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Categories: Diners, American (New), Seafood
807 W Harbor Dr"Holy crap, they have good ass ahi salad lavash wraps - and they are HUGE! I mean bigger than a chipotle burrito huge. That wrap was worth…" read more »
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The bread/rolls I had here had to be some of the best rolls I've ever had...think Hawaiian sweetbread with a hint of coconut milk.
The Appetizer sampler is where its at for me, it comes with, Jamaican Voodoo(jerk) Chicken, Tuna Tsunami(Seared rare sushi grade tuna+crisp rice noodles), Crabcakes, Tempura coconut shrimp, Calamari&onion rings.... with a variety of dipping sauces.
The busters longboard pizza wasn't bad...you get to choose 3 different flavors..all served on a two foot mini surfboard
Remarkable service from Donna :) She served My Family&Guided us thru the menu on our first visit there.
People thought this was:
After a long day of shopping further south at the outlet mall, the boy and I decided to stop at one of our favorite hooky day destinations on the way home. As we pulled into Seaport Village, I made the game time decision to try a different place for a drink, as we typically head to the same spot, order the same drinks and leave.
We walked into Busters and sat down at the bar. We asked if there were any specials, and it happened to be Happy Hour. Now, I love the 7 day a week Happy Hour, it's one of the best things ever, so immediately I was excited. I ordered a Mai Tai ($3.50) and the boy had one of Buster's brews ($3). Our bartender said the brews weren't exactly local as they were brewed in LA, but it was still pretty tasty. The Mai Tai was an odd color (dark brown) and I had to spend a good deal of time mixing the fruit puree into the alcohol to make it work, but it wasn't terrible.
The bartender was nice, and there was quite an array of hot sauces out in case you wanted to order the $3.95 fish tacos, or the $1 street tacos. We didn't, but I was curious about the sauces and the HH fish tacos appeared decent when they came out for the people sitting next to us.
I doubt we'll be back for more than a drink, but between 2 and 6, 7 days a week, the drinks are priced right (especially for Seaport Village) and get the job done.
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Some business partners and I went here since it was near our resort during a conference and it was on the harbor front with decent views.
The ambiance was really bad. The carpet floors were dirty, the windows by our table were also dirty, and there was an odd smell in the dining room.
The food was not good at all, it pains me to say that the only thing I enjoyed were the french fries. My co workers glass was very dirty and his food made him queasy. He actually got up and left and said he would meet us back in the hotel since he was so displeased with everything. My chicken sandwich came on a huge roll that dwarfed the meat and there were hardly any toppings for the sandwich.
All in all it was a very disappointing experience.
People thought this was:
Wasted meal. Ahi was quite bland unless you request extra sauce and the accompanying slaw underneath only detracts further. The Manila clams swam in a bland broth. The pizza was mediocre ( we has the luau pork pizza.) All in all, quite dissatisfying. The highlights included the music and superfriendly waiter.
I'll admit right away that I come here pretty much once a year during Comic-Con. And we don't eat dinner -- you're getting charged a lot for the dubious Seaport Village view.
Happy Hour, though, that's a different story. While some of the HH favorites are crawling up in price past their $2 prime, you can still get two good-sized fish tacos and a potent mai tai (or other cocktail) for $6. A hard bargain to beat in the Gaslamp.
Service can be spotty, but for these prices I'll forgive it.
The egg skillets were great - once they arrived. I had the Surfary - a veggie omelet topped with cheese sitting atop potatoes in a pottery skillet. It was great! The coffee was both drinkable and plentiful. Tried the corn tortillas - good - one morning and bran muffin - very, very bad - another.
Overall, though, the food was pretty good.
Service was another story. No problems the first day but I waited 30 minutes for my eggs the second day. And when we ended up at Buster's around 9:00 one night, we were told there was a 30 minutes wait for a table when half the restaurant was empty. Can you say, "Fishing for a tip?" Sure. I knew you could.
Mixed bag.
We so hadn't planned on eating here when we spent half the day at Sea Port Village, but we did.
I was expecting the worst about this place at first, I could already taste the same ole' same ole' seaside grill food as we walked up, but I gave it a chance. It was way to over priced for our tight budget so we got a bit creative with our order. They offer this 2 foot Longboard pizza that lets you choose 3 different pizzas they make on this giant board shaped like a surf board we chose the Molokai, vegetarian and Bangkok. This pizza was $20.50 and so worth the money the Molokai was my favorite it had pineapple, sweet onions, BBQ sauce and pulled pork with cheese yummo!! The other two were OK but it was worth the money for me.
