Shades Oceanfront Bistro

San Diego, United States

3.7

20 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 619-222-0501
Website:
www.shadesob.com
Address:
5083 Santa Monica Ave, San Diego, CA, 92107
b/t Bacon St & Abbott St
Point Loma, Ocean Beach
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Today

Today –
Local time (San Diego) 23:33 Monday, 23 June 2025

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Tuesday –
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Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Fabulous Breakfast Specialties — Calamari Benedict, Carnitas Quesadilla

Lunch Time Specialties– Fish and Chips, Hearty Salads, Premium Sandwiches

Dinner Specialties– Steaks, Seafood, Big Portions at great Prices

Happy Hour Everyday!

Catering with free delivery on minimum orders

History

Established in 2003.

Shades was built around the concept of offering really good food at reasonable prices for locals! We’re working people with kids, and we just wanted a place where we could get a good meal after a long day without the fuss of making a reservation or having to get all dressed up. We wanted a restaurant where you didn’t have to stress about bringing the kids, but you could still get a cocktail and a steak if you were so inclined. Shades is what we came up with, and it seems as if it’s something that others were looking for too. Fully 70% of our customers are ‘regulars’. We know them, and they know us. This is a family owned and operated business, and we’re deeply involved in this wonderful community. There isn’t anyplace else on earth we’d want to go to work everyday.

Meet the Manager

Kylie S.

Manager

Kylie started here as a busser when we first opened the restaurant. She is a graduate of UCSD, and is working her little fingers to the bone learning the art of restaurant management from the owners of the business, Dave, Jennifer, Jeff and Michelle, who she also calls, Papa, Nana, Step-​dad Jeff, and Mom.

Kylie says it’s both a challenge and a joy working with so much family. We all have to work hard to let the work stuff stay at work and the family stuff stay in family mode, but we must say… Kylie is proving to be one of the finest employees we’ve ever had the opportunity to work with (oh, and we love her to bits too).

Shades Oceanfront Bistro also recommends

Elsbree House Bed & Breakfast At the Ocean

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Hotels

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B&Bs

Kylie S. says,

«Family owned and operated, this business deserves support!»

Nearby

Browse nearby places:
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Ocean Beach Municipal Pier
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Ocean Beach Boardwalk
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Wonderland Ocean
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Tower Two Cafe
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Wonderland Ocean Pub
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Nick’s At The Pier
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20 reviews of Shades Oceanfront Bistro

