We really enjoy Finbar's. The food is very good. What makes it a really good experience is the service from Kristi. She is so nice and attentive. She checks on us a lot to see if we need anything. The food is very good, but the service is so important, and a reason for a return visit. read more

My husband and I love eating at Finbars. The food is amazing as are the desserts. The services is especially over the top when Christy is on duty. She is quick with the greetings the moment we walk in the door. She keeps our drinks coming the whole time we are there. She remembers us and asks how we are doing and what is our next endeavor. She is so friendly and keeps a cheerful ambiance the whole time we are there. read more

This is by far my fav Italian restaurant of all time. I stopped going to Italian places for a decade bcs if I can make it better at home- what's the point? Their bread and lasagna?? No I cannot make. Either if these nearly as good. Ppl who work here are friendly and never pretentious. Service is always great. Prices are good, esp considering' and comparing !! Something about the seating is always so comfortable also. I ate the entire basket of bread my self last time - why? Bcs you never REALLY know when you will ever get bread that good again for sure and life is short! read more

If you liked Kpasta in Long Beach, this is for you. If that doesn't resonate, read on. Like Kpasta, this is "low-cost" Italian, but the cost cutting isn't fully reflected in the prices. For example, just like KPasta, entrees that promise "scallops" either deliver scallop feet - the part of the scallop that most restaurants throw away - or perhaps they are just microscopic scallops. Pretty much every dish we had suffered - really suffered - from cost cutting in some way. While it is marginally cheaper than most Italian restaurants in the area, IMO you still don't get what you pay for: it just isn't very good. Will not be back. read more

OMG! Diane served us the most fabulous almond crusted macadamia Seabass I have ever had in my life. Same goes for our server! Best server we have ever encountered in our lifetime! Their sautéed calamari was off the Richter scale! Same goes for our server! Our filet mignon was perfectly-cooked medium, and I could not have grilled it any better myself. Fabulous! Fabulous! Fabulous! This is our fifth time here at this location. We used to go to the one by our house at South Coast but they doubled their rent and they had to close it. Needless to say, it's towards the drive to Seal Beach for this absolutely outstanding dinner on planet Earth! You must ask for Diane to serve you if you want outstanding service as magnificent as their food! OK, we just ordered the mini cannolis for dessert. I highly recommend that you asked them to put mini chocolates on your cannolis along with some vanilla extract. Those are the only two ingredients they are lacking. Otherwise, they would be awesome! read more

Would have loved to try this place but sat there for a while and was actively ignored. Heard the guys telling the lady to come get our order and she continued to ignore us, few mins later a white guy came in and she had no problem greeting him and taking his order. They clearly didn't want to serve me, maybe because I'm gay or brown or both. Either way, glad I didn't give them my money. If you're straight and white & homophobic... enjoy. Went to blackboard instead, much better vibes and food. read more

What an amazing restaurant, I think this place may have the best calamari I've ever had. Our service was fantastic, everything we ordered was phenomenal and they've got plenty of space for a crowd. We will 100% be back!!! read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - Calamari - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California

I've been coming here for the last 4 years or so. Let me start by saying that the the customer service is on point. I've had many of the dishes and everything is very tasty and fresh. From the dressings to the sauces the chefs are top notch. The specials are delicious. From the chicken dishes to the seafood dishes to the salads...great portions and so satisfying. All the wait staff has been great, Kristi makes us feel extra special and communicates our needs to the kitchen with perfection. I will come back soon and I tell more friends about this gem of a restaurant! read more

Perfect lunch spot! Take out orders are very easy at Finbar's! They have great lunch specials! Their sandwiches (Heroes).include sidecsoup or saladn generous size sandwich and soup or salad! We definitely enjoy dning in, excellent Happy Hour, lunch, and dinner. Being able to.take out is the next best thing. The orders come out timely and packed to travel. Definitely recommend coming in early begore they get busy. I ordered two Heroes, one was Meatball.and the other Chicken Parm, both with side salads. Both were excellent! The side salads are a generous size and when paired with a sandwich, easily shareable or a second meal. Service as always was friendly and helpful! read more

