sandy's hb

our first experience with  sandy's of hb  was during the to live and dine chef challenge in august 2013 where they offered up a sample of a variation of their layered seafood cocktail (lobster, shrimp, orange chili sauce, and avocado) in a cucumber cup with shiso leaf. a gorgeous little morsel, it gave us an insight into what to expect when we came out by invitation to try thefoodat sandy's. it was the perfect weather for a late morning/early afternoon visit, and the restaurant's location on the beach was superb. if you know where the huntington beach pier is, you'll easily find sandy's. it rests just below the pier (take the stairs to the left of it) so you have an eye-level view of the surf and sand. the outdoor dining area where we sat was protected by the comfort of a wrapping windguard so we were also able to people watch without breeze blowing sand in our eyes. our server that morning was kimmy who happened to be familiar with these type of visits - her own grandmother used to

good service. we stopped by early friday afternoon. our server was upbeat and happy and was thrilled to help us even though we were only splitting an appetizer and having a drink. we had an off menu appetizer yummy lamb chops. they were great had just a hint of spice and were very moist. my drink was ok i had the watermelon martini and felt that it needed to be more melony but aside from that the service was great the view was awesome and thefoodwas fantastic.

thefoodis good. like it's been mentioned in other reviews, the menu is way more interesting and flavorful than duke's upstairs. the location is awesome, and the patio is the perfect place for happy hour apps and cocktails. do not miss the mango martinis, they are delicious.

steak brought to the table cold. my friend and i each ordered the same thing, steak cooked medium rare w/fries. the waitress came along about 30 seconds before the kitchen brought us thefoodand said "they'll be right out, they're sizzling up right now." my friend's steak arrived barely warm and mine was actually cold as if it had been chilled, with both of our fries being barely warm. it wasn't busy and we were just 20 feet from the kitchen. there was some excuse about the serving table being near the door and a cold wind blowing in.

greatfoodand service.foodwas very good. friendly service. nice location. very impressed with the manager on shift when we were there (amy, i think was her name), she was very friendly and helpful.