11/02/09

The view at Shanghai Red's is amazing and the food is good.

by Valerie L

I've been to Shanghai Red's in Marina before and recently I came here with my family to celebrate my grandma and her twin sister's birthdays. I mostly focused on the crab legs as I usually do :-). They were pretty good but the coffee was a little bit too sweet for my taste.

• Pros: We spotted some seals in the water!

09/22/09

Great Buffet

by bennyhanna

What a spread. Quite a variety of foods even for a vegetarian. Of course I started with the chocolate mousse cake and champagne. I thoroughly enjoyed the view if the marina and we were surrounded by a younger, professional crowd. Only drawback was the experience was pricey

• Pros: Champagne Brunch
• Cons: Price

01/18/09

Best Sunday Brunch

by OpinionatedLA

Sunday brunch at Shanghai Red's is amazing! It is all you can eat buffet style and I can't think of a food that isn't represented. Unlike many buffets the food is the quality you would expect to be served in a fine restaurant. Champagne is included and the wait staff keeps it flowing! The restaurant is beautiful and has an especially nice view if you sit outside on the water.

It is nice to go for a stroll through "Fisherman's Village" after you leave the restaurant.

• Pros: Great Food, Good Value

08/24/08

Wedding Reception at Shanghai Red's was stellar - a truly outstanding experience

by jooonathan

We decided on Shanghai Red's for our July wedding reception, and it was one of the best decisions we've made. We booked the Banquet Room & part of the patio for 75 or so guests...and probably every single guest gushed, oooh'd and aaah'd to us about how wonderful and fun it was. My mother cried maybe three times just when she came to tour the place. The service was great, the food was superb, the professionalism of everyone there was impeccable. We're really grateful to these guys for doing such an incredible job on such an important day for us.

Two stories to make my point.

1) In all the craziness, my now-wife/bride realized she wasn't up for eating her chicken - it was great, but she was just too worked up and needed something lighter. So I headed outside to grab her some fruit from the appetizer table. Our host was there and asked how she could help. Probably three minutes later, she (Hengameh) was handing the my wife a plate with a hand-made arrangement of fruit for her.

2) I noticed late in the night that a few "crashers" had snuck in to dance. I mentioned it to Mitch, the bartender (who was awesome, by the way). Maybe a tenth of a second after I mentioned it to Mitch, he was already on the other side of the bar, in the room, and had somehow made the two girls just vanish completely out of sight, with practically no one noticing. It just really drove home to me that we were well-taken-care of and watched-out-for. I had no doubts that the folks at Shanghai were truly taking care of us, and were really looking out for us.

Anyway, from the planning & ambience to the food, drinks, setup, breakdown, logistics, planning, and everything else, Shanghai just blew us and our families/friends away. Hengameh, Mitch, the setup manager, the wait staff, and everyone involved were seriously exceptional, went above-and-beyond the call of duty, and helped make one of the most important days of our lives a truly stellar experience.

• Pros: Superb setting, ambiance, people, food, atmosphere - an amazing time

04/16/08

Nice Buffet, atmosphere

by dgc1987

My fiance and I went for the sunday brunch. We were seated promptly and the waiters were very attentive, making sure that our champagne was always flowing. The food was actually pretty good too, but it doesn't quite match the price tag. I guess you're also paying for the view. Nice place to go if you want to mix things up.

• Pros: The view, good service
• Cons: Price

04/04/08

Shanghai Red's was the PERFECT location for our wedding!

by happydj001

Last weekend we were married on the beautiful patio of Shanghai Red's Restaurant at sunset. We chose this location because it was right on the water, the food at SR's is delicious, and the sight of the sailboats going by is magical.

SR's is right off the 90 freeway, parking is simple, and free with a SR validation! There are several hotels within just a few miles, which was important because we had many out of town guests.

The entrance of the restaurant is wonderful, with waterfalls and bridges over the ponds that are filled with the largest koi fish I've ever seen! You could feel the romance before even entering the front doors.

