KINGFISH

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Address:
201 South B. St.
San Mateo, CA 94401

Neighborhood:
San Mateo

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Cuisine:
American

Price: $30 and under

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KINGFISH Details

Dining Style: Casual Dining
Website: http://www.kingfish.net
Email: contact@kingfish.net
Phone: (650) 343-1226
Hours of Operation: Dining Room:
Sunday - Saturday 11:00am - 11:00pm
Payment Options: AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Cuisine: American, Seafood, Steak
Dress Code: Casual Dress
Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
Additional Details: Banquet/Private Rooms, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Counter Seating, Entertainment, Fireplace, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Late Night, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Personal wines welcome, Personal wines welcome (corkage fee applies), Private Room, Takeout, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Getting there

Cross Street: 2nd Street
Parking: Valet
Parking Details: Parking Garage on 2nd and Main Street, Street Parking and Valet

A word from KINGFISH

Kingfish offers Fresh Seafood flown in from around the world, Fire grilled Prime Steak, Wagyu Ribeye, Signature Spicy BBQ Shrimp, Ice Cold Fresh Oysters and our famous Tuna Tartare from the marble slab Oyster Bar, and a winelist with over 400 selections makes Kingfish THE place. Blending tasty… FRESH, HIGH QUALITY ingredients with a fun environment is why Kingfish makes the decision about where to go to dinner an easy one. Kingfish also provides numerous spacious banquet facilities for parties as small as 10 people to groups as large as 400 people. Kingfish offers live entertainment on occasion, 3 full bars, and an energetic night life. Kingfish does offer Valet!!!Continued

