Cafe del Rey

My mom was in town recently and she and her friends wanted to eat on the water somewhere. Randomly chose this restaurant because they were doing DINE LA. Thank god I found it! What a gem of a find. A bit difficult to locate for those not super familiar with Marina Del Rey, but once found, you are in luck. Huge restaurant with big windows facing the calm marina with boats aplenty to gaze at. Food is fantastic and service very professional. We went during brunch hours and they had a good band providing background music. Had a stellar soup and perfectly cooked Mahi Mahi lunch. And leave room for dessert! Parfait par exelenance! Pros: Great service Cons: A bit hard to find for non natives more

I was at Cafe Del Rey today and this was my first time there so I was really excited. Sadly that excitement fizzled into disappointment. Pros: Nice Location Cons: Slow Service and attention to customer needs' more

My wife recently decided to take me to Cafe del Rey, to celebrate my birthday. It had been quite some time since we had eaten there, since we no longer live in LA. We both had fond memories of the beautiful marina view and the exquisite Asian inspired food. Initially, we were a little reluctant to stay, when we found out that after years of serving sushi and various dishes with exotic Asian flavors, Cafe del Rey now serves a Mediterranean inspired menu (as if CA needs another). Our server (a kind jovial fellow named Nick) manged to talk us into staying, as he insured us the food was still top notch. My wife and I were very impressed by his meticulous knowledge of both the menu and the wine list, as he was able to answer in detail all of our questions. We took his recommendation for appetizers and ordered the squash Agnolotti and the Truffle Pizza. The appetizers were amazingly good and each one was packed with flavor. For the main course, my wife ordered the Mahi-Mahi and I took his recommendation and ordered the Lamb Chops. When the food arrived we both marveled at how beautiful the presentation was. The only con was the portion size of the Lamb Chops. Three tiny chops for thirty some odd dollars, left me feeling a little short changed. Nevertheless, the combination of the succulent Lamb and roasted pepper hummus cheered me up immediately. My wife raved about her Mahi-Mahi, which came with a hand made celery root ravioli and green and white asparagus. The dish could have used a little more asparagus, but the fish was cooked perfectly and the flavors worked pretty well together. For dessert, our server sent us a chocolate cake with a candle in it for my birthday (free of charge). The cake was rich, decadent and a good end to a good meal. Kudos, to our server Nick for convincing us to stay and to the service staff at Cafe del Rey for a great birthday experience! Pros: Excellent Service Cons: Food is a tad bit overpriced more

My girlfriend and I headed over to Cafe Del Rey, seeing how they seemd to haved received fairly good reviews. The hostess was pleasant and since we had made a reservation, we were seated immediately. On the way in, the manager greeted us with a smile. We hadn't realized that Sunday was a Prix Fixe brunch only. No matter, we decided the food on the menu looked tasty enough. We waited to be served, then we waited and then we waited some more. After 30minutes we were still sitting there with our menus only. Two other tables had gotten up and left before us and we were fed up as well. We walked out never knowing who our server was. The manager didn't try to stop us, I figured he knew why everyone was leaving. Pros: will never know Cons: never got to order our food more

Last Saturday my husband and I went to Caf? Del Rey (CDL) for the first time. We are both foodies, and make a habit of trying different restaurants. Pros: The view Cons: Everything else more

The service was ridiculously slow, one waiter was serving about 20 tables on a saturday night! Very negligent service, we were never asked ""is everything okay for you?"" or ""how's the meal"" NEVER was i asked for that. The appetizers were good so i was expecting a lot from the entrees, which was $33 for a terrible soy sause seafood spaghetti and $32 for just the over cooked, very salty mahi mahi, with almost no side dishes.I don't mind paying a lot for food but the quality should match the price. Clearly, the spaghetti i could have made it myself at home and taste 10 times better. If you still want to go, either go to lunch (I heard is better) or go at night and only order a bunch of appetizers (you will be happier, trust me). Pros: kumamoto oysters Cons: everything else more

This is some great asian eatery. Very classy elegant environment. Its a wonderful asian experience. If you want another great asian experience i would reccomend gyneari also. more

You have to go here for happy hour if you are in the mood to have a nice wine/cocktail with equally matched food. I know some people crave all that greasy, fried food, but I was able to enjoy a nice meal without feeling weighted down like I had just gone to a fast food restaurant. I highly recommend the prosciutto wrapped figs, their sirloin slider, and the steamed mussels. (I was with a group of people, so don't think I ordered all this just for myself!) Their pilsner was pretty tasty with the whole combo. And, our server was excellent! I couldn't ask for more! Pros: Great food and drink. Waterfront views. more

I just had dinner with my husband there this evening. We had good seafood albeit overpriced. However, they serve Foie Gras, basically an ultra fatty patte. It's probably the most inhumane farming practice conducted, really it's animal torture. It requires the force feeding of geese with a medal feeding tube that causes regurgitation, painful lacerations, organ failure, lung failure, and sometimes the explosion of internal organs. These birds are kept heavily confined, force feed, and die long painful deaths. Many have refused to serve it, including Wolfgang Puck, and cities like Chicago have banned it. I would urge everyone not to go to Cafe Del Rey until the take it off the menu for good. I am not against meat or fish, but serving foie gras is really horrific and I hope you'll reconsider spending your money there. Pros: Decent Food Cons: Serves Foie Gras more

