The wine list doesn't have any late seasons , sweet wine, dessert wine. The menu is anorexic. You have to park valet 7.00 to start Made reservations they had them for 2 days in the future. So had to wait for a table. Even called to confirm no mention of no reservation tonight. Not impress for the airs the put on. Attitude won't make the women bathroom large enough for the guest overflow and to comfortably allow my girl to freshen up her makeup. The only status this restaurant has is location and I don't feel it's enough. If it weren't for its proximity to the Van Gogh exhibit I would walk. read more

Jake's - Menu tonight. - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

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We had a reservation for 8:15 last night and we were seated 10 minutes later. After being seated, we were neglected for 25 minutes! My friend and I both got the Surfing Steak. I ordered mine Medium and my friend's was medium-rare. When they came out, mine (supposed to be medium) was cooked medium-rare, and my friend (who ordered medium-rare) received a rare steak! After finally flagging down the server, he threw my friends steak back on and apologized. After that, I heard the table next to me complain about the SAME ISSUE, undercooked meat. At the end we ordered the Hula Pie to share and couldn't even finish half but it was very good. Overall the service definitely needed work and the kitchen was very average. The shrimp and mashed potatoes was very good but the cooks need to work on grilling the steaks. The view was the best part of my experience. read more

Jake's - Surfing steak Shrimp and mashed potatoes were to die for! Steak was pretty good. - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Food was excellent! We started with the crispy calamari and I got the steak with chimichurri and shrimp and added scallops. I loved this seafood steak combo everything was cooked perfectly! The view is unreal and highly recommend for a date or people visiting from out of town. I will say don't bank on having a nice table even if you make reservations and request it for a special occasion far ahead of time it's not that big of a space so there's usually a waiting period even with reservations. As far as service goes my first time dining for lunch was spectacular service but this time for dinner it definitely lagged from beginning to end. And of course to end on a positive note the hula pie is bomb! read more

Jake's - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

This is my favorite restaurant when I want to sit on the ocean. It's indoors but you are on the sand. The staff is very friendly. The price is very reasonable for such high quality food and a chef who knows what they're doing. The cioppino is to die for. It has a saffron broth, risotto and lobster...I get it every time. read more

Visited Jake's on August 24, 2025. The setting is lovely IF you get a table with a beach view. We made reservations in early August and requested a table with a view. We arrived about 10 minutes early and waited for 25 minutes to be seated - on the back of the patio at a tiny table squeezed between a wall and a path of travel for staff and guests. We were quite disappointed in the wait but more disappointed in the table that we asked for another table. Another 10 minute wait and we were seated in the main dining room with a view of the beach and ocean. The service was efficient but not rushed. The cranberry vinaigrette on my salad was wonderful. I also ordered the sea bass, which was just mediocre both in taste and texture. My husband ordered the calamari which was good, although a bit on the tough side . We were surprised that bread for the table came with a charge. Lots of hype around Jake's but we won't hurry back. read more

It was good. The food, service and ambiance was really amazing. Haven't been back in 2 decades. Still a great place to hang out. Bonus. Kids loved it too. read more

Good food, really nice view, great service. The Shrimp Scampi and it was delicious! A nice blend of flavors. The risotto ball was crisp, the squash had a good texture - not slimy, and it all meshed very well together with the grilled shrimp in the garlic butter sauce. The Parmesan on top hit the spot. They also add pine nuts which are my absolute favorite atop dishes such as this one. As a cocktail I got the Pau Hana Mule which contained vodka and pineapple and of course ginger beer. Sweet as expected but a refreshing drink nonetheless. read more

Jake's - Shrimp Scampi, Pau Hana Mule - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

Nice experience. Made a reservation for my anniversary dinner. Everything went easy and smooth. Dropped the key at valet, checked in with the hostess, greeted with warm wishes and got seated within 10 minutes. Corner table by the window looking down to the crashing waves with a nice hand written little Happy Anniversary card weighted by a tiny sea shell. Lucy is our nice server, fast with water and drinks and good recommendations for appetizers and entrées. We ordered all entrees off the surf menu and they're well decorated and tasteful. The portion is purportedly controlled to guarantee room for the Hula Pie at the end which shouldn't be missed. The forkspoon is even engraved with hula pie on it. Btw, the pie is our anniversary gift from the house. We enjoyed the experience and left satisfied. Thank you. I think the late dinner, reserved 8:15 pm, might help, since the ambiance is more quiet, and it's less busy so the service is more attentive and faster. Didn't miss the sunset because the thick marine layer covered it all read more

