The Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar

We’ve only been to the bar/​casual side not the restaurant side but both have amazing view of the ocean, pier and beach!
Ok food but a little pricey for what you get. I like the shrimp tacos the best and the New England Clam Chowder is really good. They can offer a combo of New England and Manhattan upon request– creamy and savory.
The place gets really crowded especially when the weather is nice. Best to take advantage of their Happy Hour and the sunset.

San Clemente is such an adorable coastal town to visit, and one of the MUSTS is to visit the pier. If you’re ever out there, I strongly urge you to stop by The Fisherman’s Restaurant and snag a seat on the edge of the patio overlooking the ocean — just breath taking.
This is easily one of my favorite weekend getaway spots. We take the train from Union Station and stop here for the day. The seafood here is pretty good — no amazing — but pretty good. The fish and chips is good, clam chowder is hearty, ahi poke is tasty, and bucket of clams are fresh. None of it tastes fresh out of the ocean, but it doesn’t taste frozen either.
The balcony patio seats are just lovely and lively. Every seat gets taken and it’s so much fun to kick back a couple drinks of 10 while watching the waves crash on surfers. The last time I was here, we stayed for 3 hours getting wasted at 10am. The service is friendly and fast, and they constantly check on you whenever your drink is almost empty. That’s what I like!
If you ever find yourself in San Clemente, definitely make a pit stop here.

The best Clam Chowder in town! You can’t beat the location and the view! When I leave it feels like I have been on vacation… a treat right here in town.

So this is a review for the oyster bar during happy hours, which is a separate section from the main restaurant. Basically, this is a place to take a date out and pay for the view. Average tasting food at best, but deducted another star since the dungeness crab at almost $ 30 is so bland. Our waitress told us these dungeness crabs came from Baja, so the flavor might be different from our areas, like in my case, the Bay Area. The «after sunset» drinks during HH can use some extra punch to it.

You can’t beat the view but the food is just ok. Staff was friendly, quick service we were in and out. As food goes it just was not my favorite.

If you enjoy acid tomato sauce over fettuccine topped with chicken breast then this place is for you. I guess I cook too much at home to care about most culinary failures. What I ordered gave me heartburn before I left the table. Next time I will try a different sauce.
NOTE: This place has lots of shrimp dishes (I am alergic) and meat dishes (I don’t eat 4-​legged animals). So what I should have done was stood up and left… or read the menu before I showed up but, I failed myself on this day.

Great service, outstanding food, and a sweet bar. I had the crab fisherman’s feast and let me tell you that is a date night dinner for the male. Hopefully she gets full early and you can crush all the crab cause it was amazing. Bring your family, your date, or just the boys. This place is great

Great place! We went to the bar side and it was jam packed, we just waited a few minutes and snagged a seat, great view, Deserey was right with us,(our server).she kept the drinks coming and the appetizers as well. The calamari is excellent, coconut shrimp was great! oysters on the half shell-​a very pleasant experience! Price was very reasonable! We will be back, it felt like we were regulars here! oh-don’t forget the cheesecake!

Ambiance 5 on 5
Food 2 on 5
Service 2 on 5
Super packed especially at sunset. A must visit.
First come first serve seating.
Bring a sweater in the winter.
The burger was passable.
The chicken wings were whateves.
The white Russian was good.
But it is all about the view.
Too bad for the food.

Great place to catch the sunset and happy hour. It is such a beautiful sight! Happy hour is awesome, great prices on drinks and food. service is always attentive and so nice! You can then enjoy a walk on the pier or beach trail. Just an all around great spot.

On a walk from Califia Beach to the San Clemente Pier Sunday morning… Decided to stop before heading back and have some breakfast.
It was around 8:30am on Sunday, I believe. There were quite a few open tables out on the patio and we were lucky enough to get one right in the corner on the water next to the pier. The waves were crashing pretty hard and it was so relaxing and beautiful!
Our waitress was really friendly, and brought us some muffins while we waited for our food. They were SO good! They were so fresh and had so much flavor.
I ordered the Seafood Benedict. I still dont know that I can put into words how good this dish was. It literally was COVERED in seafood and it melted in my mouth. My mouth is watering talking about it. It had so much flavor and you could tell everything was SO fresh. The eggs were even cooked perfectly.
I could literally go on for days about this meal.
The sun was shining right in my face, and I didnt even care… thats how amazing my food tasted. For all of the walks I have taken to and from this pier, I cant believe I havent eaten here before. I am going to have to again, that is certain.
If I won the lottery, I would probably spend one day down here a week at this place, on the patio, eating, having a bloody mary and listening to the ocean. There were some surfers in the water, and paddle boarders who were also riding the waves, which I had never seen before.
Everything about breakfast here yesterday was perfect. I didnt want to leave!

I had the seared ahi sandwich. Really good! The view was beautiful & the heat lamps were toasty! You have to visit this place if you are ever in San Clemente!

