To start, the ambience of the restaurant was very classical and aesthetically pleasing. The restaurant is on the water wrapped with windows that look out on the coast of Marin and the city of San Francisco. Amazing location. We started with the Ceviche tartare and the Crab cake appetizers and they were delicious. During this time the service was fine, our appetizers came at a pleasurable time, but our main took a bit longer(although it was one of the more expensive and bigger dishes on the menu). We felt the service was good overall. The main course was where we had our problems. We ordered the New York Steak and Lobster which costed $124 but did not live up to that price. The lobster was good and was cooked well but there wasn't much there. The steak was more problematic. We ordered a medium rare steak that came out rather raw and very fatty. There was fat in the heart of the steak and all over the place. This is not how an expensive steak should be. We were literally unable to cut into the steak at certain points. The server accommodated us by giving us the steak off, however, we would still not recommend ordering such an expensive dish that does not live up to its expectations. Overall it is a solid spot for the ambience but be careful what you order. N&D read more

This one of my favorite place. Food is delicious. I had grilled halibut and my friend had mixed seafood. We had calamari while waiting for our meal. Calamari was okay. We enjoyed our fish. It has amazing view to San Francisco. I was enjoying view and my delicious food which I forget to take photo. There is valet parking available and if you visit on weekends they charge flat fee at public parking. read more

Excellent view, great services, we were here for fathers day luncheon. Had great time. Only thing was lack of parking in Sunday. Only valet at the restaurant is available read more

The Spinnaker - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

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Arrived at 1:30pm. 4 adults and 3 infants were seated in about 15 minutes. Worrying about the infants acting up didn't happen 3 phones and waitstaff worked well with kids. As far as service can't ask for any better that day, thinking waitstaff hurried things up knowing kids only last so long. The kids got their fries! Adults meals were very good. I would definitely go again maybe without the kids. Beautiful views! read more

The view is wonderful, but the food was extremely disappointing. I ordered the fish and chips, but the fish was overly salty with no real flavor, and the fries were soggy and didn't taste fresh. I only managed to eat one piece of the fish and didn't enjoy it at all. Everything was also very overpriced. My friend ordered the sea bass and said it had no flavor either, she couldn't even finish her meal. I would never ever go back. read more

Food, service and ambience were terrific!! We were celebrating wedding anniversary and the host is the perfect corner table for my husband and me plus family. read more

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A classic on one of the most beautiful locations in Sausalito. Food is good, staff is very nice. Will be back! read more

The Spinnaker - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

Met up with old friends for a sunset dinner at Spinnaker restaurant in Sausalito. Spinnaker boosts the best view dining of San Francisco this side of the Bay. We had reservations and were promptly seated at a table right on the water. No question the view is the top draw for locals and tourists. Our group ordered the gamut of entrees, appetizers, and desserts. Grilled seafood combo 4 stars one skewer of shrimp salmon scallops small portions Fried calamari 4 stars nicely breaded small portions Pan seared scallops entree 4 stars nicely cooked small portions Petrale Dore 4 stars nicely cooked Desserts bread pudding and ice cream. The food was good. Pricey and small portions. The service was just ok, the restaurant was busy with people waiting for tables. Free parking in their lot. read more

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Fried calamari just tasted like oil. Also got the clam chowder and I've had better clam chowder from the grocery store - herbs overpowered the soup. So disappointing because the dining service is kind and it's beautiful inside. read more

The Spinnaker - Calamari fritte - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

1 star cause 0 isnt allowed. Views were great. Food however, we will never know. We got there at 4pm on a Friday. Only 8 tables taken. We were sat immediately, but a waiter never came to our table. We sat and watched another table that came after us get bread, drinks, and an app. Still nothing. The table next to us tells their waiter that we havent been seen. Still nothing. 30 minutes after we were sar, we leave. The host says thanks for coming and we say we were never seen and didn't eat. He did nothing to try to get us to stay nor seem overly concerned that we had this terrible experience. This was on 4/3/26. So maybe the owner can address it with his crew. We spent our 300$ elsewhere that night. read more

Disappointed by the quality of the food. We have been there today for the first time and the food wasn't good.. pasta was hard and dry, calamari were soggy.. and price definitely too high compared to the quality .. read more

I chose the squid ink pasta with prawns. It was delicious. The menu actually had several other options that I thought I wanted. A Chalk Hill chardonnay complemented my dish. The views are spectacular from most of the tables. The staff was fast, friendly and efficient. read more

