Happy hour on the deck is delightful. Excellent cocktails, delicious bar bites, good vibes and friendly service. I recommend the fish tacos. Onion rings just perfect, not too battered, clean oil. And the view! With a good friend. Who could ask for more? read more

Update: Came back here after four years and this place has really gone downhill. We came as a party of 8 on a Saturday. Got sat down right away at 5:30. Asked about the happy hour and was told it's only at the bar and patio. Our table is literally between the bar and patio. Server said we can order at the bar and bring it to the table ourselves. Weird! At the bar, we waited patiently as there seemed to be a lot of confusion at the bar cashier and general chaos. There were swarms of flies EVERYWHERE. One even landed on my sister's face while talking! We finally got our drinks and he sent the tab back to the table anyway. What was the point of making us order at the bar? Even more weird! We ordered 6 oysters, but couldn't decide whether to get fresh or grilled. The server suggested both so my husband said sure. A dozen oysters came out. Way to upsell us. I tried to order a cocktail off of their menu and they were out of the ingredients on a Saturday night. I ordered grilled cheese off the bar menu for my four year old. They brought out pastrami panini instead. By the time the correct order came out, he was no longer interested in eating. Grilled cheese was untouched. There is only two bathroom stalls for both genders at this restaurant. One was out of order so there was only one working bathroom for both men and women. My four year old was bent over in pain waiting in line for the bathroom to open. Thankfully he didn't have an accident. When we left the restaurant, there were four people waiting in line to use the restroom. Yikes! After an hour of waiting for our entree to arrive, I was pretty annoyed, but the food was actually good so I was ready to brush all the other annoyances off. But then we asked for the check. The server says their system is down so they can only accept cash. We don't have enough cash to cover dinner for 8. After 15 minutes of waiting around, the server says she will take a check! We don't carry around our check book on vacation. After another 15 minutes of waiting, the server offers her personal Zelle. What a joke. No wonder there was so much confusion at the bar when we first sat down. It's been down this whole time and they never mentioned it! It would have been courteous of them to let us know BEFORE WE ORDERED that it was going to be cash only. Also, they took our credit card information when we made our reservation so they could have charged to it when the system was back up. The food was a lot better this time, but I'll never be back. It's too bad because the view really is gorgeous. The flies and bad service is enough of a turn off. We will keep an eye on our card statement to make sure they don't double charge us. read more

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We went for lunch at this restaurant today. Wednesday around 12:30 pm, and the restaurant was empty at the time. The hostess/waitress/bartender seated us at a beautiful table with an ocean view, which we truly appreciated. She was very kind and welcoming. The food was okay overall. My ravioli was salty due to the amount of capers, but still ok. However, I was very disappointed with our takeout dessert. We ordered crème brûlée to go, and it was packed in small boxes that we didn't open right away. When we arrived at our Airbnb just 8 minutes later, we discovered it was not properly placed in a sealed container (like an aluminum one, as expected). Instead, it was sitting directly inside the box, which was unhygienic and unacceptable. Unfortunately, we had to throw it away. I hope the restaurant takes more care in the future when packaging food to go. This detail really matters and impacts the overall experience. read more

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Moonstone Grill was a big letdown. Most of the food was literally inedible. Multiple items on the menu were unavailable on a Friday night. It was odd. The clam chowder tasted like hollandaise sauce. The cioppino was equally abysmal - sauce was flavorless and seafood did not seem to be fresh. Their mushroom potstickers and beet and burrata salad were good. Probably the only quality items we had for our party of 7. The restaurant did have a high quality wine list and the views are quite lovely. Our server was solid and did a fantastic job, but it was clear he was overwhelmed on a Friday night. Maybe people called in sick or it was busier than they had anticipated... I would probably only ever go back for sunset drinks. It was easily $100 a person and only two of us had a cocktail each and split a bottle of wine! read more

Moonstone Grill - View from the deck - Seafood Near Me - Trinidad, California

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2/5: Great Drinks, but Overpriced Food and Slow ServiceYou are essentially paying for the view here, but even that is just okay. Overall, the food is highly overpriced for the quality, and the execution on multiple dishes missed the mark.The FoodSeared Ahi: This was a weird flavor combination. It was served with rice noodles that had an unappealing sour taste, which did not pair well with the ahi at all.Soups: The clam chowder was a bit salty, though it was still decent. However, the cream of broccoli soup was incredibly salty and hard to finish.Wontons: Very generic. It is your standard, uninspiring cream cheese and salmon combination. read more

