Bali Hai

We love their dock for us that arrive on boat. Nothing like a cold Mai tai and some appetizers after a day sailing and cruising the San Diego bay. Traditionally for years we arrive mid week and have no problem finding a table. The service is quick and friendly, and while I don’t have any pics to share of the appetizers we ordered and devoured, I can say all is delicious. Shishito peppers, beef screwed, calamari, sticky ribs n more….all delish. And while the view is a byproduct and not on the Bali Hai menu, it’s indeed one of the highlights of our visit.

Water front view of Downtown San Diego from Shelter Island. Seating available inside and/or outside. Check out the small garden. I ordered the crispy lobster tacos 👍 and the spinach cream cheese lumpia. The lumpia came with a tangy-sweet sauce. The tacos were delicious, a mixture of Hawaiian and Mexican ingredients, and served with a salad (other side options available).

Two words: The View. Every review will bloviate about how great the view is and it’s probably the best in SD. But if you wanna do it right, just go for drinks and apps. We had a family event here with about a dozen people and they do serve large parties quite well. Service was excellent and we had a table right up on the window and got to see the moon rise over the city. Pretty epic for a birthday. But overall, the food is pretty mediocre without much flavor. It’s good and the pricing is right but it can def be better. They serve a ton of people and they have a great event space for weddings and parties but it’s pretty bland. The drinks are all the tiki essentials you need and the apps were almost better than the entrees. If you read this far, you’re welcome. Just go for the drinks.

Went for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon. There were only two other tables in the restaurant, so we had the whole place to ourselves. Thy sat us right on the window with great views of the San Diego bay and the city. Our server, Diego was awesome, very friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. He was attentive and didn’t rush us. We started with the Ali’i tasting appetizer. It was all good but our favorite was the spinach and cream cheese lumpia. We thought this an odd combination on the menu and were half tempted to order it just to try it, turns out it was our favorite part of the appetizer. We ordered the Korean chicken sandwich and the steak sandwich. The steak to bun ratio was a little underwhelming but overall the sandwich was good. The chicken sandwich was also tasty. We ended up getting four different cocktails and liked every one of them. For dessert we went with the King cake, a take on Elvis. This might’ve been our favorite part of the meal. It was a flourless banana cake with a peanut butter frosting. It was accompanied with candied bacon and chocolate chunks. The coffee is a must to wash it down. Overall a great experience, ask for Diego.

Holy Smokes!!! You guys…go to Happy Hour!!! It’s from 3-5. Parking is free. Views are spectacular!! We had the Poke, Lumpia, and Beef Skewers. All delicious. Also had the Mai Tais…crazy strong, no juice added. Service was fast and friendly. Added bonus was the live music. After we finished our food, we were able to take our 2nd mai tai outside by the water and watch the ships/boats go by. What a find!!!! We WILL be back!!!

Couple of friends and I went for dinner on a Friday night in September. We had a reservation and were seated quickly. We had the world famous Mai Tai and at first, it felt very strong but as we ate more, it really wasn't as strong or potent as advertised. We shared the coconut shrimp. My friends had the salmon and I had the pork belly. The serving sizes on the entrees are small. The garlic noodles side dish was pretty filling though. We shared the triple chocolate dessert and it was delicious. Service was very friendly and our waitress gave good recommendations. Total including tips and taxes came to about 170 for 3 people. The night time views were pretty good from the restaurant. We unfortunately didn't have a table right by the glass.

Really loved the location and employees /servers! One in particular was really nice cutting the meat - treated me like a human. While present photographing a military retirement reception I was greeted kindly, was provided a set of silverware and plate by staff since my client didn't have a place for me. I felt like a human! it was nice!