Chez Shea

Who knew? We were in a titanic traffic jam on Presidents weekend… pulled off the road and discovered this gem. Line was out the door. Great hostess, super service, divine dessert and really great enchiladas! Good wine list, too! We will return!

Cute store front dinner in downtown but you have to look close to find it. A short walk from anywhere downtown. Wait staff was friendly and quick; we were there for an early dinner so it wasn’t crowded. Wife got chicken enchiladas which were pretty tasty with a little spice to the verde sauce. Enchiladas weren’t rolled, just folded over like a taco, different. I got fish and chips… mistake. Not good. Tasted weird from the frying oil, I assume. We were looking for Mexican but the menu was predominantly South American or Mayan; had some taco appetizers but most entrees were more exotic sounding. Overall it was OK but I’d stay away from the fried foods.

Excellent food! Not just good but something will be missed!
Lamb so tender and soft. Lasagna cooked at perfect temperature. The best was the unique lavender crème brûlée. Never had before.

I came here for dinner based on tip, that it was organic, healthy good food. Considering the 5-​star reviews it must be hit and miss, because everything we tried was pretty bad, with the exception of the beet salad which was good.
The calamari rings were HUGE and thin — did they pound them to get them so thin? In any case they were cold and flavorless — so hard and flavorless that you would not know it was calamari.
Having lived in Madrid for a few years I was excited to try the gambas al ajillo. Not at all authentic, it was shrimp with a red tomato salsa. Spanish-​style should have been very simple, marinated in garlic, olive oil, salt, maybe a chili pepper in the oil or some cayenne on top. That’s it. Not horrible, but not al all Spanish, and not as described on menu.
The «Fresh grilled» Salmon was disgusting. Why destroy a poor animal that gave its live with a heavy sweet, teriyaki type sauce, not a citrus sauce, again not as described on menu. Not even sure it was fresh, it was really disappointing.
I wanted paella, they were out. They were out of something else too, can’t remember what it was now, maybe those choices would’ve been better, but in any case, I came really close to being a 1-​star but the waiter was courteous so I bumped it up to 2.
Also, I would not recommend this place for dinner, unless you are a local and don’t care about ambiance. It has none, it’s basically cheap diner décor, a step above McDonald’s. Fine for lunch, but not if you want a nice dinner atmosphere.

Carrot cake? Delicious. Why’d I start with that? Because sometimes I eat dessert first. As in mama can’t not have a bite, while she waits for her entrée.
If you hit up one food spot in the Moon, allow it to be Chez.
The chilaquiles verdes? Pretty damn close to the ones my mama taught me to take. I said it. Big words.
The owner, so sweet. Reminds me of my family.
Such a treat. Delight. Yeah, I said delight.

We walked by this place last saturday and looked at the menu thinking sure looks nice. We ordered the taco salad and the corn chowder. The chowder was fine decent flavor and over all just ok. Then the salad arrived looking nicely assembled in a crispy flour tostado shell. I love avacodo and first took a bite of it finding it to be sooo under ripe, hard and completely non edable. My wife asked for some salsa and we were told they don’t have any but have some «warmed» up salsa which I went ahead and got. I couldn’t believe they actually served this «salsa». It was more like warm tomato sauce. Well we finished half of our salads and left thinking never again would we come here. Maybe it was an off day but we were not impressed. Then to make matters worse my wife and I both got very sick around 8 pm that night. So do the math…

VERY MEDIOCRE FOOD. I had the enchiladas (they were bland) my fiancé had the California burger and we both felt it tasted just ok. And we were both very hungry.
The place has almost no décor. And the prices are not great for this lesser quality of food — the above plus one beer and one iced tea was $ 42
Go across the street to San Benito and at least get some atmosphere

I don’t understand how this place is rated so highly. I really don’t get it. They have Mexican food, but no salsa, guacamole, or limes?! Whaaaaa?! The «salsa» they did give us was either warmed up chicken caccitori broth or soup. However, when I asked to have it removed from my bill, they quickly obliged. As our main meals, I had a house salad (yum) and my partner had a taco salad, which he said was ok. Another kicker, the lady taking my order yelled at me to slow down because she needed to write it down. When I saw she was done writing it down, I continued, only to be told she’s not done and made more notes. I’m sorry, but if you’re a waitress, you should be able to do short hand notes and not interrupt or be rude to your customers when you’re not good at your job!
Side note, patio is pretty.