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Wow...What an amazing location and that's all it was for my party of 4. Service was slow with no warning. We were not prepared for a 2.5hr dinner service. During the long waits we were not checked on or attended to. Even though we'd been waiting forever others seemed to be in the same boat. If I'm having a 2 hour dinner it needs to be an experience. Then the food. I'll start off by saying the steak was good. Salmon very mid. THE TRITIP WAS A DISASTER....Dry and Bland. Items were forgotten and it took forever to get that sorted. Maybe this is a place for a drink or two and maybe the happy hour. The cost vs quality and service was a bust. read more

Happy hour on the deck! Delicious sliders and 5$ cold draft beer. Fast and friendly service.

We arrived at 7 PM on a Monday night... And they close at eight, but they were still extremely welcoming and sat us next to the window with an ocean view. I ordered the blueberry mule, but they didn't have any blueberries, but accommodated me and gave me a strawberry meal, which was quite delicious. My friend had a dirty martini and she said it was pretty good. We ordered three different appetizers. They were out of the octopus, so we only ended up getting the Poké bowl which ironically was the only seafood that we had. Everything was great, but it was really the staff that made it so fun and such a special dinner! Joshua sang us happy birthday acappella with his operatic voice! Amazing! Isabella was a charming server, only adding to the fun of the evening. What a great restaurant in an incredible location with a fantastic crew. read more

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I contacted this restaurant two months prior to my 45th anniversary and requested window seating to celebrate. I followed up with a call 1 week prior to arrival. We were seated at the only table behind the bar and forgotten. We left. read more

called in order to go. this is their unsanitary take out box!! It's paper. Oysters were incredibly small, not like what is pictured on menu/website. NOT worth the $40+ fees they charged! read more

Moonstone Grill - tiny tiny oysters unsanitary, thrown in a paper box! nasty. Not at all what appears on the menu/website and again so small!! - Seafood Near Me - Trinidad, California

Good food, great views, but somewhat inconsistent service. The view is the main attraction and worth it just to have wine or beer and watch the sunset. It was quite uncrowded on a Monday night. Meal was good - salad, a terrific Grilled octopus, soup. Prices were fair (except $12 for a small bread plate?). Service was pleasant with a few misses - no plates to share the octopus, and servers weren't familiar with menu items, but it didn't detract from a nice evening and noted just to aid the owner. read more

Moonstone Grill - View - exceptional! - Seafood Near Me - Trinidad, California

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Stunning views, great service, perfect ambiance, amazing food. There are a wide variety of menu options and it was hard to choose, portions were also very large. My ultimate favorite was the rissoto, absolutely decadent. This is a must visit if you're in the area and I highly recommend you make reservations. The only drawback was that the restaurant doesn't have any high chairs so we all had to take turns holding my 9 month old. read more

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View was spectacular! Food was tasty and service was great! Ate a variety of food and each fare was cooked to perfection. So glad we insisted to be sat even though we arrived a few minutes before closing, so grateful for the staff allowing us to enjoy this slice of heaven. read more

Moonstone Grill - View from outside seating - Seafood Near Me - Trinidad, California