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Apple Valley, CA
A nice place to eat and bring your doggie friend. The food is good and they have a menu and treats for your dog. Nice view of the ocean too.
Place rating: 2
Westside, Las Vegas, NV
The food was good. Came because we wanted clam chowder. It didn’t disappoint. There was no one in the restaurant which was great as we were tired and just wanted some food. One major problem — the bartender. She spent the whole time we were there talking to a boyfriend of one of the servers. He was sitting at the bar while his girlfriend worked. The bartender was going on and on and on about personal issues and dropping the F bomb and the S bomb and every other curse word she could come up with. Made for a negative experience. The management should be aware of what is happening in the evening when the place is not busy. Too bad because I really wanted to give a good review. (The bartender was a blonde girl)
Place rating: 4
Plano, TX
Food was delicious. I had the goat cheese omelet and they did not skimp on the goat cheese, yum! Pancakes were good size and very dense. The views from this spot are amazing!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Typical laid back Ocean Beach restaurant. I like coming here for breakfast when the wife and I feel like a little ocean scenery.
I usually get the Big Breakfast because I am a big boy. 3 eggs, 3 fat juicy link sausages, and home fries along with a stack of pancakes the size of a birthday cake. The wait staff ask me every time I visit if I’ve seen the pancakes before and I have to tell them I have. They are huge, fluffy, and delicious. My wife does help me out a little with them but I still can’t finish the plate.
Along with the delicious food, the waitstaff is very warm and friendly and never let you see the bottom of your glass when it comes to your beverage of choice.
Please note that the establishment is not responsible for your food coma if you try to consume your entire meal.
Place rating: 3
Escondido, CA
Dog friendly! That is always a plus in my books. Their Fido menu has a pic of a pit bull on it also, which is also a double plus! I ordered a BALT sandwich and it was overflowing with bacon and avocado. The French baguette made it seem like the sandwich was a banh mi. Also had a bowl of clam chowder, delish! Not sure how I feel about their ketchup, a bit too sweet. The bf had a cliff house burger and he annihilated it. He requested it to be medium rare but it came out overcooked, yet he was surprised how juicy it was still.
I would come back here again, but def on a warmer day. It was pretty cold and windy today, second round of El Niño? But the waves were breaking incredibly high and kept hitting the bottom of the pier.
Place rating: 5
Temecula, CA
The staff was very puppy loving and overall dog friendly. They have brunch, lunch, and breakfast for you and your dog. Definitely recommend to those who want to sit down and enjoy a meal with their pup!
Place rating: 3
Mountain View, CA
Nice front and back patio. Inside is a bit old fashioned and could use a refresh to perhaps a more beach-​like feel versus a 70’s local diner. The food however, was quite good. Very simple and basic. Just got some a la carte eggs, a side of avacado, and some toast. Add some of their homeade salsas and you’re good to go.
It did take a while to get our simple order, (30 min) but with two mimosas + breakfast we happily exited for under $ 30.
Place rating: 4
Bellingham, WA
The lime couscous salad was vegan and tasty – this dish accompanied with the happy hour order of the green bean frizzles was the perfect size portion to go with my $ 3off my strong Bloody Mary. Woohoo to happy hour! Highlights: our server Melody was kind and kept a good eye on us, free peanut-​buttercup cookie upon check-​in and they have a menu for dogs, for goodness sake!
Place rating: 4
Las Vegas, NV
Yummy breakfast scramble with sundried tomatoes, artichokes, asparagus n cream cheese. I wrapped it in a flour tortilla and topped it with their über-​fresh home made salsa, washed it with a mimosa and proceeded to bliss.
Veggie lovers, this a a great spot for you and your carnivore/​omnivore pals. My Rob is loving his jumbo biscuits with sausage gravy — while I’m still holding out for the day I can have Soysage biscuits n gravy.
The only misfire are the breakfast potatoes, the rosemary is too dominate and no amount of mason-​jarred ketchup can make them edible.
Place rating: 5
Kenneth City, FL
What a great place! Vacationing for our honeymoon, my husband and I walked the Mike from where we were staying to have breakfast! Great views! Great Food! Awesome and Friendly service!!! Big portions– I don’t have a huge appetite so the mini option was perfect for me!
Place rating: 4
South Pasadena, CA
The people food was not that memorable. I did think it was great that most of their entrees were offered in a «mini» size to help with portion control!
The Fido Menu is what caught our attention! We brought our dog, Alfie, along on this trip and found this cute dog friendly restaurant. The Fido Menu was filled with things like plain beef, chicken and pup-​cycles. We ate here twice (once for dinner and the next morning’s breakfast). We ordered Alfie the chicken and she gobbled it down. The following morning we ordered her a beef pup-​cicle. She ate this one pretty quick as well, but it did not sit right with her tummy and within a few hours she could not handle it.
Place rating: 3
Phoenix, AZ
I ate here about three weeks ago, and while the food was good. My server was actually kind of rude and short with me. However, she knew the people sitting behind me and had no problem chatting up a storm with them joking around. As I tried to lighten her mood with me, she didn’t take well to my joke saying that I’ll have the roast beef panini and he (obviously meaning my dog) will have the roast beef as well. She just kinda stared and then walked away silently.
