tart, and demolished in no time. My husband really enjoyed his burrito from the speiclas menu as well!

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Chelas Mexican Kitchen - One year Anniversary celebration!

One year Anniversary celebration!

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Beer Battered Fish Burrito

Beer Battered Fish Burrito

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Breakfast Burrito

Coastal Cowboy - tradamerican - Updated October 2026

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