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Where was Gordon Ramsey when I needed him to come critique this place? We brought our little family for our wedding anniversary- mainly because overall reviews were good and the pictures made the food look good, but it just was TERRIBLE. We had to wait literally 20 minutes to get waters or have our server acknowledge we even existed. The prices were obscene for what we got. My daughter got the chicken Alfredo, she said she prefers mine and it tasty fishy and the chicken seemed watery ($32). My other daughter got the Pad Thai- the tofu was so greasy and inedible and it had way too much soy sauce. Luckily, our waiter noticed we hardly touched it and wouldn't take it home, so he comped us for that. I only got the coconut prawns ($19 by the way) and clam chowder bowl. Now, I have had the real McCoy of clam chowder growing up near Maine and Boston. This tasted not only from a can, but like they tried to cover it up by adding a spice that made it sooooo spicy I could not eat it. There were only four prawns and they were like tiny shrimp, hardly any coconut and it was like in a weird beer batter that made it so greasy, not like a panko coconut crusted like I'm used to. They only redeeming part was the coconut sauce and I had to pull off most of the batter to eat it. My husband got the ciopinno - he has also made his own before so he knows it typically costs a bit more, but $55 for his bowl that had tiny clams, a couple of pieces of crab and shrimp, was just ridiculous. He made the comment that the base tasted like it was made of Campbell tomato soup and hardly any spice. Come on people, we live in the age of ChatGPT where you literally can make some showstopper recipes and they are pulling these out of their kitchen. Ugh. Just really bothered me that there are so many "raving" reviews of this place. Besides the poor waiter who was friendly once he finely came to serve our table and the beach view, everything else was a zero. They may claim to be an upscale experience, but there is nothing upscale about peeling paint on the bar, little flies on the window by our table because they leave the doors open and us being cold because of that too. Do better. Never going back. read more

High prices. Fish taco was pitiful. A fish stick and some cabbage on two dry tortillas. The clam chowder was good. The bread bowl tasty. Burgers were ok. Just don't get the fish tacos. read more

Wow. Where do I even begin. We got there at 7:15... ordered drinks, and got them at 8. We were here for my wife's birthday. She got a steak and lobster, it was ok. The lobster was stone cold. My mother in law, and myself. Both got the tri tip and tortellini, priced at 42$. It was Inedible. The pasta was no short of disgusting. I asked if it's homemade, come to find out they charge 42$ for 8 small tortellinis, made by our very own Cosco... the "smoked tri tip" 6 paper thin slices of pre cooked tri tip... from Cosco. Overall the food was inedible, we waited well over an hour for our entrees. And it was not even busy. Just a regular slow Monday. Definetly won't be back. $250 for some Cosco food. On the bright side the view was nice. Disappointed to see such a nice location lack so poorly in food. read more

5 star view, 5 star service, 5 star drink, but the food was really just not that great. I was very disappointed. Husband got the steak and lobster for $80 and I got the cioppino. We got the the Asian sesame cauliflower, and octopus appetizers. The sesame cauliflower was no sesame at all it was drenched in the sweet Asian sauce that you can buy at the Asian store. No sesame flavor on it at all. The octopus was very soft which I am not familiar with. They brought it out with missing ingredients. Husband's filet was cooked great, but was so bland. No salt or pepper at all, the lobster was ok. I liked it but my husband did not. My cioppino was not warm at all. It literally tasted like the sauce from a Campbell tomato soup.y husband and I were very confused. It was such a disappointing visit. Our first meal in Trinidad we were so excited for but after $230 definitely not worth it. I would rather get my cioppino in Reno where there isn't an ocean near by. read more

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| Moonstone Grill - Trinidad, CA Date of visit: 10/03/2025 My husband and I had a wonderful evening at Moonstone Grill last night! The combination of great food, exceptional service, and unbeatable ocean views made for a memorable dining experience. We sat outside on the deck, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Watching the sunset over Moonstone Beach while enjoying dinner was a real highlight. Our server, Joshua, was fantastic -- attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable. The hostess, Noah, was also especially kind and accommodating, which helped set a positive tone from the moment we arrived. I ordered the salmon which was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. My husband ordered a big bowl of clam chowder and a fresh salad, and he loved both. We started with pre-dinner cocktails, and our wine with dinner was excellent -- a great pairing with the meal. The only small letdown was the lack of calamari on the appetizer menu, which we were hoping for. That aside, everything else was spot on. The price point is on the higher side, but it felt worth it given the quality of the food, service, and setting. We'll definitely be back and would absolutely recommend Moonstone Grill to anyone looking for a special dinner with a view in the Trinidad area! read more

Moonstone Grill - Seafood Near Me - Trinidad, California

We stopped by here for dinner on our last nights in town. This is a quaint restaurant off the coast. Our waiter was excellent and friendly. We were hoping to order oysters but they were out for night so we opted for crabcakes. They were good (3/5) but nothing special or worth the $30+ price tag. We got a soup with our main course and it was good. Our main course was yummy! (4/5) Our ribeye was nicely cooked and seasoned well, the portions were huge. The price was also reasonable at about $35, there was enough for left overs. A perfect spot for catching the sunset at dinner or a date night! read more

