Tien D.

I went on a Friday night with a group of six. Of course parking was a pain in this area. No reservations are available for less than 8 people. Fortunately we did not have to wait very long for a table. Both indoor and outdoor seating is available. We chose first available, which turned out to be indoor with doors open to the outside. I tried the brussel sprouts appetizer. This was the best dish of the night. Although some of the pieces were not cut small enough so that it was a bit undercooked, the favor was amazing and the bits of bacon and crispy leeks really added that bit of extra punch. We also had the elote lettuce wrap which was good. Tater tots were also good. For my main, I ordered the halibut and that was a disappointment. Although the seasoning was okay, the fish was overcooked and dry. The butter helped cover up some of the dryness. It was served with potato wedges that had no color or flavor and a side of "Asian" style veggies. I guess Asian means shredded cabbage, bean sprouts and bell peppers that are sautéed. The sides just did not fit with the dish. The whole dish was just a beige mess. The three stars are mainly for the appetizer and service.

Bri S.

Delicious flavor and great presentation along with good service. What more could you need? Brussel sprouts were complimented very well with all the flavors mixed into the plate. Same goes for the cauliflower which I was very pleasantly surprised by. The wings were cooked to the perfect crisp which is so hard to find. The elote lettuce cups were lacking something to bring out the flavor, I personally found them a little bland but still good. The surf and turf plate was amazing! It's a thinner cut of meat but they were able to get a good medium rare cook on it. The halibut was a little bit disappointing unfortunately. The halibut itself was great but the sides were very much lacking in flavor. The establishment itself was classy with a nice layout for each section of inside, outside, and bar. Definitely enjoyed my experience and very much looking forward to going back for more!

Eric H.

A big beautiful space with a very comfortable patio. Open Kitchen and plenty of seats around the bar. This place gets packed. There are some Interesting cocktails on the menu and the food is good. The Pokey Bowl is small but plenty tasty. Our two favorite cocktails are the Hibiscus Rita - (Herradura Blanco, Hibiscus, Agave, Fresh Lime). and the Nunya Beeszwax - (Pier View Gin, Lemon, Honey). The vibe of this place is nice. It's good for families, date night, and anything casual. There's something here for everyone. The Lab Collective is worth a visit.

Mandy F.

Have always wanted to try this place. A hip, modern restaurant with mid century ambiance and what appears to be a changing menu based on the previous reviews. Located in the renovated Oceanside stacked on the corner of Cleveland and Mission. Food was delicious! Tried the pork belly adobo appetizer, which was extremely tender. Also ordered the lab burger with Caesar salad. Lab burger was flavorful - meat was thick. Not well balanced though.Seemed like everyone was satisfied at our table. BIL said he enjoyed his jerk chicken and the waitress also endorsed it was a popular item. They offer a discount for active duty and veterans too I had a few grievances. For $18, the fried chicken appetizer was nothing special. Service was okay - unremarkable but the basic duties were met. Would have been nice to be told of hidden fees like if you opt for Caesar salad, it's a $3 charge. Same with Sweet Potato fries alternative. Also, they charge for extra condiments like ranch.

Aiko M.

We have been here twice already; once for brunch and once for dinner (and we will be back as we forgot to bring a gift card we received haha). We shared the biscuits and gravy with a side of bacon; my only complaint is that I wish the biscuits were split or there was more gravy as the dish was a bit dry. The flavor of the gravy was fantastic! Our friend ordered a mimosa flight, and the bottle of bubbly wasn't chilled down properly- the waitress did run by and say they didn't have any ready... on a Saturday... yet they still served him smh. Anyway, we came back for dinner and we both ordered the surf and turf, and shared a creme brûlée. The steaks were cooked perfectly; albeit a bit spicy for his midwestern palate (we didn't know the heat level of the chimichurri until we got our plates). The dessert was delicious; I love coffee after dinner and this sated my desire as it had espresso dust. The ambience is confusing; it has a classy-meets-sports bar vibe. I liked everything but the large televisions on the wall (they have had basketball and football on, we'd prefer some sort of racing). Our servers have been friendly and attentive. We look forward to trying more of the menu! Pros: - always friendly - reasonable brunch prices - staff is familiar with the menu - bar, table and al fresco dining options - food presentation Cons: - parking sucks (park at the transit center) - low quality brunch juices

Anthony H.