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One of my favorite restaurants! The quality and enjoyment is consistently 100%. Even when they are very busy - which they were this last visit- the food is outstanding and staff is always attentive and friendly. Max our server was great, fun to chat with and attentive throughout the meal from refilling drinks to packing up our leftovers for us. The food always has the made from scratch flavor. We ordered our favorite entrees, and tried something new- the meatballs from the happy hour menu to serve as an appetizer. Their eggplant rollatini melts in your mouth and every dinner item is a treat. They even offer coupons regularly for those of us who have joined their email list. Such a gem of a place. We'll always be regulars! read more

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I returned to try the PCH with no red onion with a side of wedges and ranch!! There is more than 8 in the box and the ranch is $1.00 which I was unaware. Made it all the way back and was extremely happy about the wedges to find out the sandwich has red onions I'm allergic. I called Kate again and she apologized! Thank you. I'll be eating my wedges and giving my sandwich away . I also noticed the ranch was thin this time around. Please change it back to before where it was thicker!! read more

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We went here for a fundraiser and love that they support the Seal Beach Animal Care Center. Really cute NYC Italian ambiance and also offers limited bar seating. No outdoor seating. Free and ample parking in the large strip mall parking lot and clean restrooms in the back. The hostesses were great and friendly. We were waiting for our table to be cleaned and another couple just came and sat in it while we waited for it, so beware that there are a lot of older regulars who are there and very entitled...We sat at another table and waited over 35 minutes for a server or anyone to greet us. The nice host finally came over and took our drink order. The server, Britt, was VERY nice and friendly when she eventually came over. She was probably very busy or didn't know we were waiting for so long. Very pleased with her overall, despite the very long wait. One thing that we will do differently next time is not opt to sit at a table in the bar area because people were waiting and practically on top of us the whole time. I had to ask one lady to move because her hair kept flipping my boyfriend and he was too nice to say anything. She moved for about three seconds and then stepped back even closer to him so that was a bit awkward and uncomfortable for us. Definitely don't sit at the bar tables if it's busy! The happy hour is an amazing deal here and goes from 3 to 6 PM every day. It offers eight dollar cocktails and a lot of options and the food options are also plentiful on the happy hour menu at eight dollars. We ordered the toasted ravioli and the coconut shrimp as well as an espresso martini and a flirtini. We opted for the Carne Asada pizza that was the specialty pizza and a Neapolitan pizza as well. We absolutely love the appetizers however we were not thrilled about the pizza so we would definitely skip that. The complementary bread is so so so good with olive oil and that really was the star. I also ordered the strawberry spinach salad, and that was really really good with fresh grated Parmesan. We will go back here because we think the owners and the servers are really nice and we love the ambience. We will definitely go back for happy hour as it's such a good deal and the drinks are yummy! read more

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Fun, friendly and delicious local spot! Menu is quite impressive with a wide variety of Italian classics and the "left coast" variations. Family owned business with very friendly staff and pleasant crowd. I've had the eggplant parmigiana and veggie lasagna, and both hit the spot just right . Light and crispy bread course came with. I really appreciate their support of smaller and more boutique CA vineyards- I really enjoyed the red blend from the adelaida district in Paso, which is not as well known. Laid back and friendly vibe in the whole joint. read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - Vegetable Lasagna - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California

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Came in the other night for dinner. This restaurant is often a family favorite for various occasions. Each time I arrive I am promptly greeted and seated. Staff is kind and I know that I will enjoy my meal. I ordered a Tuscan Salad and Lasagna- both super delicious. As my eyes were bigger than my belly, I brought home lots of leftovers and was also encouraged to take the bread home too! I'll be back! read more

As always the food is great at Finbars! Additionally Christina and Bobby are the best servers who aim to make sure their clientele enjoys the meal and wants to come back! Thanks Joseph for having such a great team! read more

I'd like to share my experience visiting this restaurant for the first time. I received a warm welcome from Ms. Jade, and the waiter, Miguel Martínez, provided excellent, highly efficient service--he was truly charismatic. The food was delicious and served promptly, and Miguel remained attentive throughout. Great service and a pleasant atmosphere; I'll be back soon. Thank you for the great service. read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California

Food was great, service was great, Ambiance was pretty good for a strip mall area. Nice tables, and a few booths. Plenty of elbow room. We went for lunch today. Three of us, all got different dishes. All of them good. Nice salad, nice bread. Good wine. We would definitely go back! Very enjoyable. Not one complaint from any of us! :) read more