The Spinnaker - Squid ink pasta, and shrimp - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

I should know that a spectacular view means the food won't be good. And it wasn't. Perhaps we ordered wrong - the paella special both isn't special and isn't paella. But nothing else was worthy of this institution. Except for the view. read more

We had the most amazing lunch here. The views from the patio are unmatched. Our food was delicious and the server was exactly on point the entire time. The halibut was perfectly flaky with a beautiful piccata sauce. The bread pudding was also really incredible. I was skeptical having seen all the reviews, but our experience was amazing. Or server did say that they had recently replaced the chef, so if you're on the fence, just give it a try. read more

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This restaurant has great view everywhere you sit! We came here exactly at 11 am when it just opened and was able to sit at the corner where we probably had the best view. We saw all the boat, birds and sea lions. We were waving to all the boats passing by which was fun! Today's special is fish stuffed with bay shrimp. It was amazing. The texture is crispy outside and moist inside with fish and bay shrimps. My winter salad has salmon, scallop, shrimps and fish. It's probably the best seafood salad I've ever had. I'm soooo glad this place not only has great ocean view but also with the best food and service! read more

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The Spinnaker has been a family favorite for decades, it has been a Sausalito icon since 1960. The panoramic views of the skyline of San Francisco, Angel Island, Belvedere and the Sausalito waterfront are breathtaking. A perfect place for locals and impressive views to bring visitors. We started with cocktails and a appetizer of a focaccia bruschetta, delicious! A window table with sweeping views on a beautiful Sausalito evening, perfection. The clam chowder was the perfect balance of creaminess and mix of potatoes and clams. The rock shrimp quesadilla on the appetizer menu was enough for a meal. The service from the bar and the wait staff was impressive. read more

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Came to the Spinnaker to celebrate an anniversary for lunch. It was a beautiful day in low 80's in Sausalito. The view of SF is amazing. Spacious dining room with excellent service. I did not take any pictures, my wife does not like that , so I didn't press. I had 1/2 dz oysters to start. They were nice and sweet. Wife had crab cakes and a salad that were good. I had the Seafood plate that was also good. It's been a minute since we'd been to The Spinnaker. I would recommend this business for its view and quality of food and great service. read more

Visited the restaurant first time today 11/24/2024 for my daughter's bday. Beautiful location of course. We didn't have a reservation but got seated right away outside. The place is nice. The entrees are a tad bit tooo pricey for the quantity and Lacks flavor. I ordered the grilled seafood kid with rice n veggies. It came with 2 small cubes of fish, 2 shrimp, 1 scallop. Little bit of yellow rice n some carrots n green beans. The seafood grill had no flavors. For almost $33, way over priced and super low quantity. Son ordered crab Mac n cheese. Lacked flavor... no taste. We added salt n pepper to give it flavor . Daughter had the crab n shrimp sandwich. Also cold sandwich n lacked flavor. Appetizers- rockfella oysters a needed hot sauce - Tabasco or something . Clam Chowder was good. They did give crackers for the chowder though. Oh and ur women's bathroom stinks . Probably won't go back. Might try other places. read more

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Blessed to experience another restaurant with a spectacular view in the same week as Skates! This view is just as nice in its own way. You can see the houses on the hills that reminds you of Italy's coast and even more mesmerizing when there's a pretty sunset that turns the sky orange/pinkish. The place is dated. The carpet flooring was dirty and seats were stained. The indoor dining is relatively small, but there is no bad seat for the view. They offer outdoor dining as well that has a little pier which is nice to go out and take pics. They offer free valet which is nice. The service was tolerable. The food was slightly better than Skates. Ya know how I like my calamari, and this was not it! You know this isn't real calamari when they only serve the rings! The seafood was good and the complimentary bread was served warm (much appreciated). Portions aren't too outrageous either. 4 stars for the view and slightly elevated food than Skates. But one star for the dated look and lack of cleanliness of the space, especially being a "fancy" restaurant. It wasn't cheap. read more

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This place is amazing for amazing views and overall good food. The service really does make her break the experience and I've had both good and bad service here. I think at this point I would consider myself a regular since we go here probably once every two weeks. My favorite person is the hostess. She's just the sweetest and always consistently kind. read more