My family and I were seated in the porch area (out back) around 5pm. Fast and friendly service with a cute little porch area perfect for a sunny day.
What we ordered:
Fresh Corn Chowder: Love the creaminess. Small was great for the 3 of us.
Bobotie: A twist on a South African classic, ground beef seasoned with apples, bananas, golden raisins, spices, curry, tomatoes, onions and garlic, served atop coconut rice. $ 15.95
** I loved it! The sweetness from the fruits really worked well with the beef and coconut rice. Colorful flavors– party in my mouth with every bite :)
Chile Relleno del Sur: Good rice, beans and chips!
Risotto di funghi: Good overall!
Friendly staff. Great food. Everything was the way it should have been.
Would come here again!

Warm Turkey with Havarti one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. My wife had the Waghu (sp?) California Burger, which she loved and our Granddaughter had the Fish and chip.
Absolute must for us when in Half Moon Bay.
It doesn’t get much better than this.

It started drizzling with rain a bit when we were roaming around Half Moon Bay, so we decided to stop here for a bite (late lunch).
To sum this place up, the food is decent! but I don’t think I’d try it again if I’m back in the area just bc i’d want to try other places. So if you’re really hungry and just need a filler, this place is for you.
We got the following:
— Chilequiles with egg, green salsa — this was pretty good! the tortillas soaked up the salsa and there was the right amount of lime/​cilantro taste in each bite.
— Corn Chowder, bowl — many reviews kept raving about the corn chowder. It tasted like any other corn chowder I’ve had. Unless you’re specifically craving for corn chowder, it’s not a must try.
— Beet Salad with chicken — BF had this dish and said it tasted «too plain, less dressing than expected, but would eat again». A super healthy dish.

Highly recommend! I have been coming to Chez Shea for years and even though I live in Berkeley, I come to Half Moon Bay just for their food! Delicious, seasonally organic fair from around the world.
Favorites:
— East West Fish Taco (on flatbread with a delicious sauce)
— Vegetable & goat cheese wrap
— Minestra soup. It’s so good that I always order a bowl to go to bring home with me (even after eating a bowl while I’m there.)
Enjoy!

We were originally concerned about the fact that this place makes food from so many regions. That’s usually a recipe for being a «…master of none» syndrome. However, this place was fabulous & so was the service from the waitress. We arrive last Monday, the typical restaurant slow day & we sat on the back patio on an absolutely gorgeous, warm, clear evening where we had the place to ourselves.
Food:
We had a cup of the Black Bean Soup — Vegetarian soup topped with salsa fresca and crema fresca, suuuuper tasty, there’s also a Vegan option; Penne Arrabiata (choice of chicken, tiger prawns or Vegetarian/​Vegan options as well) — Penne pasta, tomato sauce, fresh garlic, pesto, olive oil, Parsley, onion, sweet red peppers, olives, fresh oregano, red wine and dash of chile flake, topped with Parmesan cheese, could have used a little less zing and more kick, but very good w/​al dente pasta; Risotto di funghi w/​Tiger Prawns (Vegetarian/​Vegan options as well) — Carnoli rice slow-​simmered with white wine, seasonal wild mushrooms, fresh thyme onion, fresh garlic and parmesan cheese, very tasty; and truly Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, right amount of sweet & sour served over ought ice.
Other Important Details:
Good portion sizes; located in the heart of the downtown area; no room for desert after our meal, so I am unable to comment on the quality; small dining room; very clean; fresh produce visible in the hallway leading to the back patio; well behaved dogs welcome on back patio — enter through back; and lots of menu options w/​the ability to customize your meal.

It can feel a bit cramped in there, but the food is rock solid. We enjoyed fish tacos [see pic; served with some unusually tasty black beans & rice (note to Mexican/​Mexicali restaurants – it’s okay to season the rice & beans – really – it is!)], a Caesar salad, and a cup of minestrone soup.
One minor improvement I’d suggest to management for the fish tacos – double up the tortillas. The tacos fall apart a bit too easily with all the tasty but wet ingredients. A second layer of tortilla would help with that.

