Nomads Canteen

I have spent many afternoons at this place, and for a long time thought the food was really good. But the past few times I was disappointed. The time has been overlooked twice and the shrimp once. The manager that has been there a long time, dropped the f-​word 4 times right in front on me and my 9 year old son, while he was talking to his friend that had shown up. Our server was also pretty much MIA the whole time and we didn’t have any napkins. I just think that it’s not being ran seriously.

Great Poke and Appetizers
Slow but friendly service.
My friend and I came here for some delicious Poke. It was my first time here and she promised a good meal.
We sat down at the bar, it took about 20 minutes for a bartender to agkowlege us, and another 10 minutes for some water.
We ordered the Shrimp of the Barby, and the Beef Medallions to start. Very very good.
Tender and flavorful meat. No sauce necessary.
Deliciously sweet and spicy shrimp.
I ended up going with the Cuke Poke Bowl. It was so friggin flavorful! The citrus and chili on the cucumbers packed a punch, while the sweet tuna leveled everything out. I had no need for the wasabi sauce. but I did try a bite with it, and it was great.
I am craving another bowl. Will be back, hopefully we can be helped faster.

This is hands down the best place in San Clemente for an afternoon beer (a ton of them on tap), a bowl of chips w/​homemade salsa, and the famous poke bowl! The atmosphere is totally «beachy» with the owner’s massive surfboard collection lining the walls and ceiling, and all of the bartenders/​servers are extremely friendly (not to mention pretty!). Additionally, they have a really nice patio out front (sun umbrellas just in case) which definitely makes the food and drink taste better, and the bar itself is conveniently located just a block over from the center of downtown (30 second walk). Overall, highly recommended!

This place is amazing. Everything on the menu is as good as it gets. The staff is always really friendly, and the food is always beyond excellent. I especially love their ahi, you can basically get anything on the menu with ahi and I don’t think I’ve tried anything else. My boyfriend swears by this place, he tells everyone to go here. The service is a little slow sometimes, but never annoyingly so, and it’s mostly because they have a lot of people who come in. Highly recommend this place.

½ off Corona and Ahi poke bowls! Great place and check out the hotel below the canteen. It’s kind of a secret!
Awesome food, 32 beers on tap, great vibes!
Fair prices and good service!

The combo Poké is a can’t lose. We have always had great service and the San Clemente climate is amazing.

Great selection of beer. Friendly service and fun atmosphere. My favorite dish is the San Pedro chicken. So much flavor.

Good food, good beer, good people. Place is so mellow and totally recommend you stop by.

I think this place is amazing. They have an awesome beer selection And whoa. the poke is ridiculous good. My favorite hangout in San Clemente

Tasty poki bowl, but I probably won’t go back because it cost $ 15.00. Too bad, ‘cuz it’s a great place to eat outside, off the beaten path.

Love this place! I always call in my order and it’s ready in no time. There Jaco bowl is amazing! And there fish selection for it is always fresh!

Hi,
I ordered the Jaco Poke Bowl, after I read all the good reviews online. looked good, tasted good! But I left so hungry still.
Considering the price, $ 13.95, the portion was way too small, for a lunch after surfing in the morning…

A friend told me about this place a few weeks ago and I’m hooked. I ordered the San Pedro stewed chicken and have literally been back 8x in the last 2 weeks for that dish. It makes my day. So spicy, so bomb.

I LOVE the Jaco Poke Bowl. If I ever had a ‘last meal’ this would be it. It is to die for. The tuna is perfectly cut, the mango always fresh and the avocado the perfect complement. Yum yum yum yum yum!
We also like getting the chips and guac appetizer. Delicious!
The only downside is the service is pretty slow. But if you’re not in a rush and your taste buds are up for a knockout meal, this is the place to have dinner!

We tried this place because Nicks had an hour and a half wait and I am glad we did.
The waitress recommended the half Asian slaw poke and half mango poke. It rocked the sticky coconut rice and spicy sauce. Mix it with the sour asian slaw and you have a winner.
The Chicken Stew was super spicy but fell off the bone. This place deserves more than Nicks runoff it deserves its own clientele.
The service was spectacular– the staff friendly and helpful. Take a drive to San Clemente were the weather welcomes you and the food is worth the traffic stop.