It was Mother's Day and we called while we were en route to say that we were running late, fearing that they would not keep our reservation. Jazzy not only thanked my wife for calling, but assured her that it would be fine. When we arrived, she greeted us with joy and sat us down at a great seat with a view of Tiburon & San Francisco. Our waiter Ricardo gave us excellent service. It was packed, but he handled it with style. The mixed seafood grill was ok, but Linda's salmon was great as it was cooked to perfection. We watched as a constant parade of sailboats and yachts sailed by providing the perfect ambiance and entertainment. We finished the meal with a tiramisu, cappuccino and a promiss to return. read more

Service awful at first but did turn around. This place is way overpriced even taking the view into consideration.They did bring toppings for baked potato to table which I did like. Would maybe only recommend as appetizer and drink place (it will take more than 20 minutes to order your drink though). read more

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Had a delicious dinner and an enchanted evening here at this traditional style restaurant. The view is spectacular! This restaurant sticks over the water so you can see a lot of activity in the Bay. We were surprised to be able to get a last minute Friday night reservation for six people, sitting at the window, with no credit card to reserve the spot needed. Host and staff were kind and attentive. The prawns ans scallops with pasta was wonderful--cooked to perfection. Most importantly, we could hear each other talk. Thankyou for a successful group get together! read more

Before I begin, service and ambiance are great. The bones of this restaurant are decorated with long even wooden slats, near an ocean channel, through fog and burning temperatures. Their care is evident. Someone loves this restaurant, but definitely not for their kitchen. from their website "The Spinnaker is one of the rare family owned and operated restaurants in the Bay Area with Bill's son Tim McDonnell at the helm and Jeff Scharosch, a partner and the general manager who has been with the company for 27+ years. The Cliff House in Folsom, CA is also owned and operated by the family." We had a party of 10 and each meal was of over cooked seafood, my steak was well, well done.. Their crab bisque was so over cooked that it tasted dry. The steak was supposed to be topped with a local blue cheese and that flavor was never there. Over the past two decades their food quality has declined. I am probably being too kind. It's hard to cut off an addicted relative, but this was too far. I guess the tenth visit was the last for myself. One for their unerring quiet and continuous flow of water, coffee, tea and wine, and one star for the view and restaurant caretaker. be well. read more

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So fresh and delicious definitely an oyster spot! And the view from the restaurant was fantastic! read more

The Spinnaker - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

My parents had their prom here in the 1960s. Best view of the bay in the whole Bay Area. Food was KILLER. Great kids menu. Can't wait to return. read more

The Spinnaker - Great Kids menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

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Dream spot. Would love to return. Only had a quick stop since we had a limited time. Couple of cocktails and 1 appetizer. All delicious . There was a formal celebration going on, but not overwhelming the venue which I appreciated. The gem is the amazing view of San Francisco Bay. Spot on service. We took a ferry across the bay, but looked like plenty of parking. read more

I recently visited this restaurant for a friend's birthday dinner, and unfortunately, the experience was quite disappointing. The food lacked flavor and didn't meet our expectations at all. We were hoping for something special, but everything we tried tasted bland and uninspired. Do not go for your special event or such To make matters worse, the service was underwhelming. Our server seemed disinterested and wasn't helpful when we had questions about the menu. He forgot the gave us fresh silverware that we can start our main course , we had to wait almost 5 minutes to get it , because nobody pass it by our table, . Food was super cold , There was very little warmth or attentiveness, which made the whole evening feel less enjoyable. fixed menu was very unprofessional, We were really hoping for a great night out, but sadly, this visit missed the mark in both food and service. I wouldn't recommend this place based on our experience. Do not waste your money ..... read more

We celebrated a family members birthday Saturday night 6pm, and I was quite disappointed with the food quality/flavor/tastiness, table service and more; with this first time visit . The many 4 & 5 star reviews MUST BE from 'tourists' who are not familiar with imaginative, tasty and delicious food, but bland, mediocre 'hotel' fare, which this was. 7 of us were seated, a bread basket and water given and then drink orders taken. We were there 2 hours waiting patiently for our food on a popular Saturday night. The Cadillac Margarita was made incorrectly (minus an obvious main ingredient). The salads came out, and we were not asked if we wanted more bread/butter (after we ate everything waiting so patiently), so the lack of 'service' was obvious in a number of ways. We saw much hustle/bustle from wait people clearing dishes, putting out food, but kitchen staff must be short where our entrees took a good 45+ minutes to come out. The Entree prices matched the million dollar water views: $30, $40 and higher up and nothing was really tasty, inventive or delicious. We asked our family members how the food was: just 'meh' bland hotel-style fare. No wait people coming by to ask 'how' our Entrees were: we were simply ignored until they cleared the table quickly and given our check. I certainly won't be coming back, and refused to say anything to the manager concerning our Grade "C-average" experience. This is an honest review from a Bay Area Senior lady. Pass this restaurant right by as all you are paying for is the postcard view! Our bill was about $400 and we left 15% tip, so quite a let down. read more

