Brigantine Seafood Restaurant
| Address: | 1333 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA 92118, USA |
| Phone: | +1 619-435-4166 |
| Site: | brigantine.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 10AM–11PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Jay Keyes
The Brigantine is a local family-owned chain of 7 restaurants in San Diego County. The Coronado location is perhaps my favorite due to the proximity to the beach and the Hotel Del. The Happy Hour menu (available everyday except Saturday) is excellent value. Ive tried the "Grilled House Oysters," a small appetizer that features 3 oysters drenched in melted shallot-shoyu butter covered with chow mein-like wonton strips. Despite the butter, these go down cleaner and with more purpose than traditional New Orleans-style charbroiled/grilled oysters found elsewhere. People love The Brigs fish tacos (deservedly so), but the grilled oysters shouldnt be overlooked. Speaking of the "Fish Tacos," the Brigs gringo-style fish tacos are really good. I opted for the grilled pollock, and got a large chunk of perfectly-cooked fresh fish with tomatoes, onions, red cabbage, and mild cheddar cheese in corn tortilla. If you like the tacos at South Beach Grill in OB, youll also enjoy these, as theyre very similar. Unfortunately, the "Clam Chowder" is a miss. The Brig serves a prime example of what clam chowder shouldnt be: thick and roux-y. Flavor is acceptable, but the texture is wrong for this Massachusetts-raised chowdah-head. Because the soup is over-burdened with flour and butter, the actual clams themselves do not have a discernible voice in this dish. Pescetarians beware: The Brigs clam chowder contains salt pork (though Id argue that this is one of the things they got right). The "Calamari Strips" are another so-so plate. While I liked that these were not traditional calamari rings, I was not a fan of the accompanying ketchup-y cocktail sauce or the disappointingly bland jalapeño cream sauce. Also, the calamari could have been any generic sea-meat. I suppose the mild flavor of calamari is why it is so popular, but here the texture is also lost due to the thickness of the dark cornmeal batter. My recommendation is that you come here for a few bites because youre already in Coronado during happy hour, not because you want the "the best seafood in San Diego," "best fish taco," or other hyperbole that occasionally is associated with this place. If you keep your expectations in check and order wisely, youll be rewarded with a pleasant and affordable dining experience.
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Jamie W.
We had always loved this restaurant in the past. They remodeled and it looks pretty but completely lost its charm. Our service was terrible. Server was very kind but either new or was over-sat tables. He was polite when we saw him however. When we asked for pepper for salads, he put a "shaker" on the table. No fresh ground pepper at a seafood house? Salad tasted good. Dinner arrived, served by a food runner I guess. My husbands fish was VERY DRY and had purple mashed potatoes but the after taste wasnt right. We wanted to ask the server to please show the chef or manager and give him a properly cooked piece of fish. HE NEVER CAME BY OUR TABLE AGAIN and the place is not that big. We waited and waited, all of our glasses were empty until I had to "flag down" a busboy (and I think its rude to do that but it was the only way to get water)... my husband hadnt eaten since 10am so he was very hungry and just ate the overcooked fish but not the potatoes. After we were done the server FINALLY showed up and said with a smile, " is everything great?" My husband was furious. We were celebrating a birthday which put a damper on the evening. He realized we were not pleased but it was too late so he offered us free coffee. Then they brought a piece of MUD PIE out for his birthday and it was so solid like a rock frozen he couldnt eat it for 10 minutes... my husband would have ordered dessert but he didnt ever ask us if we would like anything! At that point we just wanted to get out of there. He was going to speak to the manager but we didnt want to embarrass his son. This place was a goto FAVORITE for.many years with the best Prime Rib... they dont even serve that anymore. The entire experience was negative. Will not go back... over rated, over priced. Very sad to see.
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James Hawks
Came here for dinner on a Saturday without reservations. The dining room was full but we were able to find a low top table in the bar area no problem. We ordered their old fashion (which is a bit different) and a mojito to drink and both were very good. For dinner we ordered the fries seafood plate with rice and vegetables and the mahi-mahi plate with rice and mashed potatoes. The seafood plate was ok, it was our first time experiencing deep fried scallops and deep fried shrimp, both were good for being deep fried. The rice was amazing and the seasoning on the vegetables added a lot of flavor. The mahi-mahi plate was really good. The portions in general were rather small. We ordered the creme brulee for desert and it was really good. The servers were very nice and the manager stopped by a few times to check in. Overall it was a good experience and decent food.
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Michael Barrett
After walking out of 1500 Ocean due to shoddy treatment, we tried Brigantine. I couldnt get a ressie, but asked if we could have a table. The hostess explained that only so many tables are on openTable and that we could be seated right away. They took us to a perfect corner table and we had a superb evening of food and service. Drinks were ideal, apps hit the spot, and the service was awesome. The crab and shrimp fondue is spectacular, blue point oysters ideal. Fried seafood platter could have used bigger shrimp and scallops and less batter, but the price point was low. Id return in a minute. Best service I have received in ages and a stark contrast from the snobs at 1500.
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A Private User
I went on a long weekend to Coronado, stayed at the Del and wanted a romantic dinner with my wife. I read the good reviews of the Brigantine and had high expecations. I was not disappointed at all. Best Fish and service! Our server was young, but very experienced and friendly. We picked our fish from the menu but changed it completely after hearing the waiters recommendation. It was fantastic. One of the best fish I ever had, and I am very picky. The waiter told us he realized that this was a special night and gave us without asking a creme brulee on the house...nice ending to a great dinner. The price was reasonable for the quality of food.
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Troy Larson
Eating here, youre basically paying for the location. The decore is a little odd and dated (feel like your eating inside a pirate ship) but hey youre right across the street from the Hotel del Cornado so you know its gonna be a bit of a tourist trap. The food here is super bland and not that good. I ordered seared Ahi tuna and it was old and fishy - bush league. The plus side is that the plates are huuuuge! So why they may over charge you and give you old fish, youll have more than enough. Id advise going here if the weather is nice and you want to sit out side on the patio, otherwise Id look elsewhere.
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Kent June
Oysters and cocktails were excellent. The ahi asian fusion entrée had been salted with what tasted like taco seasoning. The ahi was of excellent quality. The clam chowder was the chefs take on New England chowder. It was nothing to write home about especially since it was lacking any significant amount of clams. The timing of the courses were ill timed with the dishes from the previous course still on the table when the next course was brought to the table. Long delay before main course was served
