Humboldt Bay Bistro - (Near Eureka, CA)

5 /5 Megan Pattison: The oysters, crab cakes, French onion soup and creme brulee were all amazing, as was the service. So down to earth but professional and made us feel at home.

4 /5 Julia Lambert: Pretty good food and fine service! We were lucky this spot was open on thanksgiving and they fit us in when I think they might have mostly been taking reservations that day. We appreciated getting a spot, and the service was great. It was a little slow but we can’t really complain because they might have been short staffed on thanksgiving. Unfortunately didn’t get a photo of the food, but we got oysters, halibut and risotto, and the seafood pasta with a curry sauce. The seafood pasta was okay, not bad but not amazing. Oysters were just okay. The halibut was great! This was our favorite. We also loved the cocktail (I think it was called love potion) and the crème brûlée dessert. Loved that the cocktail had fresh raspberry puree. Overall, I think prices and quality were pretty fair. Maybe just a tad overpriced but we were still satisfied. I’d go back!

3 /5 J Summer Westman: Charming old house fixed up as a restaurant. Unfortunately, the charm is only with regard to the decor. All surfaces are hard (floor, tables, chairs, benches, etc.), which leads to a high noise level. In many places this is deliberate, so as to create "energy" but all it creates is the necessity of yelling at servers and others at the table - despite the room not being full. I cant imagine the noise level if the room were were in had been full. Servers/preparers dont communicate: we ordered the table-side Caesar salad for three (delicious!), but no one told the person making the salad that it was for three; she had to go back for the correct plates. The lovely person making our salad tried to tell us about each ingredient, but she was difficult to hear over the room noise. I finished my salad and placed my knife and fork together on the side of the salad plate. The server asked if I wanted to keep my fork! No, that is why the utensils were placed where they were. Duck was delicious, but my husbands filet mignon - which he ordered rare - was medium. The server did not check back; we had to call out to a different server to send the meal back. The steak that was returned did not look like a filet mignon - it was not as thick as is usual. His replacement meal arrived after everyone else at the table had finished eating. No apology. No comped glass of wine. Just plate plopped on the table. My husband ordered two glasses of wine, one for each of us. The server brought one, and when we asked about the other glass, said, "Oh, I must have missed that order." Perhaps because of the noise level? The meals of the three family members with us were nice, but nothing memorable. My daughters filet was underdone, but she was hungry and let it go. At the end of our meal, we were informed that 3 of the 5 desserts on the menu were unavailable. We went elsewhere for ice cream (which was available, but we were finished with the place by then). At a price tag of over $300 for a party of five (exclusive of gratuity), I expected better food and service.

3 /5 Sohui Yang: Seafood pasta was overcooked, not fresh tasting. Oysters not shucked well (lots of broken shell in oysters) and sauces were bland. Crabcake was ok. Underwhelming food overall.

5 /5 Evelyn Tupua: Food was delicious. We started with the escargot and parmesan frites, tasty and delicious. The french onion soup and clam chowder were flavorful and filling. For our main course we had, filet mignon, ribeye, snapper w/ bisque and pasta w/ seafood. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we especially our awesome server Vanessa. She made us feel like we were friends and made a few recommendations from the menu, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We also ended our meals with dessert, crème brulee, pistachio cake, and the fried ice cream. They were all delicious, but the pistachio cake was the favorite followed by crème brûlée. We will be back! Thank you!