When looking for the freshest seafood, McCormick & Schmick’s Restaurant is the place to dine. The restaurant serves a variety of seafood and shellfish that is brought
in daily from local seafood markets. Since 1972 the restaurants have been sourcing and preparing the freshest seafood for their guests. They now have an online Seafood market the gives you the opportunity to bring the fresh seafood, the
finest steaks in the land, and delicious desserts with kitchen accessories to your front door, regardless of where you call home.

 

Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick have spent over three decades building a seafood-focused restaurant empire. One of the jewels in their crown is certainly the San Diego branch of McCormick & Schmick’s, situated inside The Omni San Diego Hotel, just minutes from the Gaslamp amazing shopping area.

The hungry tourists and wealthy locals populate the plush patio to people-watch and enjoy impeccably-sourced fish, crustaceans, and bivalves; the restaurant offers a different selection every day depending on what’s in season.

 

In warmer weather, the scene is planted on the McCormick & Schmick’s outside patio, often resembles a catwalk, considering all the fashionable people on display, and the patio offers prime people-watching opportunities. During cooler months and at night, there are stand-up heat lamps to warm the crowd.

Inside, the plush dining room sports handsome dark wood, a decorative stained glass ceiling and paintings of fish on the walls. The handsome interior is more conducive to business or romance, while the patio is more festive.

 
       Great Brews on Tap                    Chardonnay, Kendall Jackson

As soon as we were seated, our waiter brought a slab of fresh sourdough bread, served with a small crock of rich butter that was sealed with a cover imprinted with the restaurant’s logo. The bread was soft and addictive, so it disappeared quickly.

Each branch of McCormick & Schmick’s prints their menu daily, depending on what varieties of seafood are in season. The San Diego offerings are so in-the-moment that the seafood on the menu at lunch may differ from those at dinner, depending on the timing of their daily seafood deliveries.

We arrived early for lunch, so the restaurant was still empty, so we were shown to our table straight away. Our waiter, took care of us throughout most of the meal, and was ultra-friendly and chatty (but not overly so). She explained how the wine pairings worked.


Special Appetizer Platter
We were told that the kitchen would be sending us a special plate with a variety of appetizers. Our appetizers arrived quickly and they were excellent, among an amazing variety of great items, we sampled their famous Jumbo Prawn Cocktail, their delicious Coconut Shrimp with Horseradish marmalade, and Tropical Fruit Salsa, Blackened “Rare” Ahi tuna with Wakame Cucumber Salad and Fried Calamari with a Trio of Dipping Sauces. The Ahi Tuna was good quality, and perfectly seared, as well all of the appetizers were equally delicious.


Dungeness Crab and Bay Shrimp Louis Salad

I wanted to try a salad, so my choice was the Dungeness Crab and Bay Shrimp Louis Salad, with Eggs, Olives, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Thousand Island dressing; the salad was deconstructed to show off the ingredients separately. It was light and delicious; basically it could serve as an entire entrée.

Presentation at McCormick & Schmick’s, is a forte: the food is served on a nouvelle-style. Thankfully, the portions aren’t nouvelle, they’re a decent size,
yet not so huge that you cannot manage three courses.


Chilean Seabass

Entrées were of a similarly high standard. One of our choices was the famous and absolutely fabulous Drake Passage,  Chilean Seabass. It was more than perfect, this was one of the best seabass we ever tasted. The meat was fresh and sweet,
it could also be compared to the Black Cod, which we also love.


Stuffed Maine Lobster

My choice was very unique and again delicious; the Stuffed Maine Lobster, I never had such a surprising and delicious way to enjoy Lobsters. This was stuffed with Dungeness Crab, Brie Cheese and Dill. Did I like it? No, I love it!


Selection of Fantastic Desserts
When it came to selecting a dessert, we had room, but were spoiled for choice. As well as a range of sweet treats like the Upside Down Apple Pie with caramelized walnut crust is still a must-order item, I would say again, the best Apple Pie I’ve ever tasted in my entire life!


Upside Down Apple Pie with Caramelized Walnut Crust

To match the quality of the food, there’s a stunning California-led wine list, with great choices by the glass. The wine pairing and wine flights ideas might seem clichéd to some, but for ditherers like us, it’s a bonus. Of the two glasses we tried, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve’05, CA it was deliciously fruity and dry; the other, Chardonnay, Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve 06, CA wasn’t especially to our liking, but we were glad we tried it.

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood have spent nearly 40 years building a strong reputation for providing the highest quality of food and exception customer service. They shopped the world over to provide the freshest products to bring the McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant experience into your home. You can be assured that they will stand behind the quality of their Seafood Market Products. 
 
We truly loved McCormick & Schmick’s, and felt that the quality of the food was superb.

It’s worth a splurge for any special occasion.


For map and location click Here!

For more information please visit their website at www.mccormickandschmicks.com