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Just a lovely place to enjoy the evening. Watched a great sunset and the moon rise.
The restaurant and dinner were great - the only downfall was the host when we arrived - not friendly
and left us waiting when there were a lot of empty tables without explaining.
We had requested a patio seat on our reservation and when we arrived we did receive our request without having to ask again, this was great. When we got out to the patio, it was too cold for my mom and we were immediately reseated without questions, also great. It took too long for our server to arrive but when he did he was very gracious and friendly. The food was great, my mom loved the trout and I has the Seabass, which was the daily special. If I had known it was $48 I probably would not have ordered it, was surprised by the high price, it was a small portion albier delicious.
This restaurant never disappoints. My husband and I took our out of town guests here on a Friday night. Our favorite bartender, Matt, was on staff and so was our favorite waiter, Gino. These two guys are the epitome of service. Our table was right by the window overlooking the lake. We had calamari and brussel sprouts appetizers. I always have the scallops and they were mouth watering as usual. The rest of the table had the special which was a sea bass and the salmon. All thoroughly enjoyed their meals. We were treated to a fabulous laser light show on the lake. It was incredible and I'd never seen the show before. Can't wait to go back and see it again and partake in more of what this restaurant has to offer. Brunch perhaps?
Great food and drinks. Good for family and friends gatherings.
Had lunch downstairs with some friends. I ordered a chicken ceasar salad which had a hair in it, The food was overpriced and very basic with little taste. The service was terrible. The restrooms were so filthy that we could not even use them. Would never return here.
My wife and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary and had a fantastic dining experience!
What a beautiful restaurant in a terrific setting. Great ambiance, delicious food and great service.
Exquisite dinner! Every single bite was delicious!! Great service!! Seriously, couldn't ask for a more wonderful evening with outstanding food!!!!
We went for Restaurant Week and the menu was fabulous one of the best we’ve had in a long time. The short rib was tender and the boar pasta was delicious. The light/water show at 8:30 and 9:30 is an extra bonus.
Love the atmosphere of this restaurant. The seasonal menu is always great as is the fun light show on the lake!
Beautiful restaurant with great lake view. Terrible service and average food.
Made a reservation for San Diego Restaurant week. The restaurant was about 1/3 full and we had a nice table with a view of Lake San Marcos. Very pleasant ambiance. Unfortunately it went downhill from there.
Upon seating, I was handed a sticky menu which I returned to the hostess. When the waitress came, 3 of our party of 4 said we were there for the restaurant week menu and when we asked if they had a wine pairing menu or suggestions, she was surprised and said she would have to ask. After ordering we barely saw our waitress. Food was delivered by the bus staff who were not well versed in service. When our salads came out, I asked for black pepper. The bus boy brought a grinder back, put some on my salad and walked away without offering any to the other 3 diners. We had to flag down the manager to get more pepper.
We had been seated at the table for an hour with no entrees. Waitress was nowhere in sight and again the restaurant was not busy. Flagged down the manager and asked for our food. It came out momentarily. Food was good, nothing spectacular though.
Finally, dessert was served. Crème brulee was one of the two choices from the restaurant week tasting menu. It came in a plastic cup. Seriously. Like a large to go salsa cup. We all just started laughing. It was amazing how they could torch the top of the dessert without melting the plastic.
Overall it was just a very odd experience. Servers need a lot more training, especially since the restaurant is presenting itself as a fine dining experience. Food was fine, nothing special, but presentation was severely lacking.
We decided to go last minute. A table was available and we were seated with a nice view of the lake. The staff was a bit busy because of restaurant week, but did a good job. I really liked my food, but my wife was not impressed with any course of her three course meal.
For many years we enjoyed this venue when it was "Quails Inn". So it has been many years. The restaurant has been totally renovated, and has a very nice feel to it. The view of the lake is that makes this place popular. And, they have plenty of glass to take full advantage of the spectacular view.
We came to try it during "Restaurant Week". It was good, nothing to write home about, but good. We decided if it weren't for the nice view, we wouldn't bother going back. Here's why:
Service was slow. Our waiter was very hospitable, but horribly inefficient. He made separate trips for everything.
They have no bus staff. The waiters do everything, including clearing the table. This makes for long waits.
The food was good, but it's production, nothing spectacular. We both had Creme brulee for desert. It was served in the plastic container that it came to them from their supplier. (tacky..)
Our biggest criticism is that it's pretty loud. Not because of loud people, but because there is no acoustic control. The dining room has a large high open ceiling, and the floor is all wood tile. It's hard to have a table conversation because of that.
I suppose we would enjoy sitting outside, for they have some tables on the deck overlooking the lake.
We went to this restaurant during restaurant week for dinner. We decided to order from the main menu which is not so creative unfortunately and a couple of us ordered very expensive steaks that were over done and quite frankly for the money it was not worth it so we will not order the steaks anymore. The artichoke appetizer was delicious though. The view is very nice and we would go back for appetizers and cocktails ...