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I've come to Jake's for many years since I'm a native San Diegan and I will say that it is one of the most quintessential beach dining experiences in our city. Located directly on the sand in Del Mar, it's prime real estate, and the views are.... Perfection. You can't go wrong with its huge open air windows & open expansive space taking in that sea view, the fresh salty beach air, the sound of crashing waves, children laughing & those gorgeous sunsets. It's what Summer is all about! Rain or shine it's always been a favorite destination for dining. Tourists & locals all love it , so be sure to grab a reservation and know that parking is almost always an issue. The cocktails here are always solid. Recently, I enjoyed a jalapeño cucumber, margarita and it was just as good as I have always remembered. Also, their mai tai's ! Their chefs burger and fries is also something not to miss. Even though they are known for their seafood, and it is very good , I will say that the burger is always on my mind. Last time I tried their brussels sprouts as an appetizer for the first time and they were absolutely fabulous. Salads are always fresh & creative & As far as seafood, I'm a sucker for their tograshi spice crusted Ahi. Finally, if you are a dessert freak , don't forget to end your delicious meal with their hula pie. Oh & service is always friendly & efficient. Now just go!! read more

Wow! I needed this lunch break and I'm so glad that I finally went to check this place out! I was unsure what to get, since I am still exploring seafood, BUT I got an incredible recommendation for the lemon garlic roasted fish dish. Jordan took such great care of us, will definitely be returning with more friends for the beach vibes and amazing service read more

Food is great, service is outstanding and the sunsets are wonderful, kudos on the ambiance.

Service was great and the food was fantastic. My wife & I can't wait to come back. Thank you as always!

Came for the dessert and happy that we stayed for dinner! Love the window view seating! If there's one thing you should order - the Brussels sprouts! It sits on a light creamy sauce but the little nuggets were so tasty sprinkled with pine nuts! The creamy seafood chowder was delicious - just the right creaminess! The filet mignonette was cooked to perfection with the potato and broccollini side - The pie was our closer for the night! Best ever dessert! read more

Jake's - Hula pie - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Inattentive servers. Food way too salty. For my fellow POC, trust me you're not missing out. Take your money somewhere else.

I usually ignore 1* reviews when I want to know about a place, but unfortunately this one was well-earned. If Beth H had put as much effort into being pleasant as she did into being surly, this would be a very different review. Anyway, a lunch outing for a beachy view and a beer ended with a vow to avoid Jake's going forward. So Beth - we saw her three times total, which honestly is fine in general, but she came to the table without a hint of interest in being polite, much less friendly. We ordered two beers, calamari, and two medium-well burgers (she asked how we wanted them cooked). Straightforward and easy. They come out nearly bloody. Kitchen problem? Maybe but doubtful given how the rest of the meal went. Never saw Beth again until the check arrived. Gave her a gift card for $100. She returns with the audacious statement that there's 0.68 left on the gift card after giving herself a 25% tip. Yeah, so between the bloody burger and Beth's charm, we're done with Jake's. read more

Came here for our family Valentine's date and Anniversary with my husband and 2 girls (6 and 8 years old). I lived in SD for over 20 years and not once came here, but have always wanted to come here. I have been to many fine dining restaurants in SD. I have always heard great things about this place. So, I booked Jake's for our family Valentine's date and Anniversary date. We were all nicely dressed. I've been waiting to come here for years, so I was really excited. My husband comes here many times with his coworker and for business purposes. We came on 2/5/2023. Parking: there is valet or you can park street parking. The ambiance was great. The decor is like a sailor decor. The are a lot of tables in the room. So the spacing of each table is pretty tight. There is enough room for 1 and maybe 2 people to walk through the aisle way between the tables. We got seated in the back part of the room near a wall with a window view. There were 5 tables that surrounded us. The service was not as expected. I was really disappointed. Honestly, it was horrible. Our waitress did the bare minimum. She seated us, got our order, gave us our food and that was it. She never checked on us to see how we were. We had empty plates on our table and I tried to get any staff member to take our things, but no one would look our way. No one came to refill our water or ask us if we needed anything. We were there for about over 1 hour. There were many waiters who went up to the 5 tables around us multiple times like every 5 minutes. Each table at least had 2-3 staff members go to them and check on them. Honestly, we tried to hunt down a staff member/waiter but no one looked at us. I even raised my hand to get their attention and multiple times said "excuse me", but no one looked our way. A manager went to some of the tables around us to greet them, but did not come to our table. My family and I got so frustrated with the lack of service, that instead of getting the dessert that we really wanted, we asked for the check once we finally got our waitress' attention. The service was so bad that while sitting there, we started to think why they were ignoring us the whole time and reasons to why they would do that.. We first thought that it was maybe because we had kids at our table, which I would have thought that they would have been more accommodating... Then once 40 minutes went by and no one came to our table.. I started to compare even more what made us different from everyone else.. and realized that we were the only Asian people around us. Let me tell you, I never think like this. I don't jump into the conclusion of something being it because of our nationality, but the service was so bad, that it made me think that it might have been because we are Asian. The food was just okay. We got: * Shrimp Scampi with a side of Lobster Tail. The shrimp scampi was good and risotto cake was delicious. The Lobster tail was tough. * Chef's Burger - it was just an okay burger. Nothing special * Ceviche - it was okay. The chips were good. * Seafood Chowder - it was good. My girls liked it too * Kid's Mac and cheese - my girls did not like it. It had fancier cheese than what kids like; but the adults liked it. * Kid's fish and chips - the fish was very oily and not good. My husband cooks a lot and he was saying that it was an older fish and the quality of the fish was not the best. None of the 4 of us were able to eat it. * ordered adult drinks - which is always good. Overall, I would not go back again. The worst fine dining/restaurant I have ever been to. I definitely do not recommend this place. *side note: I was an elite member for 6 years and had to stop once I had kids since each of my reviews take me a bit because I like to be thorough. This being said, I had to write this review because of how bad the service was. read more

