How about $22 for fish and chips? That pretty much sums up the place: over priced and overrated. The bartenders have all the personality of your average Wendy's order taker. People inexplicably flock to the place in droves on the weekend, though, as they presumably have no place else to go where they can gaze at a parking lot from the bar. I was not surprised, as I found Norwalk completely bleak and charmless. Where else in the country can you go for the privilege of paying exhorbitant taxes, sit in endless traffic on terrible roads, have unaffordable housing and deal with suspicious, rude and classless people? Norwalk, that's where. Norwalkians are an odd bunch as they seem to blissfully exist in such a harsh and inhospitable climate. I couldn't wait to leave but that wasn't to be as I95 was at it's usual standstill. Ugh.. read more

Great setting. Congenial staff. The food was not worth it. The swordfish was thin and overcooked. The risotto was clumpy. $13 for a mediocre lemon drop martini -outrageous. I so wish the food were better. read more

The only thing this place is good for is for a drink at sunset. The food is mediocre and the service sucks. Silverware and flat ware is always nasty and dirty... If it wasnt located on the water it would not exist still. Not for anything but the drinks arent cheap either... read more

I went the Sunset Grill with a friend for like lunch and was not impressed. Is the location good? Yes, very good atmosphere but that's were anything positive ends for me. The waiter was not very attentive and the restaurant was not busy at all so you would think he could have come around more often. I ordered the lobster salad and it was not good. I was expecting something pretty good considering I paid $22.00ish dollars for it. It was basically a handful of bag salad with a few shreds of lobster on top. I'm not sure my friend enjoyed her fried fish sandwich much either since she only ate about half of it. Is $12.00 per glass too much to pay for house wine? I think so. Anyway, I won't be back. Overpriced for very mediocre food and drink. read more

Food was great. View and atmosphere was amazing. Horrible, awful service. Seriously the worst.

I went with friends and was very excited to come here because I grew up in Norwalk. Yes, the view is great, but it's the same view from the beach! I ordered the Lobster Risotto, which looked like a Science Project.. I am not a chef, but I know how to make Risotto. It was definitely overpriced and where was the lobster?? On top of that, our rude blonde waitress forgot to place our order of steamers and was not nice about it. From now on I will do what I always do and bring my own food and drink to the beach and see the same scenery. I wish I could give them 1/2 star. read more

Best location in Fairfield County and one of the very few locations on the water/beach. Great views of the water,boats, sunsets etc and often compliments by great acoustic live music! Love the lobster salad. Basic drinks so if you are looking for something fancy they may not have it. The food could stand some reinvention but for the most part it is quite good. read more

The food is fantastic...never had something I didn't love. My all-time favorite is the artichoke crab dip! While I see that a lot of reviewers mentioned the waitstaff leaves much to be desired, I haven't had a bad experience. Sure, if you go to the bar you may have to wait a few minutes for a drink, but that's not unreasonable when the place is always busy. The few different waitstaff we've had were very nice and attentive. The seafood is always fresh and tastes great and I think that's what people are looking for when they go here. That and the awesome atmosphere. read more

Pretty pricey for food that came out in less than 5 minutes..small portions for the price.

Great place to hang on a Sunday afternoon. They only just opened and already one of the bartenders is stressed out. Rude and snapped at guy who was waiting and waiting to get served. Me, my girlfriend and another older guy when inside to get the other bartenders attention. No need for that. That kinda changed the climate of the day. But, if you send a friend for the drinks and listen to the music, it is a nice afternoon. read more

Worst dining experience I've ever had. Have been a regular customer bringing my friends for years. Had dinner reservations with 3 friends. I was running 10-15 mins late and the other 2 ordered their dinners while I had a glass of wine waiting for my 3rd friend who was a little later. When she came, we tried to get the waiter to come over and take our orders but instead the host came over and asked us to settle our bill because they wanted the table back. We pointed out that we hadn't even finished the meals and we had already ordered and that we wanted to order more but he stood over us waiting for us to leave. He finally left and was pointing us out to the waiters telling them not to serve us. We talked to a manager who said she'd be happy to put us back on a wait list if we wanted to order more food. We were incredulous. At this point we had only had the table for an hour and 15 minutes- and a lot of that time was waiting to try and get our other order in. We asked for the owner who was ruder than all of them telling us we had to leave because they had the table reserved for other diners. We pointed out several empty tables and asked why they couldn't seat people there but she said they were reserved. We had already spent over $100 on food and drink and asked if that would at least "buy" us the table for the standard 2 hours which we were still well under. She said no and that we'd have to go back on the wait list to order more food. It was actually laughable they were that rude. I actually work for a food magazine and spoke with my editor who is in the midst of writing reviews so you can guess how well this one is going to go. In the meantime, I will be sharing this story everywhere and with everyone I know. Nice location but nothing excuses behavior this bad. We went down the street to Barcelona and the most amazing wine, dinner, music and incredible service so our night ended up on a great note. Kudos to Barcelona for always knowing how to treat their customers. read more