Diner Reviews

"Had big expectations form this restaurant we being here before and our lunch experience was very nice last time. This time we were here for dinner and we didn't had a good experience our server was just inattentive. Hostess are nice and friendly. Food was just ok nothing out of this world overall was just okay."
Dined on 2/24/2014
"The server removed any gratifaction expected. He was near rude and without proper training."
Dined on 2/22/2014
"I found an old gift certificate to this place and for some reason never got around going until last week. I love cajun/creole food and lived in New Orleans for several years in my youth. I ordered one of my favorites (jambalaya) and the flavors of this dish brought me back to my youth with a sense of sweat and savory with just enough spice to delight the tongue. The portion was large and satisfying. I will be back to try some of my other favorites next time."
Dined on 2/21/2014
"Great Food, Fair Customer Service, Good Environment"
Dined on 2/15/2014
"I used to love this restaurant. The food had limitless flavor. Did they change owners or chief? The food is not the same. I was disappointed."
Dined on 2/15/2014
"What I love about this place is that it stays open from lunch thru dinner. We found ourselves hungry at 4 pm (although our reservation was @ 5:15) so we headed over there and they took us. We decided to share everything as their portions are quite large. Had the cabbage salad (loved it -- admittedly not a very pretty looking salad, but delicious!): had a dozen raw oysters (excellent); had the calamari appetizer (kind f a small portion, but good); & shared the rib eye entree (very good)! Food is consistently good here & we like this place a lot."
Dined on 2/15/2014
"We loved the food!! We had an early reservation and it turned out to be totally worth it! We sat down at 5:30 and were done by 6:50. The food was perfect, our server was awesome and we loved the atmosphere."
Dined on 2/14/2014
"I was disappointed with the way they seemed to handle reservations. Showed up a few minutes late of our set time and waited and watched several couples that arrived after us be taken to a table. Once finally showed to a table had to wait several more minutes for it to be bused from the previous grouo. Our waiter started the plus side of the evening, he was friendly and apologetic for the wait. Food was good and was able to somewhat forget about the wait."
Dined on 2/14/2014
"normally dinner is fine here but this time we had lunch. Food was mediocre (bummed) and the host was rather rude when I asked if we could change tables. They had placed us on the back side behind the host desk(where no one else was) even though there were plenty of empty tables on the main floor. Rather disappointed"
Dined on 2/10/2014
"The food was good, but our server forgot to give us plates and silverware for both the appetizers and dessert. Otherwise, very nice."
Dined on 2/8/2014
"We've been to Kingfish many times and usually had a great time there... but not this time. It started with us not really being greeted when we checked in. The hostess walked us to our table (we had a reservation for 5) but the table had only 4 chairs and wasn't set. She smashed the the menus on the table and literally just left us. It then took 3 minutes for someone to arrive and set the table for us! The table itself was in the very corner on the ground floor - very loud, dark and very little ambiance. Service was so so and the food was not nearly as good as usual. This was a dinner with family visiting from overseas, so we wanted to show them a nice restaurant. I felt like I was at TGIF, not at Kingfish. We won't be back any time soon."
Dined on 2/5/2014
"We loved the ambience, brick walls with lots of art, nice lighting and attentive service. We sampled the oysters, the crab/avocado roll, the mussels and the seafood cioppino linguini. The appetizers were great. The mussels were perfectly done and the broth was just right - not too salty (as we've found in other restaurants - thanks Kingfish). The cioppino was hot (and even the bowl was hot so my food stayed warm. We were extremely impressed with the Malbec on the sommelier's "top picks" list. Nice to have wines that are really good and not overpriced. Bar area was very lively, yet, where we were, we could enjoy conversation."
Dined on 2/5/2014
"But I wouldn't recommend it to someone who loves food. The portions were small... It's for people who watch their calories. It wasn't filling for me ir my husband... I took him for his birthday dinner... Everything else was great."
Dined on 1/31/2014
"Service, food and atmosphere were very good, but my main course, the sea bass, came with a sauce that had lobster in it. The lobster was fine, but the sauce nearly knocked me out of my chair. I couldn't stop coughing from the spiciness. When I asked my dining partner to try it, he felt the same way. I just left the sauce, since the rest of the meal was fine. I asked my server afterwards what was in that sauce, explaining to her that it was way over the top. She said she would ask the kitchen, but never told me what they said and never apologized or made any reference to it. Disappointed in that part."
Dined on 2/1/2014
"We were disappointed in some of the food. Calamari was rubbery, corn bread was dry and overcooked, rolls were tasteless. There was one consolation, however. The wine pours were very generous. What's happened to the kitchen???"
Dined on 1/31/2014
"I took my family for a birthday dinner at Kingfish. There were 6 of us, plus a 10 month old. They gave us a perfect spot with plenty of space around us so that we weren't bothering other diners and treated us amazingly. We had a great time. The food was delicious. I had swordfish with mango salsa and mashed potatoes. We also had 3 of the appetizers. Two different types of prawns, as well as the artichoke appetizer. All were excellent. The service was terrific, as well. I would definitely dine there again."
Dined on 1/27/2014
"Enjoyed the light batter on the fish and chips, totally delightful. The sea bass was nested on a variety of vegetables. Very tasty fare!"
Dined on 1/17/2014
"We we're almost 30 minutes late for our reservation looking for parking until we realized they had valet parking. The hosted was so nice and even though they were packed on a Sat night she managed to get us a table right away. Food was awesome and overall a great experience !"
Dined on 1/18/2014
"I had been wanting to try this place for a long time, but I won't be going back. The food was OK, but the service was terrible. The young woman waiting on us was slow and when we asked for butter for our bread, she took forever to come back with it. In fact, we had to flag down another person go get it. The food is overpriced for what you get and not really very spectacular. I did love all the great art in the place, but other than that, I can't say much good about Kingfish."
Dined on 10/27/2013
"We had a nice family birthday with for my husband. We got a window table which I like. The server was new. He tried hard. We didn't get to taste the wine before he poured but he will get better. The food was pretty good although sea bass was big but kinda dry and yucky. They brought a cute dessert with a candle. I like it there."
Dined on 1/14/2014
"A big draw at Kingfish has been the dinner fare and oyster bar, so when the opportunity came up to go to Kingfish for lunch recently, we were looking forward to a wonderful meal. Unfortunately the lunch menu (or to be more specific the brunch menu) was a bit underwhelming. Our party decided to go with a collection of small plates (appetizers) and some salads. While the salads were quite good, the assortment of small plates we had were rather forgettable. The preparation was fine, but flavor was lacking. No complaints about the service; our server was quite attentive. For the money, we'll probably waiting until a dinner engagement presents itself before going back to Kingfish."
