Delmonico's Lobster House

Wow...I should really write two TOTALLY different reviews. Except the food was great both times :) We came here one night and were given A+ 5 star service. We ordered stuffed lobster, one of the specials suggested by a charming waiter. He was SO professional and made you feel like you were there for a dining experience, not just to eat and get out. As parents with a toddler at home, this is something we've really come to appreciate. An expensive meal, but a wonderful dining experience, well worth the price tag. I'd have given the experience 5 stars, easily. I wanted to come back for my birthday! My husband called and told them it was my birthday. I don't know what happened! I do know we had a lark driving home and making fun of the service. The waiter didn't introduce himself...I actually think it was the manager, but at first we thought he was a busboy who was learning English. Turned out he just didn't care to talk much. I felt like he was there to get us fed and out the door. He told us one special when we asked. ONE. An inexpensive one actually? We were dressed to the 9s so I can't understand why that was. We asked if there were steak or lobster specials...there were three. I guess he didn't think we'd be interested. We ordered a VERY expensive meal. Meanwhile my father-in-law called in to try to pay the bill for our entire dinner! SO NICE! They refused to take his credit card over the phone and announced to us that such a practice was...ILLEGAL! Not against their policies and very sorry to let us know this...illegal. Ooookay. Later, he admitted they'd extended this service to a few trusted customers. ha ha. I'd blame our bad personalities, but I honestly don't think they took the time to get to know us well enough to dislike us. So I didn't get so much as a lump of ice cream with a candle in it for my birthday. Not a thank you, not an apology...not a single time were we asked if we were enjoying our experience. Both times the food was OUTSTANDING and we were very amused by the compare and contrast of service from one time to the next. I went home to a houseful of friends and a cake, so I got to blow out my candle. :) It wasn't that bad...just really, really different from the first time to the second. I am in customer service myself, maybe my standards are a little high. I wouldn't say not to go...but ask for the tall bald guy's section. He is a wonderful server. more

A real disappointment; I thought it could possibly be a real gem right here in Encino, the ambiance is way off, starting with floor to ceiling enclosed booths of light oak and green vinyl upholstery. Lighting creates a bizarre haze over the whole room. We each enjoyed a cup of lobster bisque, but nothing to rave about. My guest had a salmon entree which was quite ordinary, and I was totally disappointed by the whitefish smothered in a dense mustard sauce, yikes all I could taste was mustard. more

What I appreciate most at Delmonico's is the variety. You can have lobster, raw/seared tuna (ahi), other crustaceans like shrimp, oysters or their fresh fish of the day. It's an ideal place if you enjoy seafood, especially the dishes that are not always available at not-specialized restaurants. It is also easy to be accompanied by someone who does not enjoy seafood as they also serve steak. I recommend surf n turf if you are very hungry. Cocktails are yummy, consistently good. Nice variety of wines to accompany your dinner. My favorite wine to eat with fish is their Pino Griggio. Prices on the food are not too bad, it's the wine that really does the damage, but worth it in my opinion. more

I don't consider myself a picky customer. Me and my husband wanted to celebrate our 10-years together. We came here on a recommendation. We wanted a nice dim, intimate spot. This is not the place for that. Not that they use fluorescent lighting or anything, but it was lit the same way a Denny's would be. There was hardly anyone there and it was a Saturday night, which should say something. We were sat in a booth that was nice. It's very enclosed. This is a steak and Lobster house so we expected high prices. The food was not that great. I won't say horrible, but I think paired with everything else, it was definitely not worth the price. We started to get that feeling that we were wanted out. It was only 10. We were the last customers and the staff got very loud. We thought it was other customers. The manager kept walking by and looking at us. Like he was waiting for us to leave, which we would have if we were able to get the check from the waiter that we hardly ever saw. We had to ask for the check four times from four different people before we actually got it. I have read the reviews before and all the good ones seem to come from the Sunday Brunch. If you decide to visit, make it that brunch. The ultra-busy time of Saturday night makes the place look like it's about to shut down. Pros: Private booth Cons: everything else more

Sunday brunch includes wonderful lobster, oysters, salmon, tuna and scalops sashimi, muscles , crabs legs, 10 different types of salads, meat, fish and fantastic dessert.. Staff is professional, Shampane is very good, food is fresh. I would highly recommend this brunch to anyone who loves seafood. Pros: The best price for shampaine branch Cons: The best service more