It is a dog friendly patio, so I sat outside with my well behaved Golden and enjoyed a great view of the ocean. The food was quick and good and my pup also enjoyed his meal as they have a pet menu as well.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
We come to eat breakfast here at least twice a month. The food is awesome. They give the option to have full or half portions of a lot of the killer dishes. The full portion is giant, so we usually opt for the half.
Last time we were there we had a couple of omelet and Irish oatmeal. The coffee was refilled regularly and service was smiley. So we are super glad we keep coming here.
Place rating: 1
Baldwin Park, CA
Paid almost $ 13 for a tiny 8 oz jar of ceviche. The fish and chips were small and flavorless. Way too overpriced, never coming back just based on the price. Service was good.
Place rating: 3
Los Angeles, CA
Pretty meh experience. the best part about this place is the location. But that’s about it.
–There is no AC inside the building
–i was surrounded by 6 flies inside (they were all up against the window my table was next to)
–they only have homemade ketchup which was super watery
–the coffee and food was very mediocre
i will not be returning.
Place rating: 4
Phoenix, AZ
During our 3 day stay in OB, we dined for dinner here twice.
Location is a 5 star, view of the beach, very pretty at Sunset.
The shrimp kabobs were nothing special, they were more or less grilled shrimp with bbq sauce.
Crab cakes were good, had them both nights. Mom had the Halibut, get the smaller portion, regular size was huge!
Garlic mashed potatoes are pretty good and they are not stingy in size.
Dog friendly patio, even with a doggie menu. Descriptions are kinda deceiving, I was expecting a nice slow cooked piece of roast for the pup, it was slice lunch meat and a huge portion fit for a 100 pound Boxer not a 13 pound Shih Tzu.
Suggestion: Change the language on menu and offer different size portions.
Place rating: 4
El Cajon, CA
Huge fan, I ran into this fun and beautiful restaurant a year ago, but sadly had bad experience. We finally made it back just today. Wow, honestly it was as friendly, fun, and super clean as any other cafè on the beach. That being said, we destroyed our plates. We ordered the Breakfast eggs, omelet, and pancakes. Along with two amazing and tasty bloodymarys.
Our breakfast were served 10mins after it was placed to order. Our drinks were ordered the first minute we dine’d-in… I was charged extra for the side olives but its totally understanding as many would do the same and it would reflect to their inventory. My eggs were cooked perfectly and tasted amazing.
We had fun sitting outside, while enjoying the amazing sound, smell, and warm beach in front of us. I strongly recommend the outside high stool seating. Its also amazing with an awesome view of the beach and waves.
Thank you for the great and friendly services.
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
My girlfriends & I came here yesterday for brunch. Our food came out quickly & our server was very attentive to see if we needed any extra items or refills on our drinks.
I ordered the Eggs Benedict & substituted the Canadian bacon for regular, extra crispy bacon & a side of fruit (cantaloupe). Unfortunately, the bacon was soggy & had a lot of fat on them. I love hollandaise sauce but my Eggs Benedict were drenched in it which made the egg muffin soggy as well. The food could have been prepared better & my girlfriends felt the same way about their orders too.
This restaurant is situated facing Ocean Beach & there is seating available inside or outside on their patio. They do not have their own parking lot but there is street parking available for 2 hours or for no time limit if you can find parking in the residential area. In addition, you can bring your dog & even order him/​her a meal from their Dog Menu.
** Check in on Unilocal to get a free cookie (bigger than the my hand!)
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
I came to Shades to enjoy brunch on a Friday off with some coworkers. We showed up around 11am and were pleased to learn we could order off both the breakfast and lunch menu.
I started out with the bacon Bloody Mary, which was all doctored up with olives, peppercini, celery and a nice crispy piece of bacon. I prefer my bloody a little spicier, but it did have a great flavor.
For my entrée, I ordered the smoked salmon Benedict in the mini portion. I was glad to see they had the mini option available for a number of their breakfast dishes, cause I can never eat the whole thing. The mini option came with one Benedict and a side of home fries.
The Benedict was piled with smoked salmon, poached egg, hollandaise, and capers. It comes with onion, but I ordered it without. It was quite tasty, and the potatoes were cooked perfectly. I also got a giant chocolate chip cookie, free with Unilocal check in, that was soft and filled with loads of gooey chocolate chips. I had a chance to try a bite of my friend’s veggie panini with onion rings that were also delicious. I’d definitely like to come back and check out more of the menu.
Place rating: 5
Tucson, AZ
I absolutely LOVE Shades! Perfect location with a beautiful ocean view that’s great for people watching and also dog-​friendly. I’ve come here more than a few times, and the service is always spot-​on and super friendly — you even get a free cookie with a Unilocal Check in!
During one of my visits, I enjoyed the Wisdom Veggie Panini, as a wrap instead of a Panini. This came with Portobello mushrooms, roasted bell peppers, red onions, sundried tomato, and pesto cream, and was super yummy. Another time, I tried out the Man Pleasing Meatloaf, as the mini size, and it was very flavorful and filling. If you come here for breakfast or brunch, be sure to order the Corned Beef Hash and Eggs — this was my absolute favorite dish! The hash was divine!
I’m definitely coming back here on my next visit to OB!