Reel Inn
18661 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu
310-456-8221
A long time Malibu restaurant, Reel Inn, has slipped a lot in my opinion. I went to the Reel Inn about 10-12 years ago when they had a location on the 3rd St Promende in Santa Monica. I thought at the time the food was good and the prices fair.
So we go to the Malibu location and I'm not happy. I got the crab cakes, $9.95, as an appetizer and the ahi tuna, $15.95, for my entree.
The crab cakes came and if there were any crab, I needed a microscope to find it. This was all filler, bread crumbs, celery etc. There was hardly any crab in there and it certainly wasn't worth the price. What's worse was that the crab cakes were served luke warm!!!
Now before I go on, I loved the flavor, texture, and taste of the ahi tuna. It was great. But the way they price their entrees is just stupid. You get two sides with the entrees, fries, rice and homestyle potatoes are included with the price. Mashed potatoes or steamed veggies are $2 extra, for EACH. So if you wanted both add $4 to your already pricey fish. Then you pick either cole slaw or salad. If you pick salad, add another $1. Then they ask you how you want your fish cooked. Charbroiled is free. Cajun spiced is another $1 and saute is $1 extra.
So if you ordered the ahi tuna, $15.95, sauted, ($1) with salad ($1) and steamed veggies ($2) and rice that would be $19.95.
I just picked double rice and cole slaw for my sides and had them charbroiled it medium rare. The ahi tuna they use is top quality. It didn't smell like fish and was so tender and flavorful, I thought I was eating a filet mignon. One of the best ahi tuna I've had.
BUT even though the tuna came off the grill, it was that hot and the rice was just cold. Don't these people believe in keeping things warm?
Service is ok. The lady was nice enough but I paid with a credit card and when I didn't leave a tip, her smile went away and you could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. I had planned to tip her with cash, and I still did but not as much as I was going to. I was going to leave $5 on a $40 bill but after she copped her attitude, I just put in $2. Maybe next time she will learn to be nice until after the transaction is over.
I would not go back to Reel Inn again. What a wasted trip. Cold crab cakes that didn't have much crab, cold rice, cold ahi tuna. Why did we even bother?