Dined on 1/12/2014
"All the reviews were right. Thoroughly enjoyed the food and locale. Will return next time I am in town."
Dined on 1/6/2014
"We were able to get day before res and had a great Xmas diner."
Dined on 12/31/2013
"I tried to order the jambalaya without mussels or clams and the waiter said that wouldn't be possible because it was premade. You would think that that could just take out the mussels or clams but also makes me think why am I paying for a $20 entree premade anything."
Dined on 12/27/2013
"Arrived on time 630pm, waited 10 minutes for waiter to come to table. he took drink order; we also ordered food with salad as appetizer. Salad came no drinks. We voiced our displeasure, waiter says bar was backed up. Started salad and knife has stuck debris on it. It did not seem that busy. Been to Kingfish many times over the years; we always had great service. This was a major surprise and annoyance."
Dined on 1/4/2014
"Our server just did not do what we asked...my guest asked please with her chicken she would not like any potatoes just vegetables with her dish...but at the same time she is making this request he is looking at another table talking to a bus boy...when her dish arrived it was piled high with mashed potatoes and very little vegetables and did he stop by to see how our meal was....like the food but will think long and hard if I would come back..."
Dined on 1/1/2014
"We had a late dinner at Kingfish for New Years Eve. I was afraid it would be too loud fromt he reviews I had read but we had a nice private table tucked in a corner. Our waitor was very attentive and could not have been friendlier. Service was GREAT. We shared an appetizer of Spicey Shrimp which was delishes. We also had an order of the oysters which comes with three sauces . . . all three were great. I had the steamed clams for my main dish. They were fine, a little salty - I have had better at other locations. My husband had the short ribs which were very good - they came in a large bowl whch really was the best presentation. If I were to go back I would probably stick with the appetizers."
Dined on 12/31/2013
"We have been to Kingfish over 20 times. The food has gone down the last 2 visits. First on my birthday ( the food has warm/over cook, forgot to bring our appetizer and change us on the bill) decided to give it a try maybe you had a off day...And again the chicken was was warm, dry and over cook again you over charge us . Lots of restaurants in San Mateo not sure why but because of your distraction with the food and services, time to eat else where for our special occasions."
Dined on 12/28/2013
"Walking distance to the San Mateo movie theater, we enjoy dinner before or after a movie. This time was an afternoon matinee followed by a 6:15 reservation. I noted on the open table reservation that I was currently on crutches. We were seated promptly, at the closest table possible. Nice touch. Appetizers came quickly, drinks were refilled regularly and we all enjoyed what we ordered. Parking in downtown San Mateo can be difficult. We were able to walk from the movie and not worry about parking during prime time. I also noticed valet parking at a reasonable price."
Dined on 12/27/2013
"Though our service was a little slow, and the cozy and romantic upstairs bar was closed the night we came, the drinks and food were very good. Kingfish has mastered a menu mix that feels both traditional and innovative. The food and drinks are consistently very good was well. The skirt steak is superlative. This is perhaps our twelfth visit. We'll be back, especially if that upstairs bar is open."
Dined on 12/26/2013
"This is the 2nd time I've gone in 2 months. The first time was a very positive experience. The waiter was very attentive an let us taste test 3 different wines before we decided on 2 different glasses of wine. The food was very good. This time, we went on Sat Dec 21. They ran out of halibut and the waiter insisted that the substitution of sea bass was the same. The food was good (portions small). The waiter started clearing off the table before we were all finished, including the bread plates. I found this very annoying as one of us was still eating. We felt we were rushed. It seemed like the waiter did not want to be there. The restaurant is very loud."
Dined on 12/21/2013
"Every time I come here I am blown away with the quality of food and service!"
Dined on 12/21/2013
"After our two families got seated at a rectangular table (that was our request - the adults could talk to the adults, and the kids to the kids), we had a blast. The kids got Mardi Gras beads and an amazing menu (the adults were envious), but the grown-up menu had plenty of seafood and terran/vegan dishes to keep us all happy. I had the short ribs, Neil and his son had the prime rib… wonderful time. Service was great, too."
Dined on 12/14/2013
"I made the reservation for my friend's birthday dinner. I mentioned it on Open Table and our waitress was nice enough to give our birthday girl a complimentary ice cream/brownie and candle. The service was great. We were seated immediately; our waitress checked on us several times throughout the dinner to make sure everything was alright. I've been here before, but the food was really good that night. I got the special of the day: Seared Mahi Mahi over Mashed Potatoes with some Steamed Vegetables. King Fish is definitely my go-to place in San Mateo for a special occasion."
Dined on 12/14/2013
"our waiter was very friendly and was great at suggesting food that my girlfriend and i had not everything was delicious, energetic ambiance and it was nice after not being in your restaurant in a long time"
Dined on 12/11/2013
"Ate here the other night in Dec '13. Wife had the braised ribs which were excellent. I had the the halibut per the recommendation of the server which came in way overcooked. Appetizers were good -- coconut shrimp was pretty standard -- oysters were solid -- lobster appetizer was amazing. Overall, felt that the food was above average. Server was nice, but a bit busy. Would come back -- like the restaurant, but please don't overcook the fish."
Dined on 12/6/2013
"The "spicy" dishes like Etouffee and Jambalaya have lost their spice and flavor. They were much better a few years ago."
Dined on 12/5/2013
"We had a 7:00 reservation. We were finally seated at 7:30 (after being refused a booth since there were only 2 of us, and even though there were no other parties still waiting to be seated). After we sat, we again were left for quite some time without anyone offering a drink, appetizer, anything. When the waitress finally came around we expressed our unhappiness and instead of offering to send the manager over or trying to remedy the situation, she just said she'd give us a few minutes. When she finally came back we told her we'd rather try out a different restaurant. We up and left, walked across the street to Vault where we had a much better experience. Having been fans of Kingfish the last few years, we decided we will not be returning."
Dined on 12/7/2013
"Kingfish was just ehhh. The waiter got our dinner order wrong, my rib eye was tough and the side wasn't what I ordered. The waiter kept pushing drinks. At one point bringing me a cocktail I don't order and screwing up two orders for another person i was with. The appetizers were good and rest of the food was good but I could have had as good if not a better experience at the Fish Market; at least they offer views and better pricing. Surprised this is rated so high. If your looking for something unique or special, kingfish is not the restaurant for you."
Dined on 12/4/2013
"Right by the Downtown movie theater, Kingfish has delicious seafood, oysters particularly, with Cajun accents and lively bar. Wait staff attentive, informative, and friendly. Food variety, portion size and presentation was superior"
Dined on 12/1/2013

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KINGFISH Details

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