It's been a while since we have been back here, and unfortunately we were so disappointed. The food quality has taken a nosedive. The crab cakes were pathetic. The only good part of the crab cakes were the French fries. The fruit "salsa" was barely a salsa and more like a mushy glob of old jam from a jar. The crab cakes themselves were soft and so incredibly thin and tiny. Almost 30 bucks for those? That was astonishing. The clam chowder was okay, but tasted like it was full of flour or cornstarch(some sort of thickening agent). The fish n chips and sailors plates were also disappointing. You could tell they made all their fries all at once earlier in the day and then just gave the old fries. They weren't hot at all. Who wants room temperature fries? The fried prawn was tasty, but the calamari and scallops were tasteless. I wish their food quality didn't go down so much. It just felt like frozen microwaved food. The two stars are for the wonderful service, employees, and that view! The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and the staff are wonderful. It's a lovely place for the view and ambiance....the food? Unfortunately not on this trip. read more

The Spinnaker - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

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Stunning views of SF and fresh seafood deliciousness with seasoned waiters that have served meticulously for decades‼

they make a great crab coctail ($25) the grilled helebit ( was $34 just raised to$37, is real good, not a large piece, deserts r like $10 ea, they make a good moka coffee, french bread & butter is good !!! the trident went out of biz last januart 2026 , marin joe's doesn't look like it's coming back, (no work trucks their 4 the past 8 months), i miss renaldos great filet meons they were outstanding !!!!!!! read more

This place is amazing! The food, staff, and view were all phenomenal. This was the perfect spot to celebrate our anniversary, it was a very romantic setting. The pictures make the portions look much smaller than they are, I couldn't finish my meal! Would definitely recommend. read more

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This place is racist or at least the hostess was. We were the first ones to arrive at the restaurant in the morning . It was pretty much empty yet the hostess refused to sit us by the windows. She said it was filled up and if we want we could sit outside. We sat and looked around for another 15 minutes to see how busy the place was and it wasn't at all. We just left. I think people cannot be judged by its cover. Perhaps she was thinking we were Asian descents and did not dress fancy. Her assumption was perhaps we wouldn't spend the money and will be cheap on tips. That was awful and unprofessional business practice. We ended up going to a restaurant next door and their service and food were excellent. read more

While our server was polite, service was rather slow. We mentioned it was my brother's birthday, hoping they would do something special but it was hardly even acknowledged. Food was mediocre; I ordered the scallops and it was rather salty. I also got a strawberry lemonade which didn't even taste like lemonade. However, the selling point is the view of the bay, which is stunning on a day with good weather. This place is really only worth a one-time visit; you can get better fare at the other restaurants along the waterfront with views almost as good. read more

The Spinnaker - Pan Seared Scallops - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

Love the classic "old world classy "vibe to this lovely Sausalito overwater restaurant . Seafood is superb, but love their salads, chicken and meat dishes. Service is formal with a smile. One of my favorite places to dine. read more

We've been here many times and it's always a great experience. Nelson has gone above and beyond every time we've gone there for dinner even making us a special Dungeness crab dish. The views are amazing. The food is always fresh and well prepared. I specifically enjoy the seafood dishes. The staff is top-notch professional some of these dudes been doing this for decades and you can tell for the experience they provide. Dinning here is a fun casual atmosphere with Michelin quality food. The "Who's Who" of Sausalito can often be found dining here. If you're checking out sauce later, this is the place to go for dinner. read more

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We were in San Francisco for business and while my husband was in a meeting I went wandering around Sausalito and came across this place. It was very clean and elegant but I opted to sit outside because the view is spectacular. The service was equally great and the food was excellent. We were only in town for a long weekend so my husband didn't get the opportunity to dine here, but next time we are out there, I will definitely take him! read more

The Spinnaker - Oysters - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Sausalito, California

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Our first time trying this place. It was just okay. The view is nice. The food was okay, not too much flavor. The service was great. Just not a fan of the food. Personally, I will not be going back. read more

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The view was incredible and the food was delicious. The service was just ok. The portions were laughably small. $9.95 for a very small cup of clam chowder. And 1 skewer worth of seafood for $35? read more