When our nephew told me he was celebrating his graduation party at Chief's Da Crab Shack, I thought…read morewe were eating seafood in a plastic bag with our choice of spices. Chief's is one of those type of restaurants, but what I didn't know about Chief's is that it is a sister restaurant to JJ's Island Grindz and Chief's Da Tiki Bar. The food that was served came from JJ's Island Grindz and Chief's Da Crab Shack, and both served delish grub. Besides the tasty food, I really enjoyed the Hawaiian vibe inside, the tunes emanating from the House DJ made me want to dance, and I appreciated the hustle from the hard working staff. If you're looking for a restaurant for a party or a graduation celebration, check out Chief's Da Crab Shack. Chief's Da Crab Shack is located in South San Diego, specifically Bonita, and it can be reached utilizing the 805 freeway and driving east. The restaurant can be found within an outdoor strip mall that contains the following businesses: Chief's sister businesses, JJ's Island Grindz and Chief's Da Tiki Bar; Franco's Flapjack; Wells Fargo; Colima's Mexican Food; and Fresheria. There is plenty of parking in this shopping center. As you enter Chief's, you immediately notice the Hawaiian decor and fisherman imagery with dryed grass skirt material hanging over their seating booths, netting holding crustaceans and seashells, thick ropes, fish as light fixtures, and ocean birds. This is a spacious restaurant with indoor booth seating, tables and chairs, distressed wooden tables for group seating, and outdoor seating. There were televisions around the restaurant showing World Cup soccer. I appreciated the diligence of Chief's staff who hustled while handling my nephew's graduation party and regular customers visiting. Before making my first visit to Chief's Da Crab Shack, I thought we'd be grubbing on seafood that are boiled and placed in a plastic bag with your choice of seasoning. That is what Chief's primary business is, but since it's affiliated with JJ's Island Grindz, my nephew's graduation party had a buffet line that featured Hawaiian and Asian food, which came from both Chief's and JJ's. The following dishes from Chief's were waiting for our tummies: mini pork lumpia shanghai, buffalo lemon pepper wings, garlic noodles, and white rice. The following dishes from JJ's were calling our name: spam musubi, salt and pepper chicken wings, teriyaki chicken, kalbi beef ribs, and red rice. The spam musubi is spam wrapped with seasoned sushi rice and nori seaweed. The spam musubi was a tasty bite in a small package. The mini pork lumpias were packed with ingredients and flavorful. The salt and pepper chicken and the buffalo lemon pepper wings were crispy and wok fried with green onion, fresh minced garlic, crush red pepper, and lemon. I devoured those chicken wings, which ate well with the two types of rice. The garlic noodles were yummy and had an abundant amount of garlic flavor. The red rice complemented all of the protein I ate. The kalbi beef ribs were okay and I wished they were more tender. My nephew and in-laws made appetizing choices for the graduation party and I happily consumed two plates of the food. 4.5 stars because the kalbi beef ribs weren't as good as the other food items. When we were told that our nephew was celebrating his gradution at Chief's Da Crab Shack, I was looking forward to experiencing seafood seasoned in a plastic bag. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Chief's is affiliated with JJ's Island Grindz and was able to grub on delicious Hawaiian and Asian entrees from JJ's and Chief's. Next time, I'd like to visit both Chief's and JJ's and try entrees that they're known for.

The service here was quick and the cashier was nice. The food came out quick and hot and is pretty…read moretasty! However, if we dig a bit deeper and evaluate the po boy on NOLA standards; it's missing that NOLA flair. It is very buttery, which is pretty good; but if you're craving a NOLA corner store kind of po boy, this might not satisfy your cravings. It's a different style, which is fine, but good to know.

Bomb. Came here as a first timer and ordered an array of…read moredishes. Everything I ordered was delicious. Not one item lacking in freshness or flavor. The establishment felt a little cramped, however I don't mind that at all. It's busy because it's good. I'd rate this spot a 9/10. Service was great too.

Had this place on my radar for a while and finally made it out to Bonita to try it out! They have…read moreboth an inside and outside seating area and overall the service was nice throughout the meal. They have a lot of seafood options so there will be something for everyone. My partner asked for a breaded mahi mahi burrito which they were able to accommodate and it was moist and flavorful. The portion was pretty big too. I came with the mission to try a lot of the tacos so I ended up getting the fish, oyster, octopus, smoked tuna w/cheese, shrimp diabla, and the stingray. The bigger standouts were the octopus and the smoked tuna. I really loved the smoky flavor on the tuna which was my favorite. The stingray came shredded in some type of sauce that was different and pretty good. The oysters were fried but they were a bit soft/soggy on the taco. And the fish was good but nothing standout. Overall the variety of seafood you can get here is worth coming to check out. My only critique was the taco price vs amount of food. I ordered 6 tacos just for myself and I felt that I could have eaten a couple more.