Cafe del Rey is the place for foodies. I recently attended a dinner & wine pairing there in the private dining room overlooking the water. I learned so much about the geographic area of the wine and how they matched the food with it. It was a four course meal with a reception and about six glasses of wine. Amazing value. Met some really nice people at our table and had a fabulous evening. The tastebuds were dancing. They are having another one on June 26th if you are interested. Pros: Food, View, Wine more

WARNING! STAY AWAY! Pros: Upscale restaurant with a view of the marina. Cons: Oily food, Expensive, slow service, unresponsible and unprofessional General Manager more

View is great. Restaurant is nice. Service was neglectful. Jazz band was a nice touch. Pros: Parking, nice Marina View Cons: Bad service, average food, way too expensive more

Why does citysearh view this as 5 starts when a lot of people have rated it less? That is so misleading. Anyways, this place is 3 starts at best. It is beautiful and romantic. The service was attentive, but tries to encourage you, not so gently, to spend more money on more courses. The downfall is the food. It just is not that good. I do not know what people see in this place. I was told by a friend that it is the best place in the Marina. I hope not. My crabcakes were way to citrusy. Too much lemon ruined the crab flavor. Then I ordered their signature dish of black spaghetti. It was interesting, but almost disgusting. Both my bf and I did not like the looks of it and the taste left much to be desired. There was too much going on in that dish. I would not go back. I would have been happier literally having a sandwich at Jerry's or Cheesecake Factory than I was with both my dishes here, and it was pricey. more

Well the old LP vinyl records were 12 inches in diameter and that is the size of a food plate in Cafe Del Rey except that the plates are white and the food inside is maximum 4 inches in diameter , which translates to : eat before you go to Del Rey. Tasty ? yes , Enough ?, absolutely not. Nice quiet atmosphere for couples and a piano bar. Naturally pianists change all the time but the pianist we experienced last saturday night , although he seemed a nice guy, he could not play a simple melodic sentence without adding embellishmentsin the middle, scales up and down and going forte ,then going piano in the same sentence that can drive you nuts. He could not keep it simple he had to show off so it was not the type that inspired you to hold the sweetheart's hand and whisper in her ear. Pros: Location, ambience Cons: The food amounts and the pianist. more

My boyfriend and I went to Cafe del Rey on a Tuesday night just to try a new restaurant. We shared a salad and I got the lamb and my boyfriend got the halibut My dish was okay...it came with a small piece of lamb and a huge piece of spicy, dry, sausage. The lamb itself was cooked well, but it was a small portion (the sausage was bigger than the lamb). The sasuage was terrible...like I said spicy (a little too much for my taste) and very dry. My boyfriend got the halibut, which he said was okay as well. I tried it and it was fresh, but lacked any real flavor. We shared this trio of dessert, which was good (what dessert isn't?). Like I said, it was eh...and I don't think I'd reccomend it because you certainly don't get what you pay for. Pros: View, service Cons: Food more

The entrees here basically start at $30. Generally, for a guy on my budget, that makes this a ""special occasion"" place. In fact, I took my family here, and it really wasn't a special occasion, just a night out. But I quickly forgot the cost of the meal in the pleasure of the ambience and the beautiful view, and the attentiveness of the service. Nor did the food disappoint. My son, the vegetarian, found few options to satisfy his needs, but polished off his agnolotto with gusto. My wife was delighted with the sturgeon, saying it was the best she had had in this country (she is from Russia, where they apparently take their sturgeon seriously). My filet mignon, meanwhile, almost melted in my mouth. The portion was large enough to share with my daughter. The appetizers were excellent as well (calamari and duck rolls) and the desserts extraordinary. I give this restaurant six stars. Pros: Food, service, view, ambience Cons: Not the place to go if you are in a hurry, or on a tight budget. Oh, and sometimes you can get a great glass of wine for a surprisingly low price. This was not one of those times. more

great view of the marina, creative and well-melded flavors from across the pacific. well worth it. more

great view of the marina, creative and well-melded flavors from across the pacific. well worth it. more

I understand the mixed reviews. The food was good, but not extraordinary. We went on a Thursday at 5:30 pm when it opened so we did not have to wait. The service was fine. It is a popular restaurant and filled up quickly. I think there are better restaurants in LA, but I agree with the other reviewers that the view of the marina does add value. By the way, I hate valet parking. There is a $3.00 lot across the street if you don't want to valet. more

Went on Sunday after my sister's graduation. We were seated promptly after most of our party had arrived (6). Table seemed like a tight fit for us all but whatever. My cousin wasn't interested in the brunch and so went to the front for a lunch menu and began looking at it. The waiter then rudely came and told him he's not allowed to order from there on Sunday and almost snatched it out of his hand. The service was pretty bad we kept having to ask for water from several people and our food took a really long time. The ambiance was nice but it was a bit loud. Very nice for a sunny Sunday. The food was ok, I think some of the portions were smaller than others. The bill was decent for six of us it came out to $178. Their two course brunch is $22 and their three course brunch is $28 and it comes with a complimentary drink. The bar area is really nice and cozy. Around 3pm the place got really empty. I really like their silverware and cups/plates. I thought the place was ok but my cousins were very disappointed with the service. more