Despite being born and raised in the Bay Area, this was probably my second time in Half Moon Bay, so I had no idea what to expect here other than some beaches and tide pools. After doing a bit of research, we decided to stop by Chez Shea.
It’s not every day you get to dine at a place that boasts an eclectic selection of cuisine. Just from a glance of the brunch menu alone, I saw Thai, Mexican, Indian, and Italian influences, just to name a few.
We opted for the ceviche tostada ($ 11.95) and tamales ($ 13.95).
Ceviche was very refreshing, with the fresh white fish and shrimp tasting spectacular among the diced onions, cilantro, and tomatoes. Tostadas were toasted well. My only gripe about this dish is that they put too much lime in it, to the point where it was all I could taste. If there was an option to have lime on the side so I could add as much as I wanted, that would be nice.
Tamales were on point! Pork mole was excellent, and the chicken chile verde was moist and not too stringy. But the winner of this dish had to be the rice and the slight kick it brought with each bite.
I’m glad this place left a great impression of Half Moon Bay, and I hope to be back for dinner fare.

I think everyone would agree that the varied cuisines that you find here are pretty unusual. It certainly caught my eye.
I tried the Yakhnat al-​Kudar which was very enjoyable. My wife had the Enchiladas Verdes and was happy with her choice. We finished it off with the Brownie Sundae. Everything was really good, and our server was great.
I want to come back and try the Minestra, Moussakaa Lubnani and Vegetable Curry. I will be back.
Oh, and extra points for the puns (restaurant name and «Tapa the World»).

Came here for lunch with my sis. I’ve been here probably at least 20 times over the years. It changed hands a few years back, but kept the same interesting and adventurous menu that was originally designed by Jose Luis Ugaldo, who has just now, sadly, left his flagship, Café Gibraltar. They’ve paired down the extensive lunch menu, I don’t know when. Unfortunately the sandwich I’d enticed my sis with is one of the casualties, no longer offered was the exquisite egg salad sandwich with bacon.
She got the portabella mushroom, caramelized onion and goat cheese sandwich. I got the tuna sandwich, which almost totally lacked the promised lemon aioli, which would have meant a creamier, better seasoned product. The fresh homemade potato chips, which I try always try to resist, were more resistible than usual. They seemed to have been fried at too low a temp, and absorbed more oil, and the oil needed to have been changed. It had a definite oxidized flavor.
I think/​hope it was just off day. I love this spot, and I will definitely give them another shot. My rating reflects my visits over the years, not this one.

I came here with a small group after paddleboarding in Half Moon Bay. The setup is a little strange (you order at the counter and find your own seats, pretty much) and of you have any more than 4 people you can’t sit at the outdoor patio area. Service was adequate though not spectacular — the food came out in a timely fashion but it would have been nice to get water refills and such.
The fresh squeezed orange juice was delicious and wonderful. I also thoroughly enjoyed my order of fajitas.
I would definitely recommend this place again.

I had the chile rellano with rice and beans. The chile rellano had a slightly crunchy chile case and inside was nice and cheesy. The black beans were good but, unfortunately, the rice was cold when it came out. My friend ordered the waffle and eggs. Her waffles were bland and also came out cold, but she liked the eggs and sausage. My husband liked his California omelet. His fresh fruit had cantaloupe, kiwi and a strawberry.
The inside of the restaurant smelled weird and musky so we chose to sit outside on the patio, but everyone else that was there had their dogs with them and when the dogs shook, their fur flew all over the place and I was worried some of it would get on my food. The patio smelled like manure. Overall, the ambiance was unpleasant and the food could be better prepared and served.

We stopped in here on a rainy night, cold and miserable and looking for some warm food. I am SO glad this place was open, because I have found a new favorite restaurant! We were the only customers due to the rain, but I could tell from the menu (and all the positive Unilocal reviews!) that this place is probably crazy busy normally. The service was prompt and friendly, and the waitress recommended main courses for us as we really had no idea what anything was. We ordered a black bean soup to start, and it was served 5 minutes later, piping hot and really delicious. As soon as we had finished our waitress swept the plates away, let us breathe for a minute, then brought our main courses out. I’ve never had such great service — it really made the dining experience feel very special. Our dinners were massive, and we had to get them to go at the end!
I definitely recommend checking this place out next time you’re in Half Moon Bay. They don’t take reservations, so maybe give them a call about a half an hour before you head out to make sure they will have space for you.