A home run! Feels like Hawaii. The place is related to the Dukes restaurants. Loved the food; ambience and great service. read more

Jake's - Ceviche and Seafood stew - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

Frequently came with my husband, but the last time, and probably not going to return, solely for the reason that the female manager didn't really care to hear about our concerns regarding her beloved server "CHUCK" she obviously has a thing for him. And in her very own words, she admires him. If you don't admire sarcasm with a touch of demeaning comebacks from a CHUCK, the server, stay away from this place. It is super overpriced for mediocre food. Also, this place has more of a "dive bar" feel. Don't get me wrong, some servers are OK. But in all reality, the only thing this place has going for it is the beach views. read more

If you're looking for a chain restaurant, hit Applebees. This is carting in bad food likely from the same sources. Great view, but probably the worst food in Del Mar. read more

Jake's has an amazing view of the ocean, it sits right on the beach, plenty of sunshine, good vibes, nice staff and yummy food. Couldn't be a better place to bring those out of town guest! read more

Steak was not flavorful. The waiter grabbed my food when I asked for a to go box. He threw it out by mistake. When confronted he said, "there was only a bite left." I replied that there was half, which there was. The manager came in & was rude about it then said they'd cook another one. The way they spoke to their customers & handled their mistake was extremely disappointing. It's a beautiful view, but low quality food & service. read more

Jake's - Steak & Wedge - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Amazing food. Great ambiance. Would go again! Not many vegan or vegetarian options but was still very good

Food is not good. Salad was too salty had to return it. Never have I had such a salty salad. The risotto cake was bland. All other items were forgetful. Check in lady was not friendly and quite rude when asked for status on the res. However, Todd the server was super nice. Only redeeming quality. Wouldn't recommend this restaurant. read more

Really nice experience last night from E2E. Nice greeting at the desk, awesome table (thank you to the hostess!), impeccable service from Chuck and others (the person filling our water glasses was on top of his game), food was great, well balanced, well paced/served together and coupled with interesting flavors that made sense to our palates :- We first started going to Jake in 1991. The ambiance, the food was always good but they have certainly increased the dining experience from very good service to excellent ! We are from France and are accustomed to how food should taste and how dishes should be brought to You together and in a logical manner. We had that and some last night. Will go back very soon. Well done ladies and gentlemen ! Jean-Claude read more

Delicious meal. Amazing server. Went on my first date with such a special man tonight, and had a very friendly server, John, who made us feel very welcomed! So welcomed that my date and I discussed asking him to be our pastor at our wedding in years to come. LoL! Thanks John! :) read more

Fantastic team dinner for 12 in the beautiful Del Mar landmark. Situated right on the beach, this beautiful location is the perfect backdrop for some really spectacular California cuisine. Started with the Calamari, Russell Sprouts. My Main was a scrumptious Fisherman Pot. The sauce was exquisite. Finished with a spectacular macadamia nut pie read more

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Honestly you're paying for the view, which is very beautiful- right by the beach, but food is average. We came to celebrate my dad's birthday and requested a seat right by the window. It was a gorgeous day and the view was amazing. Service was great and the staff friendly and efficient. The food however was just so so. The seafood bowl was so salty that we didn't even want to drink the soup. It might have been better if there was some bland bread to go along with it, but the risotto inside of the dish was even saltier than the soup/seafood. We also got a Apple and walnut salad and the Turkey sandwich which was pretty good but nothing special. Parking is hard to find, but valet is $7 which is better than the parking lot charging $20 for 2 hours. read more

