Roy's San Diego Waterfront

Roy's San Diego Waterfront reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Review summary

1. e

   ed VIP

   Tucson64 reviews

   1.0

   Dined today

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 4

   Absolutely one of worst dining experiences we’ve ever had. Bad from start to finish. Service was awful- 20 minutes to get a drink. 60 minutes till entrees arrived- cold. Avoid this place like the plague. We’ve eaten at Roy’s all over and never had a bad experience… till today. Ownership should take a hard look in the mirror and ask do they really want to operate this restaurant or are they just calling it in.
   

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2. D

   Dave VIP

   San Diego13 reviews

   1.0

   Dined today

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   Had a 5:45 reservation due to a 7:00 concert at Rady Shell. We arrived at 5:30 hoping to get seated earlier. Nope, 6:00 got seated. Waitress arrives at our table at 6:20 to take order (drinks and entrees). Drinks come out fairly quickly, entrees delivered at 7:30. My shellfish sampler ($69) was not even warm ( had to send back). Waited another 15 minutes for replaced meal. Sad as I watched the entire restaurant be served and emptied ,headed to concert , and my meal hadn’t arrived yet. The lobster tail was the smallest I had ever seen ( the size of my pinky) and the crabcake was the size of a silver dollar. At this point, I devoured my plate in about 6 bites. What could have been a perfectly planned birthday/Mother’s Day celebration was certainly tainted. Got to concert by 8.
   

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3. M

   Mike VIP

   San Diego2 reviews

   1.0

   Dined today

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 1

   We had to wait 2 hours and still no food so we left because we had show tickets. Manager competed our drinks but not acceptable.
   

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4. D

   Debra VIP

   San Diego4 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Our dinner was a horrific experience. I will not return and I live locally. We went for dinner before the James Taylor concert at the Shell . We were seated at 5pm on the patio. It was so hot with direct sun, we were overheated. Several tables were in direct sun and the problem could have been easily remedied with 3 umbrellas tilted at 45 degrees. A table of 8 was next to us. They asked to speak to the manager. Eventually, she came about 15 plus minutes after they asked to speak with her. Her list of excuses, lack of apology , and tardiness was mind boggling. She didn’t offer them a round of drinks, desserts or anything. This restaurant is part of the harbor side Marriott. I find it hard to believe a call couldn’t have been made to the hotel manager to get a few umbrellas asap from the pool area. The lack of action of the managers part was stunning. Her excuse of “ I’d go to Home Depot if I could” was stunning. I am certain they have had this problem many times before. As they say, this isn’t rocket science. Additionally, service was horrible all the way around. The busser who validated our parking ticket was the only one who had any sense of urgency or kindness in the whole restaurant. We sat down before 5pm . Our server never asked or seemed to care about the direct sun. Our dinner arrived well after 6pm . Our server knew we were going to the GI cett Portions were minimal - $66 for an entree The short rib and butter fish combo had tiny portions of meat and fish and a huge pile of mashed potatoes. My $58 butter fish was smaller than the size of my palm ( I’m an average woman) . R $16 mango margarita was good, but was served in a small 4 oz glass. There was no time to order dessert - although I am sure they were lackluster and over priced. The butter fish also did not taste like a miso marinade - it had some kind of salsa sauce in it , which is not the usual way it is served.
   

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5. T

   Tom

   San Diego1 review

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Unfortunately the server forgot our entrees and the service was extremely slow. We had to clear our own dishes.
   

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6. J

   Jeff

   Chicago2 reviews

   1.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   We had a 4:30 pm dinner reservation for dinner for 8 of us on Saturday May 10th prior to attending the James Taylor concert. We arrived on time and were seated immediately at a table on the patio. To make a very long story somewhat short, service was incredibly slow…long time for drinks and appetizers…had to flag down server for 2nd round of drinks but worst of all…at 6:45 pm we still did not have our food so we left. 2 hours and 15 minutes and all we were served were our appetizers and drinks. Manager apologized and provided some compensation but what a disaster. They appeared to have staffing and kitchen issues. So off we went to the concert with no dinner. Friends of ours have had good experiences at Roy’s in the past but not this time. Hope they fix things.
   

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7. C

   Carolyn VIP

   Phoenix42 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Excellent food and service. Don’t miss the lobster bisque!
   

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8. R

   Raquel

   San Diego1 review

   3.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   Parking was confusing, after taking a ticket it says Marina Parking Only. Cars will be towed. So we decided to valet. We walked in no sign indicating which direction is Roy’s. Once we stopped to ask, they said walk that way to the end. Once you get to the end you walk through an area then take an elevator. Once you get off the elevator your don’t know where the hostess stand is. You have to find it. We ended up being late for our reservation. Appetizers were better than dinner. No piña colada‘s, lava flows are blended drinks. Ordered the special Rib Eye & Lobster. The Ribeye was $72 and the Lobster $29. We should have ordered the  filet mignon & lobster off the regular menu for $72. The Ribeye wasn’t exceptionally. Service wasn’t that great, took a while to get our dinner. I was more disappointed because a friend of mine from Kauai was with me who always eats at the Eating House. I believe it’s the same owners. Eating house has exceptional service with Aloha🌺
   

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9. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco2 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   Portions were very small. Had to ask for the heater to be turned on four times. Friendly server but maybe was stretched too thin.
   

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10. S

    Seann

    San Diego43 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Roy’s on the waterfront is an absolute must to visit whether being a local resident or from out of town. The location offers an amazing view, the outdoor seating is right next to many beautiful yaght’s docked in the harbor, and if you’re lucky to have great weather the experience will be mesmerizing as you pair it to the incredible choices of menu items. Don’t leave home without your American Express but it’ll be worth it….times at least 2.
    

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