Good food, good service, amazing music. Highly recommend. I don't u.dersrand why they don't have…read morefountain drinks. The ambiance is a bit on the lower scale. But otherwise highly recommend.

I was craving a crab boil and decided to try this place…read more The pros: Crab all had a lot of meat Decent amount of food The cons Flavor just wasn't it for me, I didn't like it at all Shrimp was given with head and poop tail still in, without the option to have it otherwise Personally won't be back

The service is the only shortcoming, and it's the only thing keeping it from a 5 stars!…read more Absolutely amazing food, very welcoming and homely decor. I really want this to become a 5 star review, but our waitress kept our party waiting for over 15 minutes at a time or never took attention to our table. I will come back sometime to see if the service has change and I'll update my review.

Usually this spot is packed but this time around it was pretty empty. We went around 7pm and only…read moreone waitress working. She was calm and kind of serious, not much of a social personality. Our food took a while to come out after we placed our order. I got the culiche shrimp taco with rice and beans. The beans were on the dry side the rice was bland, the taco was ok. I thought it was going to be crunchy but the tortilla was soft. The sauce was tasty though. I know this place is popular with the locals for hanging out and drinking but it wasn't that night. I did hear they have karaoke though and it's spacious inside. I guess if you know when to go, then it may be more entertaining.

Came here with my mother after she saw this place trending on Facebook and had a deep craving for…read moreit. It's a family owned restaurant with a quiet, cozy atmosphere. You can either dine-in or take it to-go. The dining area is small but spacious enough to enjoy a meal. For service, I was greeted and my order was taken and the wait for the food was reasonable. We ordered the Fried Zucchini with 3 Chicken Strips and 2 Fish with Onion Rings. The Fried Zucchini was delicious. It's crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The portion is huge. As for the batter, it's very tasty. It's crunchy, very flavorful, and not overly salty. It wasn't too oily either. It pairs really well with the condiments and a hint of lemon makes it taste better. Overall, a great experience and would definitely recommend giving this place a try if you're having a craving for fish & chips!

Saw this place in a YouTube review and had to make the drive down to lemon grove to try it for…read moremyself. It's in a non-descript old fast food joint. You'd probably just pass by it without noticing if you weren't looking for it. It seafood, so it's not cheap, and it took quite a while to get the food even though there were only a couple other parties in the place. But when it did come out, it was super hot and fresh. The tempura batter was super light and crunchy, and everything tasted good. The whole set up was kinda odd though, like there was no real thought put into the convenience of getting condiments, utensils, or drink refills. Not too big of a deal though.. The food was surprisingly good, and if I get that urge for battered seafood again, I wouldn't hesitate going back.

The Baja Tacos ARE AMAZING! My sister and I had the best fish tacos EVER: the fish was peefectly…read morefried; the cabbage and salsa fesca were fresh (as were the limes); and the house made tortilla chips are perfectly salted and perfectly delicious. This was our 1st visit, but we'll be back sooner than later! The service is superb! Cecilia greeted and histef us like royalty: she is warm, friendly and professional. She explained the menu, Su-Th Specials, and the live music and dance nights! NO need to cross the border; just head to Lemon Grove. The venue is clean, well-lighted, open and has abundant (indoor and outdoor) seating.

An amazing gem of a mariscos restaurant! Such a fun place to hang out with friends and love the…read moreentertainment! The staff is efficient, warm and attentive. Whenever I'm in SD I always go by for something new and creative seafood.

Alex is the chef. He treats his customers like royalty. I had the shrimp cocktail and it is…read moreawesome. This is a new business and Alex would love your support to help him grow. Please stop in and enjoy his amazing food.

Shrimp and octopus cooked perfect tender very good recommend it's a new place in the cut but worth…read moreit give it a try definitely going back to try more stuff

TJ Oyster Bar was filled table-side and bar with folks glued to the World Cup games. There are…read moreoutdoor seats as well. Staff were friendly and helpful with my order FOOD 5/5 Believe the smoked tuna taco hype - its flavor is on point. 4/5 stingray machaca was good although over-hydrated and thus also less flavorful

Not sure what the hype is about. I waited about 6months to finally try this place out after all or…read morethe recommendations from grown locals from SD... but definitely not worth it. Oily, soggy, overly mayonnaise looking sour cream fish tacos... ick. Can someone relay me to an actual good fish taco place?