Castaway

I had taken my girlfriend here for dinner. She had her sweet 16 here and was raving about how nice it was. I was sadly disappointed. I was treated like dog 3hit, and so was my girlfriend by our waitress. She acted as if we werent good enough to be served at that restaurant. When my girlfriend asked to make some changes to a meal, she was made to feel stupid for making such a request. Our food took forever and tasted like it was from TGI Fridays. So in short my girlfriend was brought nearly to tears!!!! I will never come to this place again!!!! Id much rather eat at Dennys, or Arbys! Pros: Nice View Cons: Horrible service more

The banquet staff was completely inept and disrespectful. We expected better since we had heard the views and the atmosphere made up for their food. Too bad it didn't make up for their staff. They were slow and seemed to be disorganized/confused. \r \r When my partner asked to see a manager, one staffer said there wasn't anyone there to help us accompanied with a glare and rolling of her eyes. Not to mention, an older hispanic woman who bartended at our event and her uniform blouse hung almost completely open exposing herself. She looked utterly inappropriate and unprofessional to be tending a respectful event, not to mention her slow service and VERY haughty attitude. \r \r The beautiful view does NOT make up for the amount of money we spent and people's time on a wasted Friday evening. more

I just recently dined here on my GF 30th birthday. It was both our first time at Castaway. I did make reservations, and was very skeptical about going to this restaurant due to all the reviews I had read. WOW...is all I can say!! From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by the host/hostess and seated right away. We had a wonderful view right next to the window over looking Burbank and I could see Universal Studios as well. The waiter Stefan was awesome. He greeted us right away and was very friendly. Everything we ordered was brought to us in a timely manner. The Coconut Shrimp appetizer was delicious as well as the Filet Mignon and NY Steak. Stefan did come by our table often and asked us if everything was fine. I really enjoyed that! Even the Restaurant Manager came around and greeted us and asked us how our dinner was and I thanked him for such the kind service of his staff. I even spoke to the waiter Stefan and asked him about the restaurant and he gave me a full explanation of the dining area as well as the banquet rooms and patio outside. The ambience of the whole place was beautiful. At the end of the dinner, Stefan brought out a piece of cheesecake for my GF with a candle and wished her a happy birthday. And I didn't even ask him to do that. I thought that was very special!! From the start to the end, we both were very SATISFIED with the restaurant. Oh, we even had pineapple Mojitos which were delicious as well!! I would definitely recommend this restaurant to friends and family!!! And this is why I gave it 5 stars! Pros: Great customer service more

\r I came here for dinner for a special occasion and had an ok experience. The ambiance was nice and the view was stunning. However, we sat at our table for a good 15 minutes and did not even get noticed by a waiter. What's more, they weren't even busy that night. I'd say less than half the tables were full so there was no excuse. Sadly, a really nice waiter had to come by and ask if we've been served. We told him ""no"" and he got our drink orders and apologized for his coworker. After drinks we waited another 10+ minutes and our unassigned waiter came by again and asked if anyone took our order. Again we said, ""no."" At this point a waitress was standing a few tables away and over heard and just said ""Oops!"" and didn't even apologize! Apparently she was supposed to be our waiter the whole time and didn't even care that she was doing a bad job. The manager should fire her or at least not allow people like that to work at restaurants that have a reputation to keep. Anyway, our surrogate waiter got us our food and checked up on us very well after that. He even threw in a complimentary dessert because he felt bad we got stuck with the bad waitress. \r The food was really good. I got the filet mignon and it was juicy, tender and delicious. My gf got lobster and she liked it a lot. Our dessert was a chocolate cake and it was good, too. Later we stepped out onto the balcony for a bit and enjoyed the view.\r All in all, it started off as a poor experience but had a happy ending. What can I say, I'd give it 4 stars if it wasn't for that one wait staff who didn't even apologize.\r \r \r Pros: Pretty good food, nice view.\r Cons: You might not get a bad waiter there, try your luck. more

I always think I want to go to this place because it has a great view, but after consistently rude waiters and bad food, I think I've finally learned my lesson. The icing on the cake was the night we went there with my parents to celebrate my birthday and tell them we were expecting our first baby. What should have been a wonderful night was ruined by our incredibly rude, pushy and down right mean waiter. At the end of the night, both couples were reaching to get the check, and the waiter actually held on to it and asked each of us what we would tip before he would decide who to give it to (and sadly, this wasn't a cute joke on his behalf - he was dead serious). There's other stuff - gobs of lipstick on my glass, bad and expensive food, but to me the waiters, on more than one occasion, have ruined this place forever. Even the management ignored me when I told them how disappointed I was. If you have a special occasion, please go somewhere else where your evening won't be ruined. Pros: view Cons: service, food more

