Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto

Great place for traditional seafood fare, awesome decor, and excellent drinks. more

May have been good in the past but awful now. We had steak and seafood. The steak was Morton's prices and Sizzler quality. The ala carte baked potato was under cooked and the clam chowder wayyy too salty. My fisherman's platter (recommended by the waitperson) could have been from Long John Silver's. The cheesy interior was fun and the service was OK. My tab with drinks (no wine) and tip for two people was $130. I won't be back. more

Been here a couple of times and it has not failed me! My family and friends almost always say yes when I invite them to this place. I am a big seafood lover so I can become picky with how seafoods restaurants work. it may be on the pricey side but nevertheless is worth it. more

Historical, antiquing, yet a place of great comfort to dine in for great food, drinks and service. The executive chef is very meticulous in his selections of all ingredients, especially seafood. Yum! Even some basic food like New England Clam Chowder is unique, tasteful, and very gourmet. Great place to keep coming back. Also, don't forget to check out a special chef dinner when you have a chance. It goes fast! Pros: Best seafood in town Cons: What are the drawbacks? more

A huge burger for $1.95!!!! The entire happy hour menu is super cheap. We filled the table with food for practicaly nothing and all of it was great. Pros: Great Food, Great Happy Hour more

All there is to say is Great Seafood! The Stuffed salmon that I had was outstanding. Los, the bartender was great, he introduced me to the chef. This is my new/old favorite place. Pros: Seafood, Happy Hour and Ambience Cons: Expensive drinks, but at least balanced by the cheap happy hour food. more

We went to Spenger's for my husband's birthday.There were 7 of us. All of the food was great! We\r are all very picky when it comes to food & service because some of our family members are exquisite cooks & some have been waitresses . Our waiter was fantastic. I had crab & shrimp stuffed salmon.Wow! My sister-in-law has had crab cakes everywhere & she said these are the best. Pros: Service more

On a pleasant Saturday afternoon we wanted an enticing fish salad at Spenger's for which they were always known. Well, let me tell you we were in for a major disappointment. First, the crab cobb salad was served with wilted lettuce at room temperature, a very flat, tasteless experience. Next the bill came charging us $14.95 and $ 10.95 for wine that was listed in the menu for $8.95 and $7.95. I suffer from delayed reactions which means I didn't challenge the outrageous cost of wine, until now. Thus, I write this review in retrospect feeling cheated out of an experience at this venerable Berkeley institution. Furthermore, we went to the fshmarket to take some crab home. We found the shop disheveled smelling badly of fish, which is a sign that you don't buy fish from a market that smells. I don't intend to cross its threshold again. The French bread and butter was good as always. Pros: good Bread and butter, parking Cons: mediocre, tasteless, food, price-gouging wine list more

I first ate at Spengers about a month ago. I am a vegetarian and ordered the Astoria Sole. My friend ordered the crabcakes. The Astoria Sole was OUTSTANDING...perfectly cooked. The bread that was served was excellent as well. The crabcakes were so-so. The fish was so good, I could hardly wait to go back, which I did last week on a weekday at about 2:00 p.m. We waited too long for our server, but this time both orders, the barbequed Salmon and the Rex Sole, were EXCELLENT. My friend was so impressed with the flavor of the Salmon, as was I. My Sole was pan seared perfectly with mashed potatoes. The broccoli was a a bit undercooked but delicious. I will make this restaurant one of my regulars! We thoroughly enjoyed these fantastic, fresh fish dinners more than any other fish restaurants in the area! Pros: Outstandingly fresh, perfectly prepared fish! Cons: Servers could be a bit more attentive more

for the price, i was not impressed ivebeen here two times the first time i went the service was extremely... more

for the price, i was not impressed ivebeen here two times the first time i went the service was extremely slow and there were only about 5 -8 gro... more

Other than airport food I have never been so startled by the gap between the quality of a restaurant's food and the restaurant's prices. Not only did we have to wait 10 minutes for our reservations, but once we got inside we found that there were at least 10 empty tables. Our appetizers were uninspired and not very good. My wife's entree was probably the worst piece of fish either of us have ever been served (airplane food included). It was tough, dry, flavorless and kind of small. My cioppino was fine, but nothing special. For $20+ entrees I expect much, much better, tastier food. The waiter was nice, but the service was incredibly slow.\r \r The place was packed, but I honestly can't figure out why. I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life and have passed Spenger's 1000 times at least, so when my wife told me that she was taking me there for dinner I was really psyched. Tourists and old folks seemed to be into the restaurant, but my wife and I were just so disappointed. \r \r Next time I want good cioppino I'll goto Franchino Restaurant (347 Columbus Ave in SF) or The Old Clam House (299 Bayshore Blvd. in SF). For good seafood in the East Bay I'll stick to Pros: Casual Atmosphere; Validated Parking Cons: Bad, Bland Food; Slow Service; Too Expensive given the poor quality of food more