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Who is the adult in charge at the Moonstone Grill? We went on a Monday evening around 6pm and it seemed like everyone on staff was in their late teens/early 20s - which would have been fine if they were doing a good job, but they weren't. The bartender was more concerned with chatting up the pretty young blonde working with him (bar back? She was shining up the wine glasses) than he was with making drinks for those of us sitting at the bar. When he finally did get around to making our drinks they were the worst old fashioneds we'd ever had. Watered down (I saw him start with glasses that had pooled water in the bottom - fresh from the dishwasher?), lacking flavor, just all around disappointing. We had old fashioneds at sunset here before and they were fantastic, so this was not the experience we'd hoped for. We decided not to order another drink or eat dinner here given the poor quality and service. If you go, I'd recommend sticking to beer or wine - something they can't mess up. The view is lovely and the restaurant has great potential, but the staff needs training and supervision. read more

The owner does not know the meaning of hospitality, nor does he care; the service is terrible, and the food is very mediocre (which is high praise based on what we ate). The only reason they remain in business is the setting and ocean view. That being said, our waiter--who is also the manager--was hustling all night. Another waitress told us they were short-staffed & she was called in--and had another job to go to less than 2 hours after her shift! The owner was enjoying drinking with his friends at the bar, oblivious to it all. I said something on the way out, and he could have cared less. Don't bother with this place. We should have gone to the Trinidad Bay Eatery where we had a fabulous breakfast! read more

Lobster was dry. steak was too rare and poorly seasoned. had a very hard time getting salt and pepper. would not recommend

Had the coconut shrimp & scallop apps to start. So great. Steak & lobster was delicious. Service is great along with the view. Looking forward to come back to try other dishes. read more

Service and ambiance is lovely, the food not so much. Very greasy fish and chips, but tolerable. The crab melt on the other hand was inedible. read more

The view here is easily a 10/10 and definitely the highlight of the experience. The service was alright -- nothing bad, but nothing especially memorable either. The food was okay, but not quite worthy of 5 stars. The flavors felt a little off, and overall it gave the impression of "I've definitely had a better version of this before." A bit disappointing considering the setting. I'd come back for drinks and the view, but probably not specifically for the food. read more

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We chose this place because we wanted a place with a view of the ocean and this did not disappoint. In addition to the ambiance, the food and service were also excellent. Our server was very attentive and the food was fantastic! Highly recommend! read more

Very disappointing. Terrible service and mediocre food. In good conscious, we cannot recommend this restaurant.

On 7/7/26 our food took 1.5 hours to arrive. when the $82 meal arrived (steak & lobster) there was no seasoning on either, no butter for lobster, no steak knife, meat was gummy & a terrible cut, in fact never saw anything that looked like it...not to mention the service. Side never came, either! One persons salad arrived over an hour before everyone else's food. Had to get up & order drinks from the bar due to server being MIA for 30+ minutes. Why did the reseration ask if it was a special occasion? It was!! But there was no mention of any of that whatsoever. If I could give zero stars, I would. Local family that won't be coming back. read more

Nearly Inedible. The food and service are completely mediocre, especially considering the pricing.

I try hard to give good reviews based on how difficult and judgmental restaurant business is. Moonstone is only good for the sunset view. And a mediocre drink. And the drink is more fluffy than a good quality drink. The price point for what you get in quantity is not bad, but for quality, not good. The fish and chips was a 4 out of 10. The prim rib was 2 out of 10. The temp (see noted), was okay but the flavor was flat! My wife cooks a better prim rib in our house oven that's 40 years old. -noted , when I called the waiter back to clarify the prim rib temp at med rare, he stated "the cook preps all the prim rib at the same temp med rare." That makes Joshua qualified to fill water glasses. Sorry moonstone. But you need to improve a lot of items. read more

overall very nice experience!! it's a very cute and very small restaurant right on the beach so the ambiance is so nice here and gets a BEAUTIFUL view of the beach!! ITS A SMALL PLACE SO MAKE UR RESERVATION AS SOON AS YOU CAN! tofu pad thai- very yummy but a little salty for some of my family. has a lot of tofu & veggies but not a lot of noodle chicken fettuccine- flavor is so good and has a lot of chicken!! new york steak- very yummy but our server didn't ask how we wanted our steak done so let them know if you have a preference! read more