I was hesitant about this place because of all the bad/mixed reviews below but was pleasantly happy that i had a great evening.The BF made reservations for dinner on Saturday. We were seated quite promptly and had a very friendly waiter who had that right mix of being attentive but not coming back every minute to check on us. We had a nice booth in the back but still had a view of the valley from across the room which was lovely. Not fancy fine dining but business casual atmosphere; saw a wedding and sweet 16 party. Note that the Castaway is owned by the same company as the Odyssey in Granada Hills. I learned that the best entree to order is NOT on the menu; definitely go with the chef's special. BF had the peppered steak with mashed potato & steamed veggies. I tried a piece of that steak and it was done perfectly. i had the crusted halibut on a bed of asparagus topped with a medley of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. The fish was absolutely delicious; melts right off the fork and was so savory. Nice place for a romantice dinner. Would definitely come back but based on reviews probably not for brunch or the buffet, just dinner. Pros: View, chef's special Cons: Pricey more

The food here is just like any other steakhouse, it's doesn't wow you. The only thing that might wow you is... more

The food here is just like any other steakhouse, it's doesn't wow you. The only thing that might wow you is probably the view. The service here is ... more

Seriously... i saw tons of other reviews saying the food was bad, and the service was bad, but MAN, this was bad! The service was fine. Nothing special, but not bad.\r The food however was horrible. Tons of random choices on the buffet, but nothing was done well. Pastries were dry, waffles were soggy, and most everything else seemed ok when I grabbed it, but when i sat down, it just tasted weird. I sadly settled on going to the chocolate fountain.. thinking at least that would be tasty... but no, the chocolate had weird things floating in it, and the stuff they had on sticks to put in it were dried out and tasteless.\r For two of us... since it was Easter we paid 90 bucks with tip! As we left we saw a huge line of cars waiting to get in... I just wanted to tell all of them to turn around and save themselves... SO i thought I'd write this instead.\r \r It's such a shame, because it would be a great place to go for meals in Burbank, it's has such a great view.\r But DONT, i assure you. more

while the views are nice enough, the dinner we had here for a work banquet was just, sadly, rather dreadful. it was a private party/seated thing, so maybe poor planning, but the staff served us, well, aggressively, and didn't ask who wanted chicken or steak, just plopped it down on any unsuspecting soul - including my vegetarian self. the staff was kind and accommodating in remedying that, it was just oddly unprofessional. we all felt like we were at some random wedding reception in the 80's or something. do not go for the food; though the outdoor terrace with the heaters and firepits were nice and could make for a good happy hour stop. Pros: the view, the outdoor spaces Cons: pretty much everything else more

View was great. Went there on February 16th (made the reservations the same day), were never toeld that there's a ""Valentine's Day Menu"" when made the reservations. When showed up were seated fairly quickly and to our surprize there was an outrageously expensive menue (two days after Valentines day). I have no problem of paying more for special day menues but they should have told us before we made the reservations. Once you are there you basically have no choice but to overpay unexpectedly. Made experience very very bad!! Befoe make reservations make sure you ask if it's a ""special"" menu for that day, even though it might not actually be a holiday. more

My boyfriend and I went to Castaway the day after Valentines, so they had a fixed Valentines menu. We had heard it was romantic and were excited to try it out. \r \r To be sure, the restaurant has great views. However, that's all it has. The food and service were pretty terrible, especially for the hefty price. The food is on par with Sizzler, except that Sizzler has that very tasty cheese bread. An example, the lobster was battered and fried instead of broiled (which was stated on the menu), and was squishy instead of firm. The cooks seemed to use a lot of dressing, butter, and batter to make up for low quality ingredients. Perhaps because it was busy, the food didn't come as described on the menu. For example, a salad with walnuts, granny smith apples, and raspberry vinaigrette came drenched in dressing, with one small slice of red delicious apple, and five wilted grapes. Gross! \r \r Further, the server had too many tables, was sweating profusely, and regularly forgot simple requests (for example, I am allergic to walnuts, told him as much, but the salad came covered in them anyway). The dining room was noisy and not romantic at all. It reminded me of Disney Land. \r \r If you decide to go for dinner, get a window table. However, I suggest eating somewhere worth the money, then heading to Castaway for drinks or dessert and cuddling outside by the fire pits instead. This gives you an even better view and a more romantic ambience at a reasonable price. \r Pros: The view Cons: The food, the service, the dining room more

