The Mastro’s Ocean Club

In my recent visit to the Mastro’s Ocean Club, I had a less than memorable experience. I mean don’t get me wrong, the place had a phenomenal atmosphere and the ambiance was very nice, but as far as an eighteenth birthday dinner is concerned, it was just average. What really seemed to get to me throughout the night were the lighting and the way the tables were arranged, as well as the menu, or lack-there-of.

I had a few extra family members and my girlfriend with me that night, for a total of eight people, and for some reason the way they had the table setup, I could hardly talk to anybody other than those immediately next to me. I really wanted to catch up with my family because they don’t live near me, as well as introduce them to my girlfriend. The way the table sat, I felt that I was so far away from everybody. The table I was seated at was very long and wide, which would have been great if I was sitting with people I didn’t enjoy very much, however I really wanted the opportunity to converse with those that I am closest to. The lighting was also an issue, because while it was a nice ambiance, it was impossible to read the menu without the light of my cell phone. Another issue that you might also see happening with this is the inability to see what everyone looks like. It would have been nice to see the bright and shining faces of everyone that I was with rather than their dim, dull shadows.

What really bothered me the most was the menu, and the lack of options that in contained. I was expecting a restaurant of this caliber to have a large variety of different meats and fish, such as Cartwright’s Steakhouse, which has an assortment of different meat varieties. However, the menu at Mastro’s Ocean Club was extremely simple. They had four different kinds of steaks, and none of them were very far from one another, the whole option was basically how many ounces you wanted your steak to be. The other thing that blew my mind was how small the fish selection was for having the “Ocean Club” in the name of the restaurant. I wanted to walk in and grab a menu and be astonished by the variety of fish. I was hoping to find something exotic that I cannot find anywhere else, but instead you could have found all the items on the menu at your local Safeway. Somebody needs to let this restaurant know that their ability to add some sort of lobster to all of their dishes does not make them a well renowned seafood and steak restaurant.

Another thing that was really strange was the bathroom attendant in the bathroom. I personally have never had that experience before, so it was pretty awkward. I don’t understand how that could even be a job that a restaurant would need. This man was selling gum, breath mints, and candy in the bathroom, as well as staring at me the whole time. It was a little uncomfortable knowing that anther man was watching me while I went to the bathroom. Even better yet was the fact that he expected me to tip him for his service of turning on the faucet, squirting soap into my hand, and then handing me a towel. Why would I ever feel the need to have all of those services done for me? It is a necessary part of life, and if you cannot handle those things on your own then there is something that you may want to get checked out because that certainly is out of the norm.

My final point that I would like to make is how small the parking spots were in the regular lot, but how much bigger they were in the valet lot. I drive a large truck and chose to park it myself, rather than having the valet do it for me. While doing this, I was concerned about all of the other cars parked next to me because of how tightly I was packed in there. I then proceeded to look around the lot as I was walking into the restaurant, and sure enough, the spots where the valet service parked the cars had way more room. I guess this is just another one of those things that the restaurant wants you to pay for on top of the already outrageously expensive meal.

All in all, the service was good, but on top of everything else that was going wrong, it wouldn’t have made a whole lot of a difference to me at that point. The menu would have been so much better with a variety, and the overall atmosphere and table arrangements could have been more thought out. In the end, I would have to rate my experience at the Mastro’s Ocean Club a solid B-, nothing more, nothing less.