Could've been years since our last visit to Finbars. Usually would stop at the one in Costa Mesa. We decided on stopping in as we were staying at the weapon station RV park. The place was actually packed, little did we know there was a happy hour at the time. It was interesting how quickly it cleared out after happy hour ended. We decided on a round of adult beverages, a Negroni for me and glass of wine for my wife. For our meals, I ordered the spicy shrimp and lobster ravioli while my wife ordered the beef ravioli. Our meals came out quickly, were well presented, and simply delicious! Next time we're in the seal beach area, I believe we'll be stopping in again. read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - Inside - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California

We came for lunch. There was no wait for a table. The bar area is very colorful with lots of bottles. I had a lunch special with chicken parm and pasta. We shared the soup and salad. I preferred the salad because the soup was mostly beans. Service was very good and we enjoyed our food a lot. read more

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Five stars for the exceptional Hospitality and service. Stopped in for a quick bite. We ordered a DiParma pizza and was very good. The ingredients tasted fresh and the cheese was a win. My guess is the manager was greeting customers and offering assistance but overall Bravo for creating a feel good ambiance! Also lots of authentic food dishes available from the menu. We will definitely come back for dinner service. read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - DiParma Pizza - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California

Happy hour with the ladies. Our little group is on a mission to try various HH's in the area. Finbar's Happy Hour was VERY good! Not sure why I haven't been prior however, now it's on my/our radar. We ordered: Clams- not over cooked. About a dozen sautéed in lots of lemon, white wine, garlic & parsley. Mussels- prepared well with a marinara sauce. Spicey wings- 5 halves atop lettuce & celery sticks. More vinegary than spicy. Ok Stuffed mushrooms-10? 12? Button mushrooms stuffed with bacon, garlic, bread crumbs & baked. Calamari-generous portion of crispy deep fried squid. A pesto-ish sauce & marinara sauce on the side. Pizza of the day- 10"(?) crisp crust. Today's toppings-bordelaise (?) sauce, garlic & thin sliced potato. Good value & tasty. Pizzas are usually ~ $18. Garlic bread off the reg menu-we need something to soak up the shellfish sauce right? We had 2 orders. Only 3 pieces left. Nice crusty bits of garlic, Parmesan cheese served with their yummy marinara sauce. Coconut shrimp-I heard it was great. Real coconut in the coating (said the girl from Hawaii). I passed as I'm not that fond of coconut. Drinks were pretty good as well. Flirtini- if you're a fan of Chambord, get this. It tastes like candy...so be careful. Lemon drop-always a fav. Not too tart. Very nice. Diet Pepsi for the DD. She said she's fine not drinking. Gotta do a house party so she can drink next time. We're going back. Not just for HH. Will bring hubbie next time since their regular menu had a boat load of enticing items. Oh...and the servers & general staff were VERY helpful & knowledgeable of menu items. A nice homey place filled with regulars. Now we know why they've been here FOREVER. Good food & great service. Large parking lot that's shared with Von's. read more

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Celebrated a friend's birthday with happy hour appetizers. We had calamari, meatballs, Sicilian chicken, pizza, clams with linguini in white sauce and spaghetti with meatballs. Everything was delicious. The white sauce in the linguini was garlicky good and the pasta was al dente. The margehita pizza was exceptional. The meatballs have melted mozzarella on top of the marinara sauce. Kristie, our server, was exceptional and very attentive to our needs. She replaced dirty plates with clean ones. They even brought in a cheesecake even though we also had a birthday cake. And we were not rushed to vacate our table. Great vibes and very welcoming. read more

What made this dinner such a great experience was our server, Lisa. She made us feel so welcome (it was our first visit). They don't take reservations so we'd had a 15 minute wait and reviewed the menu. We knew exactly what we wanted. Garlic bread ($5), side Caesar's ($6), for me the Penne Ala Vodka w/shrimp ($19.75+$6), for my husband the Spaghetti w/meatballs ($19.95). Free bread and butter to start, and we asked for balsamic vinegar since we saw olive oil on the table. The bread was fresh and toasted well. The garlic bread with marinara for dipping was delicious - not too garlicky. My husband's dish came with two giant meatballs that were tender and flavorful. My penne was great and I liked that they took the tails off the shrimp for you. Because I'm lazy and like to get right to the eating. We quickly filled up and had to take half home. But couldn't resist getting the homemade cheesecake and tiramisu ($9.50) to go. Lisa gave us the cheesecake free as a New Guest welcome. Throughout the meal Lisa checked in frequently, food came out quickly, kept me well supplied with water, empty dishes whisked away. She has a really warm and caring demeanor and really made our meal special. read more