I read the post about ""Laura"" and couldn't agree more!!!! What a ignorant and rude person on top of inappropriate and lewd behavior. Couldn't believe that a place of business allowed a woman to behave this way at a private party. She should be relieved of her position!!!! This Castaways event bartender, was a black mark on our private party ... gross!!!! Cons: Staff more

On 9/25/07, we went for cocktails, and sat outside. The staff treated my date and I like animals, throwing stuff at us w/o apology. I guess I should not ask for extra napkins. Worst dating venue. DO NOT GO. more

We went there for Mother's Day breakfast buffet. The food was good, the service was good, the valet service was prompt. However, they charged a premium for Mother's Day that my wife did not see on their web page and which I was not told about when I made the reservation. Instead of $25 per person we were charged $40 per person! My wife says the menu did not appear to be much if any different from the regular one displayed on the website. Ouch! Watch out for this if you plan to go there on a holiday. Pros: Food, service good Cons: Unexpected price more

I came here with a friend for dinner and it was one of the worst experiences ever! We had reservations but we ended up waiting an additional 45 minutes for a table in the corner with NO VIEW thanks to the hostess who kept us waiting. We sat and waited for our waiter but he never came by. We had to flag down a bus boy to bring us bread and water. I hate to say it, but all the tables with white people were being served but the two latinos were being ignored. After about 30 more minutes of being ignored, we ate all the bread and left. Needless to say, we didn't see the view. Oh, yea, the valet service sucked too. TERRIBLE!!!! Cons: service, hostess, valet, EVERYTHING! more

Going to Castaway is more about the view and the outdoor patio. The food is okay, but pricey for the quality. We ordered the sampler appetizer and the calamaris came out in a clump with the inner portion FROZEN. Ther service was lackluster, though nice server, not very skilled or experienced. Pros: Great view Cons: Pricey for medicore food more

Before going here on a date last Friday night, I read the other reviews on this page and was horrified. Consequently my expectations were very low for Castaway. Upon entering the restaurant , we noticed the theme decorations (as if you are actually on a ship) that were left over from the 60's. Okay, so it has a theme. Our table wasn't ready at the reservation time; no problem, we sat at the bar and had a glass of wine. The bartender was very friendly and even went to the kitchen to get us some crackers while we waited. When our table was ready, it was right on the window. Our server Norman was fantastic! He was very personable, and guided us through the menu with ease. He made our night a real joy. After reading about the sub-par fish dishes, we both opted for the Filet medium rare. We shared a caesar salad and an appetizer sampler plate to start. Both of which were fine. The app. plate had a generous portion of the artichoke dip, calamari, coconut shrimp (yummy!), and potstickers. Too much to finish. The steaks were cooked perfectly, and the flavor was supurb! For dessert we ordered the tirimisu which was enormous! It was rather dry and tasteless, but we were so full we didn't care. The valet service was FREE (where do you find that in LA?), just accepting tips. Overall, I was happy that we checked it out. It was a fun night in an interesting location with great service and a great view. more

Went here on a Sunday night for drinks and an appetizer because all the other reviews recommended that this is the best use of this restaurant. I agree. The view is great, it's an awesome place to chill but the food had no flavor. I had the spinach dip and and it tasted like nothing. Litterally, nothing. It was like dipping chips in elmer's glue. The irish coffee was cold and had more baily's than coffee...guess that's good for those of you who love alcohol. The service was kinda of bad. If the appetizers are bad I can only imagine how the entrees must be. Our waitress ingored us. We had to go up to the host to pay our bill. The view is the only thing worth coming up here for. I would go back maybe for something simple like regular coffee and a desert. Pros: Great View, fire pits Cons: Tastless food more

The view was great. The food no so much. I recommend that you go there for the outside drinks and appetizers. The dining room service was really slow and the food is so not worth the price. The fire pits out side are a nice touch. Great for a nice night out with friends or a loved one. more