Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

This my favorite spot on the pier for a relaxed lunch. They open for an early lunch, have somewhat tiered seating and they make a great drink. The food is consistently good, our service has never been bad and the seats near the windows let us observe whatever is going on on the water. We have had great servers, good servers and a couple of just okay servers, but if you are polite, you always get better service. Oh, and they validate parking so you save one hour of garage costs if you remember your ticket and take the time to get it validated. We have been visiting here for years.

My only suggestion for this place is GO! An excellent set out bar and restaurant which has great views great meal options and great drinks including cocktails. Friendly and helpful staff. Smiling and welcoming when you walk in the doors. The whole place is authentic in keeping with the Forrest Gump styles. Awesome just to walk around and view how they've set it all up. Highly recommend you visit. Families welcome

Made reservations and had to wait 10 minutes behind the walk-ins to be seated. The girl seating people said this is how their system works, like the movie 'Stop Forest Stop'. I was pretty irritated and didn't understand the point of making a reservation. Things did start to turn around though. The restaurant has gorgeous views of the ocean. The service was pretty good...the waitress actually told us she was going on break and who our new waiter would be. I've been to so many restaurants where the waiter goes on break and have no idea and just feel forgotten. Regarding the food, we ordered a shrimp sampler which was tasty. They use a really yummy seasoning on their fries. The kids food is just ok. The pizza looked like frozen pizza and the Mac n Cheese was Kraft. The kids don't really care though.

We were put on the list and had 24 parties ahead of us. After an hour (which was fine) we had 5 parties ahead of us. BUT then at last minute they accepted a party of over 200 and had to shut down over half of the restaurant. There was only 8 tables available for everyone else who has been waiting for over an hour. I am normally excited to eat there and wanted my daughter to experience her first trip there. But now she will not get a chance as we don't live near any Bubba Gumps.

This was the first time I had ever been to Bubba Gump Shrimp and it will definitely be the last. My gymnastics team was on tour through California and we decided to stop at Pier 39 to sight see. There were multiple people in my group that wanted to go eat here, and I was not opposed. Boy do I regret that now. Let me be very clear that the waitress we had was decently attentive to our larger than normal table, so the food service is not the reason why I am giving such a terrible review. However, the food itself was average and nothing to write home about. It tasted overall rushed. To spice up my order a bit, I ordered the Strawberry Mango Chiller with a souvenir cup. I believed why this drink was so overpriced was because it came with a souvenir cup so it made sense. We finished eating and everyone paid. I left my receipt in the restaurant because I did not think I would need it. As I was exiting the restaurant, the cashier at the Bubba Gump Shrimp souvenir shop next door immediately walked over to me very angrily literally yelling saying "YOU CANNOT TAKE THE PLASTIC CUPS OUT OF THE RESTAURANT" and then proceeded to snatch the cup out of my hands, not even giving me time to react. I did not even know what he was talking about in the first place. He then said "YOU NEED PROOF OF PURCHASE TO KEEP THIS CUP" and then again did not give me time to talk to him and just walked back to the souvenir shop. Dumbfounded at how pissed off this guy was that I would even DARE take a plastic cup that I rightfully overpaid for outside of his precious restaurant took me so off guard it was almost comical. May I say, we were NEVER informed by ANY staff including our server that I needed to keep my receipt so Mr. Plastic FBI outside could keep his cool. I decided not to pursue the plastic cup any further because it seemed like this dude was having a very, very, bad day. I hope you guys can get someone a little more professional if I'm gonna pay an arm and leg for your average food. So if you ever visit this restaurant specifically, expect an average experience and DO NOT DARE take ANYTHING out of the restaurant or you will be JUDGED and EXECUTED on the spot outside.