Food is REALLY good! HOWEVER!!!!! This is an overall review, and my biggest pet peeve is when establishments are not TRANSPARENT. It's not about the cost it's the PRINCIPAL. They add a surcharge, but it's nowhere to be found on the menu, nor any signs in the restaurant. Surcharge for What using my credit card which MAJORITY of people do not even McDonald's does that. Just be honest from the very beginning, and let the customer decide whether to move forward or not. The service wasn't very attentive after serving a customer check on them within 3 to 5 minutes to make sure everything's good, keep an eye out that the water glasses are full! When it came time to pay they bring you the machine and they stand right over your shoulder. I might as well have given them my Social Security number. Give me space let me do what I think is appropriate tipping instead of hounding me over my shoulder what I should be giving. This is VERY aggravating and you feel extremely pressured to give more. The food is excellent but again this is an overall review and amazing service should be TOP PRIORITY so I feel like it's money well spent. Advice: be honest and transparent!! Your customers will appreciate it!!! Also don't stand over them when they pay!!!

Jas S.

The poke bowl and calamari were both amazing fresh, flavorful, and perfectly prepared. Unfortunately, the service was pretty slow, and our waiter hardly checked on us despite it not being a busy time. Had to hunt down the bus boys to as for anything while she sat around talking to other employees or guests. It was really odd.

Katy A.

We had a really enjoyable dinner at The Lab Collaborative in Oceanside! The food is absolutely the star of the show here--everything we tried was really good (except the fish tacos, the texture was weird) The overall service was okay and friendly when our waiter was present. The atmosphere of the place is great, very much in line with the cool, relaxed vibe Oceanside is known for. The reason for the four instead of five stars was a noticeable lapse in service. Our waiter disappeared for a pretty long stretch in the middle of our meal. We could see the bar was completely swamped, and it became clear he had been pulled away to help over there. While we totally understand that restaurants get busy and need to support all areas, it left us waiting for drink refills and checking in on us. We'll definitely be back for the excellent food, but hopefully next time the front-of-house staffing is a little more balanced to handle a full house

Malina C.

We arrived around 7:30pm on Wednesday evening, Feb. 5th. The posted closing time was at 9:00pm. I called beforehand to check if we needed a reservation to which I was told that it was probably going to be a slow night and that we would not need one. FYI: Reservations are only made for parties of 5 or more. This night was supposed to be a special night, because we were celebrating my 45th birthday. We are not local to this area and were staying in our timeshare in O'side for a few days. As I'll explain in detail later, it turned out to be a very lackluster celebration. We were seated promptly, our server was Ashley and she took our drink and appetizer orders first. Our wait was minimal from being seated to when Ashley introduced herself. Menu: We noticed right away that the menu that is advertised on their website and also the most recent menus shown on Yelp were different than the menu they placed in front of us. Items that drew us to this restaurant were not on the new menu, such as the Creamy Potato and Burnt Leek Soup and the Elote Lettuce Wrap. The fish of the day for the fish tacos we found out were swordfish, which we could not eat due to religious reasons. Sadly, we were a little disappointed straight out the gate. Drinks: I ordered the mocktail, Equinox, which was a blackberry, lemon sparkling drink. Very tasty, I would order it again. Appetizers: Bourbon Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts (minus the bacon)...this was our favorite of the night. Cauliflower with Agave Ponzu Sauce...wow! Our table's second favorite dish of the night. So many levels of deliciousness that fire up your tastebuds and explodes into a whirlwind of flavors in your mouth. Biscuits...4 crunchy, dense, dry biscuits. Not fluffy and delicious. Came with whipped salted butter and whipped cinnamon? salted butter. Would never EVER order again. Food: Fried Chicken...after ordering was told that they were out of mashed potatoes and that they would sub tater tots and comp the meal, to which I accepted. Also, the gravy contains pork sausage and since I don't eat pork, Ashley was very accommodating and offered to bring a side of their cheese sauce instead. The batter on the chicken was pleasantly very light and not over battered, but it could have used more seasoning. The chicken was pounded thin and still had a lot of moisture. The tater tots were seasoned well and were perfectly crunchy. Loaded Baked Potato Soup...asked if there was bacon inside the soup and was told no that it was only on top as garnish, so my family member ordered it without bacon, but there was definitely bacon inside. This was the same person who wanted the Creamy potato and leek soup, so now their second choice of soup was unavailable. What a disappointment. They decided on just getting another order of the Fried Cauliflower appetizer for their dinner. Fried Cauliflower Sandwich (vegan)...Person eating this said that it was good until they got to the middle of the sandwich and the cauliflower got hard to bite into (assumed that it was the stem that wasn't fully cooked). Another disappointing dish. Would have been good if executed properly. Chicken Tortilla Soup...average broth soup with vegetables, shredded chicken, and fried tortilla strips. Person eating this said that they liked it. Dessert: Crème Brûlée...This was made with jet fuel coffee and it was so creamy, lightly sweetened, and delicious. He really liked it. There were so many vanilla bean flecks inside, we were amazed. It was very tasty. Would order it again. Carrot Cake...not what the person who ordered it expected. There were no nuts and tasted more like a spice cake than a carrot cake. Cheesecake with Berries...the cheesecake was also very creamy, a little denser than Cheesecake Factory, but just as flavorful if not more. The berries on top were a nice addition and the graham cracker crust was light and soft and complemented the filling very well. So, my birthday dinner did not go as well as we had hoped. There were some mishaps on the restaurant's part, but our server was quick to remedy the situation and made up for them well. Unfortunately, although we informed our server Ashley that we were celebrating a birthday, there was no birthday song and dance. I wasn't offered a dessert, ice cream sundae, nor a slice of cake. Nothing. At the least, they could have placed a candle on any one of the three desserts we ordered ourselves. My thoughts for the owner/restaurant manager, please make sure to update your website with the most current menu being offered at the time. It was very disappointing to find that the dishes that we wanted, which was our reason for selecting this restaurant, were not available. We would have definitely walked out and ate at another restaurant if it hadn't already been so late in the evening.