Food is great. I go here with my family (it's one of those take your family/date go somewhere a little more... more

Food is great. I go here with my family (it's one of those take your family/date go somewhere a little more casual and inexpensive with your friend... more

Spenger's is a good restaurant to go to if you like seafood. I've never experienced the bad service that other reviewers talked about. Every time I go, I am always satisfied with the service and food. Just wish it was a little cheaper! Pros: Good seafood and variety Cons: pricey more

Spenger's is an East Bay landmark.\r The ""original"" restaurant was a great value and had the highest quality seafood, even better than ""Fisherman's Wharf"" in San Francisco.\r \r However, the original owners (Spenger family) sold out, and now the place has become a ""corporate"" restaurant. Our recent visit was pleasant, the service was outstanding. \r \r The menu has become a wee bit pricey. We can get a much better deal at ""Nick's Lighthouse"" on the wharf in SF. That surprised me, because the rent's so much cheaper in Berkeley.......\r \r Don't get me wrong.......Spenger's is still a good seafood place. Their seafood fettucine is still awesome, and the burgers are first rate too. I just think $11 for calamari appetizer is a ripoff, and same with a $4 ""Bud Lite."" Avoid the appetizers and drinks, just ask for water........and you'll still love Spengers...... Pros: Seafood fettucine with scallops & shrimp......great cow meat too! Cons: Corporate ownership now means higher prices than the ""Old"" Spengers more

The food at Spenger's is good and all, but I think it can get a bit pricey. The place has a nice feel to... more

The food at Spenger's is good and all, but I think it can get a bit pricey. The place has a nice feel to it, with various ocean related doodads. ... more

I'd been going to Spenger's for 35 yrs + when McCormick and Shmick took ownership. Spenger's was never GREAT; it was what it was -- fried seafood platters, seafood gratins, cioppino, lobster. Though they kept some of the old faves, M&S upscaled, and failed miserably. Mediocre old-school seafood is tolerable and sometimes just what you want; wannabe frou-frou dishes that entirely miss the mark in preparation, freshness and presentation, and high prices just take all the fun out of putting on a lobster bib. The provencal salad doesn't even pretend to have a good piece of tuna in it; it's the stringy end piece you'll find yourself masticating. Spinach salad with bacon dressing is a miracle of heart stopping pig grease. Scooping the spinach aside, desparate to salvage the spinach, the waiter took it away in horror when he saw the grease puddle. Oyster Po' Boys come with cold, overly-crunchy oysters. Raw oysters come out shrivelled, obviously preshucked and in the walk-in. The fisherman's platter and the cioppino are worth sticking around for if you're truly determined. Happy hour specials are a bargain at $1.99, and the drinks are made with fresh juices, and no stinginess in alcohol. Decor is as it always was; a veritable museum of nautical treasures, old weapons and fishing nets. Overall, a good place for drinks and a happy hour app or two, otherwise, the food is realiably poor in preparation and quality. What you're really paying for is the old school ambiance, and even that's missing something, even with the old decor and some (a very few) of the waiters from back in the day. Old man Spenger would be so dissappointed and so am I. Pros: Old-school, eclectic ambiance and decor, easy parking Cons: Poorly prepared seafood, long wait for seating in peak hours, service can be dismissive more

We were on our way back from Berkeley to SF, decided to drop into Spengers for dinner a few weeks ago. It was a Saturday night, no reservations, but the people at the front desk said we could get a table in about 45min. So we moved into the bar just off the entry.\r \r We ended up sitting in the bar for an hour and 20 minutes. During that entire time, the cocktail waitress NEVER checked to see if we wanted drinks, never even made eye contact. She looked harried and rushed, serving food to people in the bar (the bartender, otoh, was great, once I went up). I checked back with the front desk every 15-20min or so, finally leaning on them a little, whereupon we got a table. Once inside the restaurant, there were obviously empty, set tables. I got the distinct sense we would have been left in the bar until closing if I hadn't gotten pushy.\r \r The menu was reasonably interesting, and the food was OK, though way overpriced for what it was. The vegies that accompianed my entree were steamed and presented without flavoring of any kind. Our server was pleasant enough, though he seemed distracted; I think I asked for something that never arrived. The building is pretty interesting, with a wall of model ships and various other nautical-theme bits hanging from the walls and ceilings.\r \r Maybe rezzies would get you seated reasonably promptly; that would certainly improve the experience. Once seated, though, it's still a corporate restaurant chain that feels focused on maximizing revenue from transient traffic while minimizing costs for food and service. A good place to avoid. Pros: Historic building, with a 34-caret diamond Cons: Heartless service, overpriced and uninteresting food more