The Vue

We had such a terrible experience for what was supposed to be a special Fathers Day treat for two families, I will try and list it all here. We had a reservation for 7 at 10am for brunch, and were brought to two tables pushed together. The two fathers sat where the tables met, wanting to be in the middle of the conversation, of course! The tables didn’t meet flat, and the table on the left was unsteady, when we asked the waiter to help he told us that was the was it was when you push two tables together! My son fixed the wobble by shoving his napkin under the corner of one of the tables feet. It sort of helped with the movement of the one table, but not at all with the tables not meting each other correctly. We had to ask other servers for coffees, waters and refills. Our waiters service was mediocre at best. When we decided on the brunch there was nothing left because they were switching brunches at 11. We ordered from the menu and when the food was brought to us it was cold. A chocolate fondu started being set up near us, each plate was dried then clanked onto the table. That went on for at least 20 minutes. The overall sound of the restaurant was loud, similar to a cafeteria, and the dish setup made it almost impossible for conversation. We found our own coffee pot for the table, and pitchers of water. We couldn’t find our server when we wanted to leave, it was a miserable two hours.

The food was very fresh, taste good, service is also very good!

Definitely a hidden gem nestled in the hills of the Dana Point Marriott.
Beautiful morning breakfast with the harbor scenery is breathtaking view
Excellent services and the food was delicious – definitely the highlight!
All you can eat buffet: start of with Starbucks coffee & tea.
Eggs Benedict, potatoes, bacon, sausage, cheese blintzes, yogurt,
granola, cereal, plenty of fruits, beverages, et all. Simona was a great!
The buffet at both lunch & dinner. Plenty of entrees, great clam chowder,
and plenty of desserts to pick from.
The view from the restaurant is also unique — Enjoyed!!!

My husband and I had Easter brunch here today. We were very surprised that besides the omelet station and small salad bar and smaller desert table, all they had to offer was Prime Rib and ham. I don’t eat red meat, but I was sure they would have offered chicken or fish as a main course as well. No such luck. The only vegetable they had was asparagus along with some potatoes. I’ve never experienced such a stark buffet. Especially after going to St Regis, The Ritz Carlton and Scarpetta. The only thing good about this brunch was the location. We’ll never return.

My husband and I had the breakfast buffet here. The food was delicious and service was grand. Not to mention the outside patio and view adds that much more to the experience. Highly recommend it.

Went here for lunch during a work trip. The food and service was great. The view from the terrace is amazing! If I were to go again though, I would sit inside because the food gets cold right away on the terrace. I had the short-​rib sliders, they were juicy can tender but had a slightly more beefy taste than I would have liked, but overall it was good and fresh.

Very nice Sunday brunch for $ 25. Great service and very nice view if you sit outside …

The only reason this restaurant gets more than one star is because of the view. It’s gorgeous. Other than that, dining at this place was a terrible decision.
The hostess was rude and our waiter came by once during our 80 minute dinner to refill water and once to tell us the chicken I ordered takes a long time (45 minutes) to cook. Unfortunately he waited until we’d been sitting there for 40 minutes to let us know. My tomato soup was so oily the top was orange and nearly bubbly not to mention like warm at best.
My chicken was a wing and drum stick– no white meat– for $ 30. I waited an hour for dark meat to get soaked in oily tomato sauce and some flavorless potatoes. My husbands steak was chewy and my daughter got the buffet and she said her corn was too buttery.
3 unhappy people with a bill for $ 100. Not worth a penny. What a waste of a nice place.

Hotel Restaurant in the Marriott Cliff. Views are awesome, over looking the Ocean. Now for the food. For us, it was hit or miss. We had the cheese platter for an appetizer. Very good. Our main entrees were horrible. Wife had salad that was saturated in dressing. I had the Sea bass that was swimming in oil. I showed it to the server who took it away and I never heard anything else about it. I watched him show the plate to the F&B manager who said nothing. Dessert was soon good. I had the Tempura carrot cake. The avocado ice cream was paired with it. It complemented it well. The ice cream by it self, kinda bland. Our server did not know the menu very well.

Had the buffet tonight. Great ambience, great drinks. Service was good. The buffet with gourmet macaroni and cheese was a hit for my daughter and husband. Who will complain about the chocolate fondue. It was pricey but not over the top like the Laguna restaurants. Will definitely come back again.

The food was amazing — the Chilean Seabass melted in my mouth and the filet mignon perfection. However, the service was incredibly slow and the waiters inattentive. We had to ask 3 times for a refill on our drinks. I expect much better service if I am spending $ 100 on a meal for two.

This is a nice, but not too pretentious, place for dinner. It ain’t cheap; it’s definitely for a special occasion. It’s a little bit of a pain that it’s in the Marriott. You have to valet ($ 5 charge with validation).
The restaurant itself is nice. True to its name, the view is nice. The service was excellent – definitely the highlight. I thought the food was just OK. Then again, the menu is very meat centric (and that’s probably their specialty) and I’m vegetarian. I started with a pretty standard salad (along with devouring their bread basked), and then got the Peruvian risotto. The portion was kind of small. Half the plate was strips of zucchini with a kind of weird sauce that I didn’t like. My husband got the short ribs appetizer (which he raved about) and the coffee-​crusted rib eye for his entrée. Carnivore much? He said the rib eye was just alright. For dessert, we got the warm chocolate cake. It’s plenty big enough to share.
They have outdoor seating, which is probably really nice in good weather. It was raining when we went.
They aren’t open for dinner during the week, FYI. Weird.
If you have kids, you can bring them, especially if you go a little early (like 6-​ish). This isn’t THAT fancy of a place and they have a kids’ menu.