Siv S.

We stopped here because I saw vegan sloppy joes. It was delicious. Even my hubby who had a delicious looking burger said," Damn" when he took a bite. My hibiscus margarita was refreshing and my hubby was happy with the beer selection. The service was excellent. I was sad to learn that they will be closing their doors at the end of the month. However I was happy to learn that all the employees would be given first dibs at the new establishment if they applied. I thought that was decent of the new owners. Hope their food was be as good as the Lab Collaborative.

Allyson D.

By the looks of the food served to everyone else around is, I could tell the food was going to be good. It looked awesome! Party of 4 and it was all of ours first time here. My bf and I are the locals and we'll certainly come back. My bf ordered a caprese salad and added halibut. He enjoyed it very much. The fish was well cooked, nice and buttery. I ordered the Thai salmon without coconut rice, extra Asian veggies. The veggie slaw (shredded veggies) was not what I ended expecting, but it still tasted good. What else could "Asian veggies" be except stir fried bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, maybe some green beans.. the shredded veggies were cooked and paired nicely with the salmon. My in-laws got a chicken sandwich and gnocci and they cleaned it up! We got seated pretty quickly. The front entrance is a bit awkward because you step into a walkway. There's no real waiting area so you feel like you're in the way. The fire pit tables outside look like a nice spot to eat next time.

Robert H.

This is a fun place in coastal Oceanside. Have been a few times, usually for birthday celebrations, and never disappointed with my visits. Pros: the food is good. I had their poke bowl and it was very filling, fresh, and at a good price. Not pictured is their margherita pizza which we had as a starter appetizer, which was also very good. Cons: we did come in on a Friday night, so the staff was busy in the restaurant the entire time, and this lead to our table having to consistently flag down someone for drinks. Someone in our party had to send their food back because it wasn't prepared fully and wasn't edible, however, the waitress was very understanding and took his replacement order without issue and got it out right away. Their menu is not overly complicated, however, their drinks menu doesn't really match the design and could be mistaken for part of the decor. Not really my thing, but not a complaint either. They were dog friendly for someone at the bar with their small lap dog, which can be a plus if you have one. Happy with my visit and will be back.

Billy M.

Food was great and the atmosphere was relaxed sitting just outside on the patio at 2p. Adobo pork belly - amazing I shall old have had 2 Local Fish Tacos(swordfish) - excellent I would get again Lab burger- medium rare and a decent cheeseburger Service was a bit confusing at times. I didn't like the use of the Toast POS to pay with the server holding the device while you pay and add a tip. Felt intrusive.