Sunny, salubrious, serviceable and SoCal Cool.
Driving on PCH you wont automatically find this beautiful spot.
You have to drive down Del Mar street.
The view before you even get to the pier is spectacular. Classic sandy beach surrounded by palm trees and of course a parking lot.
We had lunch on the pier as we were on the way north to San Pedro. Lunch was just ok, but made acceptable by the fantastic weather, scenic view and attractive ladies of all ages.
Its very definitely worth a stop.

Great food! The view is incredible. We ordered the calamari steak and the clam chowder. Both were awesome! Highly recommend

Passing through San Diego County on a business trip with my gal. Chose to stay in San Clemente and the hotel manager suggested this place. Very impressed. First went to the oyster bar for a snack and then onto the restaurant.
We sat outside at around 7pm. Beautiful night. The tide was coming in. It was a bit cool but they had heaters.
Started out with the clam chowder and the Puget Sound chowder, with some hot bread and a couple of beers.
Next we split the wedge salad. I asked for the split in advance. I was hoping the split would have taken place in the kitchen but we were given a knife and a small plate. A lot of the garnishment of the salad would up all over the table. Might be a good policy change.
We then ordered the fish and chips (cod) and the halibut and chips. Raised in Seattle, the fry was to perfection.
We will go back. Loved the place!

I haven’t had food this bad since… I can’t remember. Thank goodness they have a great view (only reason I gave them 1 star). I had the clam chowder, horrible, which I don’t know how it could be at a seafood restaurant. Then I ordered chicken strips and fries. No love, no love at all put in any of the food. The staff was friendly though.

The seafood is good, price is reasonable. I had the clam chowder and surprisingly better than what I expected. The seats outside allow you to feel the wave, wind and the birds, and it is very refreshing. Service is good too.
I had lunch there and I bet it will be even better during the sunset with your loved ones, family or first date!
Enjoy.

If you’re looking for good sea food and dinner with a view, you should definitely try this out! If it’s chilly (50-​some degrees when I went), they have indoor dining with large windows so you can still have a decent view. They have a large seating area outside, with heat lamps and waves crashing under you. If you can catch the sunset, even better. Prices were high, but it is seafood after all. The clam chowder wasn’t the best I’ve had, but the mahi mahi was very good. Afterwords, you can take a walk down the pier, which I’d say is a good quarter to half mile out into the ocean! There’s also meter parking nearby if you need a place to park!

The great view of the ocean available from the outdoor dining area is what bumps this restaurant up to 4 stars. Fisherman’s Restaurant is the only dining establishment on the Pier. I actually ate here twice in one day (San Clemente’s City Beach has slim pickings for dining options)! I ate on the bar side for lunch during Happy Hour, which is offered Mon.-Fri. 4PM-​7PM, and again to cure some late night munchies just before closing at 9:30PM.
Visit #1
HAPPY HOUR PRICING: Bud Light Draft was $ 3.50. This was the only beer option.
VEGGIE BURGER ($ 9.95): An extra $ 0.75 for cheese. They use a Boca Burger but the chipotle mayo and spring mix really made this usually lackluster patty pop. One of the better Boca Burgers I’ve had. The burger comes with fries.
POPCORN SHRIMP ($ 9.95): Husband enjoyed his 1LB. serving.
SIDE OF FRIES ($ 2.50): It’s $ 0.75 extra to make ‘em Cajun style, but it’s worth it!
Visit #2
Fisherman’s Restaurant is pretty much the only place still open around the Pier that’s serving food after 9PM.
MOZZARELLA STICKS ($ 9.95): Surprisingly good! Served at the perfect temperature and very cheesy. The bread crumb seasoning was on point. Came with 10 sticks.
PEANUT BUTTER PIE ($ 5.25): The best $ 5 I’ve ever spent on dessert. It’s not so much a pie as it as a heaping iceberg shaped hunk of ice cream loaded with hot fudge and whipped cream. I thought the gargantuan serving size was a mistake, but nope, waitress says it’s the standard serving size. Unfortunately I couldn’t take a picture of this Behemoth dessert because my camera was kaput.
SERVICE: Waiters were attentive and friendly. Bar side is seat yourself.
Worth a Return Visit?
I’d eat here again if I ever came back to San Clemente. You can’t beat that view!
Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE 2015: #56

Remember that one time we ate brunch and everyone was sick afterward? That was the Fisherman’s Restaurant. What about that time we had lunch and everyone was sick afterward — yes, Fisherman’s again.
FR is appealing being on the pier but bottom line is the health code practices are questionable. Food is pricey and not high quality. Staff is unhappy. Taste is bland.
THere is a lot nearby that you have to pay for to park. I recommend you walk the pier and then eat across the street at Pierside or somewhere on Del Mar.
It is funny here that you see the employees shooting birds with supersoakers and brave piegeons flying onto tables to steal food when you are outside.

This place is worth while. Enough-​good food and lovely views, you feel part of the sea. Service is friendly but not helpful. Price is high, but understandable given the location. I’ll give them three stars because it is one of this places where you see constant opportunity to improve.