Been here a couple of times both lunch and dinner and we always prefer to have our seats outside because the view is breathtaking! Just a little bit chilly during the night tho. Their servers are also very nice, the one from Romania was really entertaining and hey I liked her little accent ;) And I recommend their penne pasta! It’s seriously the best I’ve tasted.

Only been here for breakfast, but great atmosphere and staff. Food is good, and they’ll make you something off menu if you have eating restrictions or just feel like something on the lighter side.

Decent service. Nice location. Pretty good menu for fish or steak.
The cooks are hit or miss. My steak I ordered «rare» came out charred through the center. I mentioned this to the waiter, he said «I can pay for your glass of wine if you like.»
Um, no. That’s tacky to make a waiter say that. Get the manager or chef out to explain.

Very convenient Starbucks in the morning with fruits, baked goods, tea and of course coffee uostairs. Prices didn’t seem much more than Starbucks already excessive prices, so that’s a plus. Bill to your room and off you go.
The downstairs dining room was awesome. Had Kobe Short Rib appetizer and twin Lobster tail entrée. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
And then we hit the main restaurant for breakfast the next morning. $ 26 all you can eat buffet. Eggs Benedict, potatoes, bacon, sausage, cheese blintzes, yogurt, granola, cereal, beverages, et all. Simona was a great server abd made sure we never needed anything. Great breakfast.
The second night we had the dinner buffet. Baked salmon, roast beef in wine sauce, gourmet mac’n’cheese made to order and same great wait staff.

I do not believe that I have more than a handful one star reviews in the 3 years of Unilocaling but after our Sat 18Jan experience at The Vue (JW Marriott Resort in Dana Point) this needs to come to light for other consumers. We frequent all the local restaurants from Maestros, Rumaris, The Chart House, Mozambique, Montage– Studio and The Loft, Lumberyard, etc. I have also been to many JWs including HI, LA, Palm Springs, etc– this was by far the worst experience.
We had reservation for 7pm– party of 2. The place has ONLY one other table occupied– I was shocked. But figured that is OK that much better service right? NOT so much. The waiter was so out of it I was wondering if he was smoking something before his shift– had no idea about any of the wines and when we ordered the Justin Isosceles he had no clue even after I repeated that couple of time– said he would have to see what the number was– I felt like in China Town where no one speaks English and you have to point to numbers. 15 minutes later he comes back only to tell us they are out. So we order another bottle– still waiting finally ask another person fro some bread– which was old. After 35 minutes sitting there we still have no wine– again reminding you there are only two occupied tables in the entire restaurant. The waiter keeps coming back asking if we are ready to order dinner. I politely told him we would like our wine first. Then it takes him forever to open the bottle– I mean how did he get this job in a resort like this?
We oder muscles for an appetizer while we are deciding on entrees and 25 minutes later still nothing– after we ask where it is he says it is coming right now– only to bring them and they were cold– so sent the plate back. The main courses were mediocre at best the Chilean SeaBass was nowhere as good as we had it everywhere else matter of fact burned on the outside– the best part was the prawns over pasta dish. Not once did the waiter come back to refill our wine glasses so we catered to ourselves.
We had to keep asking for extra plates and silverware — just a disaster after two hours and $ 200 it was by far the worst meal on the seacoast.
I am not certain where do they hire the help or how can JW restaurant be empty on Saturday night but after our experience I am actually not surprised.

The VUE restaurant for dinner was ok! Service staff was good and very helpful in accommodating guest requests. The food was just ok and not worthy the price. Some entrée were cold. The view during dinner time was not very impressive!
There is a lounge upstairs called OVERVUE; not to be mistaken with the VUE restaurant. The lounge has a better view and is more cosy. Different menu than VUE, more casual. Went back to VUE for breakfast and set outside in the patio, the view is way better if you sit outside and during daytime. Breakfast was very good and a lot of options. I would give it 3 stars for the dinner experience but gave 4 instead because of the breakfast experience.

My parents were up to visit and we decided to grab a bite to eat here. We decided to split some mussels on rhe appetizer menu which were tender and juicy with an amazingly creamy broth. I then ordered the seared ahi tuna and this was fantastic. Lightly seared and oh so tender and flavorful. The ahi was set atop some fried pickled cabbage and enoki mushrooms. I washed everything down with a refreshing blue moon on tap. The waiter was very attentive and took great care of us. I would return to the Vue restaurant in the future. Definitely a hidden gem nestled in the hills of the Dana Point Marriott.

Buffet that is great. I have eaten here for breakfast and dinner and was happy with both. They offer the buffet at both times and I am sure you will find something to like. Plenty of entrees, great clam chowder, and plenty of desserts to pick from.
The view from the restaurant is also unique and I would say it is a great view both during breakfast and during dinner. Enjoy.