Food was pricey but excellent. Service by waiter was very mediocre and the helpers bring food to table were worse.
Very noisy with high ceilings.
I had a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir, which was flat as if it had been sitting in an opened bottle much too long.
Will not recommend or return to this restaurant.
Very little for the money! The beet salad had 1 quarter sized beet cut up unto 4 pieces, the salmon was a 2"x2" square, the dessert was also small and nondescript. And there were hundreds of nats over our heads outside.
The service was superb. Gino was the best server we’ve had, possibly ever (no exaggeration!). The food was excellent. Options for the kids, plus generous portions to share. The Caesar salad is fantastic with crispy capers. The sea bass special with risotto was delicious, and son and husband loved the wild boar bolognese. Kids were free to roam and play a bag toss game in the foyer between courses. Very pricy but for a special occasion it was worth it.
The table where we were seated adjacent to outdoor patio was positioned too close to the doorway .....
Bill D.
The ambiance and service were great, but the chicken on both the Asian salad and Caesar salad was dry. The peanut dressing on the Asian salad tastes as if it was peanut butter thinned out. The fish of the fish and chips smelled fishy and tasted fishy meaning it was not fresh.
The service was poor. Half our order was forgotten and server who got the food was arrogant. Seemed like it was our mistake that food was not correctly noted down. Great great great ambiance. Go for the view and the vibe of this place. Food is mediocre.
I had requested a table by the window when I booked through OpenTable. Decoy did not accommodate this request, which was disappointing. It is a lovely restaurant and the ambiance is beautiful.
I would probably not come back for brunch do to the noise factor. The food was excellent and the amount of choices you provide were very good. The service was very slow which since it is self serve should not have been the case. I will make sure my reservations are for outside next time we come.
Nice there is increased seating in the waiting area.
Reservations are a must for brunch. Service was ok and food choices typical brunch . There was no salt or pepper in the table. Tables and some flooring was scratched or cracked...maintenance needed.
Large parties should be kept separate from tables of 2-4. Super noisy! But the view fabulous!
Beautiful terrace seating over the lake with the serene little village and boats. Romantic and exquisite sensation coupled with a Californian well prepared cuisine. Will be back there soon.
A diamond in the rough. This is the best kept secret in North County. Beautiful and modern with outstanding service and a high end tasty menu.
They have a great chef and it shows.
The views from the deck and the laser light show on the lake how does it get better.
Amazing cocktail menu.
Definitely one of my favs in SD.
My friend and I sat outside on the upper deck for a sunset meal and it was beautiful! The water show paired with the delicious food and excellent service made for a wonderful meal. I’m interested in visiting Decoy Dockside again.
The restaurant is not a good value at all because the food is tasteless and has poor quality. We ordered the sashimi and it was obvious the fish was not fresh at all ($18). The octopus appetizer was dried. The waitress was rude. The tables were not even clean. This restaurant is very expensive, at this price point the venue, service and food do not meet the price point. I will not recommend this restaurant at all.
The food was poorly seasoned but the wine and dessert were very good.
A beautiful restaurant with great food but the noise level is unbearable and ruined our birthday lunch. Service was just okay.
Service was horrendous! They had a ton of servers on the floor and none of them were paying attention. Our server had to be chased down for water waited 45 minutes for bread. A special night that was ruined with cold food and bad attitudes.
Really good food, great service before it got crowded and spectacular view of the lake. Great surprise at night ro see the water laser show!
What a great place. The venue has great decor. Situated right on the lake with a nice view (nothing really like it in North County). Food and drinks were delicious. Will return in the future.
I’ve already recommended this place to three people. AMAZING
Fantastic experience. Food almost 5 star. Service excellent. Thank you Ryan! Dessert best Ive had in awhile. Will be our go to with guests. And the atmosphere absolutely fabulous. Entertainment great.
The openess and ambianace was great, but my friend and I did not receive very good service. Waiter went on a break shortly after taking our order and we had to keep tagging down different people to get items. It felt like we were not there when it came to service.
Decoy has a gorgeous ambiance with wide open doors to outdoor space over the lake. The food was excellent and the staff very friendly!
Super disappointed.
Was expecting a great experience, but this was not.
6pm dinner reservation on a Sunday. Restaurnat was almost empty and the temperature inside was at least 85 degrees. Both waiter and manager explained that system was inefficient and that if morning staff didn't set it to "auto" it would not cool adequately by afternoon. I understand what they were saying, but this wasn't a good excuse. They need to fix this problem for a restaurant supposedly of this caliber and price point.
We were eventually moved outside where it was cooler, but this set up is much more casual, not even providing a place mat!
Food was just okay and certainly not indicative of the price point.
Our waiter was excellent and very attentive.
Great place! Delicious food! Yes, would definitely recommend Decoy!
Fantastic Food, Gorgeous View, Amazing Coctail and Impeccable Service!