Our view was amazing! It rained the entire time but I prefer that weather anyways especially being up north in the forest camping. Their menu is surprisingly diverse for a smaller city and very well designed. The oysters were a bit smaller than I expected but I loved the tastes they gave. They have grilled, or raw oysters. The sides are extremely well thought out as well! read more

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3 time at the bar same result bartender Marquis totally not engaged have to get his attention to get anything!!! Never once asked what we would like or if we wanted to order food, he just gives you a menu and walks around. We asked for separate checks two couples. It was very clear then when we had to ask for the check, of course because he's never saying how are you doing? Do you want your check? Do you need anything else the bare minimum he has the nerve to say here's your check you guys separate the bill I'm busy, never in my life have I ever seen anything like it? also he listens in on your conversation we're talking having private conversations. Of course he's gonna hear stuff but in my opinion, never add or break right into the conversation with your bartender opinion, he did that several times so we know he's listening to everything we're saying very uncomfortable. food decent. Very pretentious vibe. Only reason to go is the breathtaking view. read more

Went two years ago and had a bad experience so we were hesitant to give this place another try but we remembered the view being incredible and not a lot of places to find food so we did. Let me say we are so HAPPY we did!! Food was great, environment was cozy and the view was stunning. Our server Casey was friendly, attentive and helpful and the food portions were generous. Happy to have a new experience here to place the old. If you've gone and had a bad experience in the past I would give this place another try. read more

I travel a lot and I'm not a picky eater, but this place was underwhelming enough that it actually made me question whether it was worth the price. read more

I attended Moonstone Grill as part of a wedding party. I was actually photographing the wedding, but the couple invited myself and my officiant/husband to join. The food was surprisingly good and the views were amazing. The staff was very accommodating for our larger party and even held and served the cake the couple cut at the end of the wedding celebration. I would definitely recommend this spot for groups both big and small! read more

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Good menu. Easy to drop off dairy. Wonderful view of Northern California coast. One of best servers - Marques - ask for his station. We will most certainly return. BONUS: tour the village of Trinidad, especially the waterfront and The Head. read more

We came in late but the server and service were stellar. We had cocktails, a mai tai and a margarita, both well made. We started with the buratta and beets. Good, beets were a bit over done for my taste but the buratta with the pistachios was very good. We tried the clam chowder and were not disappointed. This is what chowder should be, velvety and rich. You could taste the clams which were tender and sweet. Exceptional chowder! We ordered the crab fondue and were not disappointed! Creamy crabby deliciousness! My only critique would be the bread could have been more bite sized but I just cut mine and enjoyed every bite. Partner had fish and chips. Good. Rockfish was fresh and tasty. Tartar sauce was ok, I prefer mine a bit herbier. We also had Fettuccine with chicken and Alfredo. Chicken was seasoned well and cooked perfect, still juicy and tender. Alfredo was very good. Fresh fettucini was not so fresh, that was the only real disappointment of the meal. If the menu says fresh pasta my expectations are high and this was not fresh. It may have been made in house but not today. I wanted the scallops but they were out, owner said they are on him next time... I would come back either way. This is fine dining but not stuffy and over done. The prices are what I expect at a restaurant if this caliber and the service and food met that standard. I am excited to return and try the rest of the menu! read more

Moonstone Grill could be so much more than it is, a total disappointment and over-priced beyond belief. Their only vegetarian option is a tofu pad tai but they use cheap rice noodles, not even pad tai noodles and there was no fried egg. Over salted peanut sauce and no depth of flavor. $33 for this!!! All of the other food we got was over salted and lack luster. The views are amazing and I think they lean on this and don't care about the quality of the food. It is really bad. I wish that Trinidad Eatery could take over this location! Or Larrupin Cafe! Or anything! read more

Best happy hour with a view! Delicious wine, beer, cocktails and appetizers for a great price. Gorgeous views of the river and ocean. Friendly atmosphere and bartenders. John and Ari are the best! read more

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