Sunday brunch includes wonderful warm whole lobster, fresh oysters on the half shell, salmon and tuna sashimi, fantasttic muscles and clams on the half shell, prime rib carving station, and a huge selection of creative warm and cold selections that change each week. Staff is friendly, and food is fresh. I would highly recommend this brunch to anyone who loves seafood. I get my money back in oysters alone. Price in the thirty's, but well worth it for all you can eat expensive stuff. Pros: Lobster, Scallops, Fresh Oysters, Clams, etc at great prices Cons: Ate so much, could hardly walk out. more

This restaurant needs a make over, from the dated decor down to the last dish on the uninspired menu. To welcome you to the largely vacant restaurant, they offer a mandatory $4 valet parking service to move your car from the doorstep to a parking space right there in front of you! Silly. When you walk in, it feels like an old restaurant that refuses to change with the times. You'd think a ""lobster house"" would have a fresh lobster tank at least for appearances. Delmonicos does not. In fact, I sent my first dish, Lobster Thermidor, back because it was so bad. It was supposed to be a fresh lobster with Hollandaise sauce and mushrooms. The sauce was more like a thin, almost-but-not-quite B?arnaise sauce. Hollandaise does NOT have tarragon! The lobster tastes frozen-defrosted. Just about every dish was served with your choice of a baked potato--or a baked potato. (Psst, Delmonicos: Potatoes don't go with everything!) We asked for mashed potatoes and got thin, watery potatoes that tasted like they came out of a box. They were gracious enough to replace my Lobster Thermidor with a broiled lobster tail, but without an over-powering sauce, you could really taste the poor-quality lobster. We were hoping for a special dinner to celebrate our anniversary, and were very disappointed. The dishes were overpriced for what they were. We are typically easy to please, so maybe we were expecting too much on this venture. Good food was one thing we were seeking. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else for seafood! Pros: Friendly service Cons: Uninspired overpriced food more

i've spent my last 2 birthdays here fantastic such a Pros: fantastic everything i.e. service, food, atmosphere Cons: absolutely none more

For the past two weekends I've been going to Delmonico's brunch because of the great food and service I receive. I have gone to other restaurants, but nothing compares to Delmonico's. I was reading what the last person wrote; and I don't think they were at this restaurant because I was greeted by a young sweet asian woman when I arrived that same day they say they were there. Well, I will be at Delmonico's brunch again this weekend because I know what to expect and it's worth my time! more

A friend invited me to have brunch last Sunday so we went to Delmonicos. The last brunch experience I had was at the Queen Mary and it was not too exciting. However the selections I had at Delmonicos were really good and didnt have that generic brunch food taste. Pros: Hot tasty food Cons: side by side tables more

We visit this restaurant for special occasions. My husband loved the rib eye steak with corn? not any more. Pros: private booth, good soup Cons: not worth the $$$ more

#1 I went to late lunch/early dinner at about 3pm. There was only one other customer. I still received pitifully slow service. Cons: Painfully slow service, bad seafood, overpriced more

My wife and I have been there a couple of times. Last times was the last time, i got into it with a young manager who told me that their clientele would be offended if they advised them/us of the price difference when substituting a steak. For desert we had bread pudding with rapper still on it, they did not take if off. Service if slow, I almost served myself a refill of water but my wife stoped me. I've served myself at many restaurants when they are to slow or busy. more

Party of 12. Runners who didn't speak English served the food, had no idea who had ordered which salad or main dish belonged to who. My 15-year-old son ordered simple pasta with Marinara, but the sauce was terrible - sour and flat at the same time. Waiter didn't offer a replacement or took it off our bill. 3 steaks were under- or over-done. We had to send them all back, and then got different cuts of meat as replacements. Also, they ran out of Crab legs. On a Wedneday. I thought most restaurants had their seafood delivered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A 17% gratuity was automatically added to our bill - I understand why, but it should be 15% and allow me to add more for good service. ""Manager"" was a 20-something hostess. I had to request that the charge for the bad pasta removed. more

some of the best filet mignon and lobster. mignon melted in my mouth and very flavorful. service was very attentive. bad seating as you are crowded together w/ strangers. Pros: valet parking, great food, very good service Cons: , seating more