I have been to Nomads on many occasions.
When I want super fresh and the tasiest poke I come to Nomads.
It is all so good I can’t recommend one item over the other at Nomads.
Since this lasting flavor of the poke I’d have to say. Order it. Order it Order it. And you will undoubtedly think of Nomads when you think of great poke. They serve the poke in nice big chunks.
Now since I know dining is much about taste on the pallet, there is absolutely that and then some.
The atmosphere is energetic and puts you in a surfing safari state of mind. A rainforest of such.
It is a fun experience, reminds me a lot of the old Chachachas in Long beach.
The staff is as fun as the atmosphere and as great as the food in their service. Fast and efficient. I will usually ask for kelly or Jazz.
Both will have you laughing and enjoying your meal.
Owners Jeff and Sean are spot on on this choice in great places to eat.
The drinks are great in the mix and the price.
Nomads has its own super super kewl hotel.
I have stayed in the hotel and it’s a blast.
Every room has Apple tv and the same type of theme runs throughout.
Sean thanks so much for making everything fun and enjoyable. I highly recommend the hotel.
As Sean or Jeff to give you a tour for your next visit to San Clemente.

DINERS BEWARE — I wish I could of loved my first experience here, but it definitely didn’t reach the level of service I expect a cantina in downtown San Clemente to have. I have experienced better service at fast food joints and don’t understand how a place that charges $ 12 and upwards for a bowl to remain open with the standards they have.
The food was okay. I would say for the Carne Asada bowl the steak was incredibly bland and there wasn’t much appeal in the meal both taste wise and visually. I have had much better food at Chipotle for half the price. I asked for chips on the side to try and save my meal by adding some flavor to it.
In over two hours we never received any service from our waitress without us trying to catch her in the rare moments she would step on the patio. It was then a battle with other tables (with similar unhappy customers) to get Maris to serve us, let alone get a water refill. In over two hours we never got our waters refreshed or asked if we needed anything. I saw the busboy take the garbage cans out to the street more during our dining experience than our waitress, Maris. It took an hour to receive our BILL.
I would sadly say as a San Clemente local I would NOT recommend Nomads to anyone visiting or asking for recommendations of a local place to dine at. Too bad, I really wanted to love this place. Try South of Nicks for a delicious meal with wonderful, attentive service.

Think Hawaiian, Mexican, Surfer, Island Mix and you’ve got Nomads.
We’d seen Nomad’s numerous times from a distance. Their large patio and open air entrance along with the building’s position, being inset along the alley, makes it seem louder than it really is. So I was really glad when we walked up and found a great menu and reasonable prices as well as a pretty good IPA selection. My first visit I was bummed that there were no browns on the list. But my last visit they had a couple nice stout browns. Maybe somebodies reading these reviews… Naaa. Tried the Milk Milk beer. YUM YUM.
THURSDAYS are FUN (Rating 5) So Thursdays from 7 – 9, if you order a domestic beer or house wine, the drinks are set on bar along with your cash payment due. The coin master flips a coin and if you call it correctly, your drinks cost a quarter each. Call it wrong, and you pay regular price.
AMBIANCE and LOCATION (Rating 3.75) Its definitely got the «Canteen» thing going. A huge outside patio, which I loved and an interior that’s decked out with surf boards on the ceiling (a ton of them), surf videos playing on multiple screens, a huge half moon bar that takes up the entire center of the inside (which is awesome for kicking it) and they’ve got over 30 beers on tap. The patio is not well lit after dark, which isn’t an issue except for reading the menus. The entrance is not easy to get up to as sidewalks, pavement etc have numerous variances, but it’s worth the effort! Being along the alley is not ideal of course, but it brings with it it’s own charm making it feel more like a «local’s» joint. (which it is).
SERVICE (Rating 4) Our server was very nice, and helpful with the menu. She brought out a couple of beer samples happily trying to find a darker brown that wasn’t quite as dark as Guinness. (Key word happily). She also walked us through the highlights of the menu and shared the customer feedback on entrees which was helpful. She was very busy, which left us on our own for a bit, but she got the job done well.
FOOD IN ORDER OF WHAT I LIKED BEST =====
BAJA BOWL (Rating 4.25) So my wife and I both got this. It was packed full of Wahoo, great rice and not bad for you to boot. With their «island» style salsa this was a perfect fit that I’ll be going back for again. I think next time I’ll order it with their coconut rice and see how that goes.
CARNE ASADA BOWL (Rating 4.0) (See my «Best Baja Bowl» List) The menu reports choice Angus from «Vegan» Cows… just think! This is just about as good as their Baja bowl. Just enough for a light meal although I wish there was a bit more meat. The flavor and quality of the meat was very good and I’ll be back for it again.

Good music, surf theme, close to the beach and great food. Bowls, salads, tuna, scallops, grilled veggies. This is one of our favorite restaurants when feeling like being really casual.

This place is a hidden gem in San Clemente. It fits well as a local favorite and a tourist great find! The food is very fresh and the wait staff is attentive and good looking! Definitely coming back!