The ceremony area was set up beautifully, with every perfect detail. It was a windy afternoon/evening, so SR's staff had several heat lamps distributed to keep our guests warm. The gazebo made a dreamy backdrop for our vows. Following the ceremony, our guests enjoyed beautifully displayed appetizers and they were either served their cocktails or they visited the patio bar. Our 80 guests were then lead into the Southbay room that overlooks the patio/marina, which was elegantly decorated, with a dancefloor in the middle. It looked FANTASTIC!

The catering manager is extremely professional, yet warm and accomodating. I had many detailed requests and she met them all, cheerfully and with a smile. The banquet manager is kind, attentive and works at lightening speed. I am very detail oriented and wanted nothing less than perfection, and they worked diligently to ensure that I was happy.

One of our guests is a wedding coordinator, and she said that she was VERY impressed by the staff and the location. She cannot wait to recommend SR's to her new clients.

We had SUCH a great time, and our guests REALLY HAD FUN!! The majority of folks danced at least a few times...some folks never left the dancefloor! It's too bad we can't have another wedding, because if we could, we would DEFINITELY do it at SR's again!

• Pros: Food, location, parking, staff, service, prices
• Cons: Not a good place for young children since it is near the water

11/06/07

NICE AFTER 4PM ON A WEEKDAY...

by mahogany5

Entering the restaurant you could see that the atmosphere was beyond nice. The Coi Pond along with the bridge leading up to the restaurant was a very nice touch and on that note, you knew it would be expensive. I thought it was well worth the $116 dollars for two people to dine at a restaurant that is considered upscale. The service for me and Roy (my dear friend) was above average. The view overlooking the ocean at sunset was impressively indescribable. The dinner and the drinks were delicious. For Roy and I everything was very pleasing. Again $116 well spent. I've only been there once but I haven't forgotten the first time and the only reason I haven't gone back is because I don't live in that city but when I decide to visit California, hopefully soon, I will be sure to make a stop at Shanghai Red's and hopefully my last experience will trickle down onto the second but I do remember that old saying, "It's never as good at the first time".

• Pros: THE ENTRANCE, FOOD AND VIEW.
• Cons: NON... AS OF YET.

08/02/07

Worst service!!

by mishfashion

Please don't go here! It's extremely expensive, for the worst food and service around!

I love dining out and do ofter, constantly trying new places. We went here on a recommendation of a friend of my husbands. Bad idea!

We sat down and it took roughly 10-15 min for even a hello. We ordered drinks, after we received, bread, our soup and salad and our appetizer we received our drinks. Roughly 30 min or more before we were even brought a drink! During this time, my husband got up to fill his own water glass twice!

Then, the salad, omg, the whole thing was brown, we asked them for another, same exact thing when they returned!

The calamari was really oily, not good at all!

We finally got our entree, i ordered it medium, it was extremely rare!

Afterwards, we wanted another drink, couldn't find our waiter, so ended up finally going to the bar ourselves and the bar was out of liquor!!! No Jack, no crown, no maker's mark, nothing!

We waited another 20 min to get our bill and left!

Horrible horrible service and the food was gross for $100 tab!

Ridiculous!!!

06/10/07

Good for a one time experience, but do we need to repeat it?

by colinsilveira

With such a name, wouldn't you think Asian...from some region...like Shanghai maybe?

While the name IS misleading, we were greatly impressed with the ambience, the setting (we have fabulous pictures of the koi fish coming to the surface to greet us ien masse), and the food (overall). However, we're the type of couple who believes in finishing everything on their plates and walking away from the table not feeling uncomfortable or wasting food. Well....these people want you to spend your money without consideration of enjoyment, romance or comfort level.

The quality of food was not bad for the price; the wine list was reasonably priced, but the service took a nose dive from extremely personable and attentive to non-existent when we ordered one appetizer and one entree to share. Never mind that it didn't HAVE to effect his tip....he simply became annoyed with us and only appeared to find out if we wanted desert and to deliver the check after our order was taken. And the desert was lovely.

Honestly, aside from being there with my husband, the best part of the experience was the koi fish and having our photograph taken by a very personable and drunk limo driver. Enjoy it for a one time experience, but think twice before returning.

03/17/07

Not for Hipsters

by jaymanuel

I'll go here when I retire to hang out with people my age. Food was cold. Service is pretty bad too.