I come here all the time and typically I have no complaints whatsoever. The atmosphere is lovely, set right on the water and the drinks and food are always delicious. This past visit was slightly different as the hostess was very particular and somewhat pushy. Our party was told we could not sit in a certain section if we were not ordering entrees although we requested to sit there with the intention to order entrees. We were basically told that we couldn't sit there if we didn't order more than 2 meals. Also, after the hostess directed us to a table of 4 and we moved to a table 5 (one more guest was expected) we were asked to move although we indicated we were expecting one more person. This was at 5:00 pm and we were told that it was going to get busy although we were with an infant so clearly this was not going to be a late night of partying. We felt pressured to make our stay quick but at the same time there were a number of empty tables. Overall I felt the need to review this time bc the customer service on the part of the hostess was just not up to par and we were really upset by it. Hopefully Sunset rectifies their hospitality next time because we love this place and were really caught by surprise and disappointed. read more

It was a cloudy cool Sunday afternoon in July. Thought we would take a drive to Norwalk from Danbury, get a bite to eat, listen to some music and cruise around. We decided on Sunset Grille. What a mistake. The staff seemed like everyone was bothering them. Not rude but definitely not friendly. So i figured maybe some really good food would make the day brighter. Started off with the Clam Chowder..there were zero clams in my Wifes Chowder and 2 in mine. It should be called the celery chowder because it was loaded with celery. I have had much better homemade Chowder at a local Diner in Danbury. On to the real food...i ordered the mahi mahi tacos....spicey the way i like my tacos but just ok...not worth the $. Here is the real bad part, my Wife orders the steak wrap with cheese. The steak was as tough as shoe leather and they just slapped a cold slice of yellow American on the wrap. That will be the last time this place gets to steal my hard earned $. They should clean house and start over or sell the place to someone who cares about food quality and service. There is something really wrong at this restaurant. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY, GO ELSEWHERE. read more

I have been coming here for years and used to really love the place. The service was never very good, with an average wait time for a drink of fifteen minutes. Having experienced this, every time my husband and I dine there, we order several things at once to combat the wait time. Usually having to remind the server about items requested. We went this past Saturday and our server was attentive and warm, but I had to remind him twice to please bring parmesan cheese and lemon wedges. The bread was also very stale. Despite this, it was the best service we have ever had there. The location and delicious food have historically redeemed the poor service. This was not the case Saturday, and every time we have been, the food has gotten progressively worse. My penne a la vodka (which I always order) literally tasted like Spaghetti O's. My husband will eat anything and has never complained about a restaurant meal before. He said his fra diavlo tasted like saltwater covered in tomato juice. We requested more parmesan and doused our food, but it didn't help. We wrapped up our entire meals and went home and actually ordered a pizza. There was also live music but the acoustics were terrible and there was tininess to the sound which hurt my head. As much as I love the location and the fond memories, this place is Norwalk's Crab Shell - crappy food with poor service and a gorgeous view. We will only be going there for cocktails going forward, if at all. read more

my go-to place which makes me feel like I'm on vacation when sitting on the deck,enjoying lunch or dinner

I have been to the Sunset Grille several times over the years. The best part about it is the location so if you have friends visiting from out-of-town, this is the place to go as they will love the atmosphere and views. The food is OK but nothing to write home about. Whatever you do, DO not order the ceviche or you will be very disappointed. I went for my birthday last week and ordered the special (1/2 lobster with scrimp and scallops. My lobster was more like 1/4 lobster and had no claw. The tail was tiny and there were only 2 scallops and 2 pieces of shrimp on my plate. It came with a side veggie which was mixed veggies but I asked to substitute that with spinach (which they did) but when we got the bill, the waitress had charged us $3 for the spinach! We asked her to take that off and she did. My daughter had the ceviche and left 3/4 of it. i tried it and it had no taste. I don't think I will return to this place as there are other restaurants along the CT coast with a great view AND great seafood! read more

First time here, local who lives in Norwalk, had a reservation at 7pm, at sunset. Arrived on time, seated promptly, at the farthest back table possible near storage, with absolutely NO view. Asked hostess (short blonde girl) if we could move, "were booked", snotty, walked away without a second thought. We're the youngest couple there, late 20s, felt shafted and judged as if we were the 'kids' who probably would have a cheap tab or not tip well. Food was good thank god. Decent portions, crab dip for app, seared scallops and pork loin special for entrees. Service was slow, waitress checked on us once in over an hour. Luckily had a bottle of wine and good conversation to pass the time. Surprised the place looks dumpy considering the "proper attire must be worn" sign. Really? It's no better than Sono Seaport at a much higher cost, and stuffy atmosphere. Might be better for casual lunch or just drinks. Overall disappointed, especially considering the view is the highlight of this place. read more

First I must say the view alone is worth the visit! My family and I went this past weekend for my mother in-laws birthday. Short wait was difficult with young kids as there were no seats in the designated waiting area. Hostesses seemed more concerned with social life on their phones than sitting us at the many available tables which we were told had been reserved even though when I called earlier in the day I was told they do not take reservations. Food was average aside from the amazing calamari starter. Menu is also limited for vegan customers such as my sister-in law. Server greg made experience better by being as good an entertainer "to kids satisfaction" as he was attentive server. Chocolate cake desert is a must have. We were also told there is live music on weekends however only music playing was through outside speakers and no singer. All in all it was a ok experience, great service and view, not the best menu. read more