I was lucky enough to get an early reservation here on Father's Day weekend which was definitely nice... what was not nice was paying $20 for parking across the street with tight ass parking spots instead of the $8 valet or whatever that the restaurant actually offers.... never doing that again. Inside, the place was busy but we got seated within a couple minutes. Our waitress was friendly and we ordered two surfing steaks, a Caesar salad, a mac and cheese, and a hula pie. The steak was cooked perfectly and delicious! Everything else was also super tasty. It would've been nice to have had a better view, but there really isn't a bad seat in the house either. Will definitely return for another round! read more

Jake's - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Don't, don't, don't go to Chase for late lunch if you want to sit close to the beach. Seating for late lunch is restricted to the bar. Came from two hours away with a review from my doctor to go to Jake's. We were seated in the bar with the beach in the distance while the porch and closed was not available to us. Food was good, but lack of being on the beach after a two hour ride was depressing. . I've been to the Poseidon next-door five or six times this was our first time to Jakes. Sadly disappointed about the seating. Our waitress Sydney was excellent. Food was good. Just disappointing you about the beach. Description of late lunch on the Internet should include only bar seating. read more

Food was delicious, smaller portion meals. View was stunning. Just a bit loud for my taste. Would come back! read more

Jake's - View from table - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

My girlfiends and I come often for lunch and its always outstanding ( our Fav) My husband made reservations tonight and it was beyond fabulous. The new menu ( the best meal, we have had in a long time) Service was superb and we enjoyed the whole dining experience. We had the calamari and the grilled shrimp for starter with Mai Tais. Then we split a Salad, ordered the special of the day Halibut OMG and the Mole shrimp OMG and finished off with HULA PIE "IYKYK.".. It was better than ever..... read more

Return for dinner last night and have to change the rating. Will not go back again. Ambience - great. Got a table next to the window and had an ocean view. Service - meh. Ask for coffee at the end of meal and never got it. Never got an explanation either why he did not bring it out. Food - overpriced and average at best! $33 Seafood pot has 2 shrimps, one scallop, two baby lobster crawls(or what is crawfish's crawls), and a big mushy risotto!!! The billl came out to be $300+. San Diego has many nice seafood restaurants with ocean front view. Will take my business somewhere else next time. read more

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Food and service is always great at Jakes. Get a table by window and enjoy the beach view. We had a group of 5 with 2 birthdays. We ordered the specials, wow what a treat. The Hulu pie and NY cheesecake was a huge hit with the table. read more

Jake's is my favorite restaurant in San Diego/Del Mar. Food is always delicious. Service was great. Recommend Jake's if you are looking for great view and food. read more

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Gluten free options galore. Plenty of great views of the sunset and beach but be sure to make a reservation between 5-7. After 7 it seems space begins to open up a bit but it's still busy. All the dishes we got was delicious. The service was Uber friendly and attentive. This place is a must. read more

Jake's - Gluten free crab cake and gluten feee ribs - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Great view! Food is good not great but you really come here for the beach vibes and view!

Made a reservation through open table week prior and was seated first thing. The staff was very friendly and attentive, and it was the perfect spot to celebrate a birthday/celebration dinner. The views were unmatched and several tables right along the water! As for the food - the appetizer crab cake and ahi were amazing. Highly recommend for a beautiful night! read more

Jake's - New American Near Me - Del Mar, California

Four stars for a great beach location. Quintessential San Diego eating experience with great views on a beautiful day. Food is ok you come here for ambience and views ..large restaurant so easy to get seating. Hula Pie desert is not to be missed..pro tip use the valet cheaper than the public parking if plan on staying beyond few hours. Recommend! read more

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How did I not review this place the first time I came!! This is a premier location right on the beach at Del Mar, so expect traffic and arriving early to get parking. If you don't valet you're going to be dealing with beach parking. The menu is celiac friendly! Lots of gluten free options and they can even adapt some of the other items to be gluten free. The salted caramel creme brûlée was also really incredible. The service is really friendly and I never feel rushed. I love sitting in the sun room to get a view of the ocean as I eat; it's just so lovely. Special occasion or just a lovely lunch, this place delivers. I'd only avoid it during the San Diego County Fair since traffic is absolutely insane! read more

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My family had a Sunday brunch there to celebrate my son's birthday and food was delicious! My eggs Benedict was delicious and the rest of the gang were very satisfied! The hula pie.... A must try ! You won't be disappointed! read more

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