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I found Finbars from Yelp 2 days ago and decided to try Happy Hour menu $8 today before my b day lunch. My husband and I got there around 3. I said we want happy hour menu then we sat at the small table covered Red table cloth for two. Their happy hour is 3 to 6 Mon to Fri. The location is in the middle of big strip mall. Easy to find the restaurant. I chose fried calamari, mussels w marinara sauce, one chicken bbq pizza. And another margherita pizza w Merlot by glass. The price is $7 during happy hour. The service is a little slow, served Italian baguette w butter. We got calamari first. Yum...perfect crunchy w marinara sauce, some honey garlic alioli sauce. Both sauces are so good. We give 5 stars. For mussels, it was sooooo tiny, I only see marinara sauce and garlic. Dissappinted!! Only 3 stars. Chicken bbq pizza was good, enough chickens, shallots, sweet bbq sauce. I give 4 stars. Margherita pizza was just ok. Not much flavorful, very basic w tomato slices. Just 2 stars!!! Our merlot wine was so good. Real merrow, rich, and deep w fruit taste. 5 stars!!! We ordered penne w marinara, shrimps to test their pasta. The penne was cooked perfect. The sauce was basic and found 5 or 6 shrimps....so basic. I regretted to order as a regular menu. Overall, the service was good, friendly, the happy hour deal was good even the drinks. I have to think about my b day lunch to come again or not. We tasted the two pizzas and didn't find the better taste compared to the other Italian restaurants. Ambiance: casual, sports bar vibe. Price: most of cuisines $20 - $25 Happy Hour: $8, 3 to 6 Mon to Fri Parking: spacious Quality: 3.5 stars read more

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I visited this establishment with my mother for evening rations. Complimentary Bread and Butter was brought and we both had "Wooder" to drink. We both ordered Lasagna. My mother thought that it took a longer than usual amount of time for the food to be served but I didn't think that the time was too terribly excessive. Men's washroom was clean and had paper towels available... good. The guys working at this establishment all were appropriately dressed as they all wore their shirts (including t shirts) tucked in which I consider to be professional looking and much appreciated. Good on them. My mother was not as satisfied with her Lasagna as I was with mine. I consider the Lasagna good enough that it was worth the diarrhea that followed afterwards! If I was to assign a letter grade as is done in school this establishment would get an A-. read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - Outside - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California

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My wife found the new Italian restaurant in Seal Beach. She wanted to test the quality and service before her B day. We got there before 3 and I asked the server if we can get in for Happy Hour starting at 3. We waited about 9 minutes and finally ordered the foods. Starting w red wine, Merlot $7. The wine was so good. Really merrow, rich, and deep flavor! My wife chose fried calamari, I got mussels w marinara sauce, and 2 pizzas, BBQ chicken and Margherita pizza. First, we were so hungry and digged in the first plate, calamari. Super crunchy, I loved loved tails and body calamari. We give it 5 stars. My mussels $10 are sooooo tiny, like a baby shell, just OK. Not much flavors. We really liked BBQ chicken pizza. Lots of chicken, BBQ sauce w shallots. I give 4 stars. But Margherita pizza was basic taste. Was not really authentic Italian pizza. Finally we chose one more pasta. Penne w marinara, shrimps. The pasta was perfectly cooked. The sauce was basic and they gave us only 5 shrimps. Only 5 medium sized shrimps.... Well, we were so full. 2 Appetizers, 2 pizzas, and entrée, penne w shrimps. We took lots of leftovers home. Another day w Italian foods. Haha... My wife likes more upscale restaurant, cozy, fancy, real high quality of ingredients. They got award of Excellence in 2020. I am not sure my wife can come again for her b day. We really enjoyed the happy hour from 3 to 4. They have great options on the happy hour menu including drinks like beer for $4, wine 7, cocktails $8. Ambiance: casual, sports bar vibe Service: not bad Price: $$ Quality: 3.5 stars Parking: plenty of parking read more

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Finbars Italian Kitchen is a cute mom-and-pop type restaurant in Seal Beach. The place was absolutely packed when we got there for happy hour, but thankfully we were seated immediately! Their happy hour pricing is insane; $8 for everything on the happy hour menu, including drinks. The staff are also so attentive and kind. I got the Walk on the Pier martini which was really light and well made (you do need to order a drink in order to get the food for happy hour pricing). For appetizers, we got the clams castellammare which were baby clams in a wine, garlic, and shallot broth. The broth is incredible; I could have just eaten bread dipped in that broth as my whole meal. The baked stuff mushrooms were filled with bacon, spinach, onion, ricotta and mozzarella. Pretty good, but I wasn't blown away. I did really enjoy both the Neapolitan pizza and the pizza of the day. The dough was awesome and I personally love potato on my pizza, so the pizza of the day was perfect for me. Their cheesecake was also so good; highly recommend! Overall, this place is a must for happy hour. I'd be interested to try some of their other dishes! read more

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What went well? EVERYTHING! Food was delicious! Sea Bass Picatta was light, flavorful... perfect for a summer evening. Eggplant parm...*chef's kiss*. Strong cocktails, delicious desserts, and even better service from our waiter, Bob "The Artist." We'll definitely request him for future visits. read more

Food was fantastic! I tried the BBQ pizza, and it was absolutely delicious. A big thank you to Bobby, our server tonight. He was funny, friendly, and made our whole experience so much more fun. Great food and great service--we'll definitely be back! read more

Stopped by to get a Pizza (Neapolitan) to go. Staff here is always friendly and first time I ordered Togo. Pizza was ready and delicious. Simple sauce and cheese but really hit the spot. Would have given 5 stars but called several times and never got an answer. Ended up ordering online for pickup but hiccup with the system and wasn't sure restaurant got my order. Credit card was charged but then got an error with no confirmation. Drove over and everything worked out fine. read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - Neapolitan Pizza.... Simple but - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California

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Was recommended to me by a local here in Seal Beach. It definitely didn't disappoint. Both dishes were cooked to perfection. The service was excellent. And the ambience is authentic Italian. read more

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We were seated right away at 7p on Friday which is rare. We ordered 3 entrees, ricotta stuffed ravioli which was correct. Spag and meatballs which was ok, a bit oversauced. And an exceptional eggplant parmesan. Dessert was the cheese cake which rocked as well. Service was good, prompt and in 'character' for the place. Prices are on reasonable side too, especially being in Seal Beach. read more

I was blown away by the ambiance and service as soon as I walked in thinking this place was more of fast Italian service. The service was awesome kept refilling the complimentary bread and the pasta was the best I've had in Orange County. My son said we have to leave a 5 star rating for this restaurant as this restaurant was one of the best experiences we had in a while. Thank you Finbars we will be back read more

Kristi was awesome. The kitchen always gets it right. We're regulars for years. Location was easy to park. The hostess is always attentive and the seating is comfortable. It's easy to meet other guests. read more

Omg this place is amazing, food is super good , was very busy night but still we got seat in less then 15 mins , place was super cozy and was great to have a nice conversation with out loud music like o other restaurants, super clean tables , everything is so good here , I will black for sure again read more

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I hadn't eaten there for quite some time. I ordered the Chicken with Pesto and so did my cousin. We loved it! So good! I also ordered an Aperol Spritz, and it is the best one I have ever had at a restaurant. Lovely waiter, quite amusing. read more

just finished an amazing birthday dinner. the food is spectacular and the service incredible. Bobby exceeds expectations, this guy kept the mood light and fun and I even watched him assist an elderly woman up from her table. It brought tears to my eyes, thank you thank you thank you!! read more

My boyfriend and I are regulars here. It's always a hit and I love to try different items each time we come. My favorites are the gnocchi Monterey, tomato pasta soup, clams, mussels, and the bread! The service is always on point and they make you feel right at home. The vibe is very homey and I have never had anything bad here! read more

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I really miss Finbar's since I moved out of California in 2023. Their food is wonderful, and the service is top-notch. It can get a bit noisy, but that's because all of the diners are enjoying themselves! read more

Im not sure if someone took half of the pasta and chicken, my delivery looks almost half gone w 3 tiny small cubes of chicken. The quality of the bread is good tho. read more

Finbars Italian Kitchen - Where are the chicken?? And half the pasta??? What happened?? - Italian Near Me - Seal Beach, California