Our server never let us wait very long between refills and making sure we were OK which was a plus that is so hard to find these days an attentive server. I'd definitely go back and next time try the Pork Luau for sure!!
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We came here for a company luncheon, and we had a group of about 10-15 people. We had called 3 days in advance to reserve a table, but they didn't take reservations, so we at least wanted to let them know we were coming on such day to prepare them for a large lunch crowd. They asked us to call an hour prior to our arrival, and we did. We got there and still waited about 15 minutes for them to set up a table, even though we called an hour before, and they weren't even busy.
Out of our lunch crowd, it was everyone's first time to Busters. Busters has an eclectic mix of food there, and we thought there was enough variety to please everyone. Everyone tried different menu items, and from what most of my co-workers said, no one was really impressed, and that some of the menu items were just too "weird".
I got the Bangkok Xanadu, it was Wok-fried Thai noodles and stir-fried veggies in a thai peanut sauce. The dish was just bleh. The peanut sauce wasn't very tasty, and my noodles were cold. I was 1 of 5 people from our group to not eat very much of my meal and then decline taking any leftovers home. My boyfriend was with me on this luncheon, and he got the Pork Luau Sandwich. I asked him how his lunch was, since I wasn't diggin mine, and he said "Meh, I've had better", and was thankful our lunch was free that day as we both felt there was no need to come back.
People thought this was:
The lettuce rolls were very good, the salad was good and the pizza was bad. Everything on the menu made is sound good but the execution was bad. The crust was like a cracker and the toppings were just bleah. A 12 dollar pitcher of margaritas was decent as well. The service was good as well. I don't think I would go back.
Must be something w/ restaurants that are located in tourist hot spots but they tend to be GROSS.
One star for the location and the other for the cute waitress.
People thought this was:
We had an out of town guest and since I am still unemployed I got to entertain her for the day and we ended up walking Seaport Village and decided to stop for a beverage and snack. We had Mai Tai's and Chips with guacamole. The chips were a mix of out-of-the-bag tortilla chips but also mixed in was a generous portion of vegetable chips. The presentation was cool and they taste good. We sat outside and Mai Tai's are always good so Busters left a nice touch for a San Diego first time visitor.
We took her to Donovan's for Dinner so she will definitely be back...
Over priced and didn't taste good.
Wow, I was surprised at the poor reviews. I really enjoyed myself here. Maybe it was because Derrick, the waiter, was a hoot. He definitely was entertaining and very helpful. The food portions here are enormous. My Molokai pizza could have fed three people! And you should have seen the banana fritters! Even to feed a family of four! The food was good, not spectacular, but I wasn't expecting a four star meal.
Had Sunday breakfast. Very average. Omlette was good but not incredible. Food was slow to come out. Toast cold and we sent it back. pancakes cold. Nice waitress.
Went here with my parents for breakfast before heading back to LA. They had a decent selection, and the food was okay -- nothing fantastic.
We all had coffee, which was nice and strong. I ordered the prime rib hash, dad had pancakes with ham and eggs, mom had some sort of egg scramble with chorizo, cheese and avocado, and our friend had eggs and toast. There wasn't anything particularly noteworthy, but it was good and we ate it.
There was a good amount of people there, but none of them looked like locals. Probably not a good sign. Great view of the water though.
People thought this was:
There's not many places I don't like. And I didn't hate Buster's, I just wasn't overly impressed by it either.
I had the fish and chips. The fries were good. The fish was by no means bad, but I just wasn't in the mood as much as I thought I was for fish. My SO had the fish tacos and he said his dish was very good.
I'd be willing to give this place a second shot to see if I could find something I liked a little better. If I do, I'll definitely be fair and provide an updated review.
Visiting this location while traveling on work. Ordered the tortilla soup and quesadilla. The Tortilla soup was flavorless, and missing essentials. The Quesadilla was extremely dry. Only reason for 2 stars was that the staff was friendly.
I took a few friends from out of town here this weekend for breakfast, but when we got there, they told us that they were no longer serving breakfast, not yet serving lunch and our only option was to order the $20.95 brunch "buffet".
After being semi-acknowledged by the hostess, we were told we could "go ahead and go upstairs", leaving us to kind of figure out where to go and where to sit, etc.
Now, I don't know about you, but if I'm paying $20 for brunch, I anticipate a *brunch*. You know, a few different stations, perhaps an omelet guy, a nice spread of fresh fruit, desserts and muffins, free-flowing mimosas, etc. etc.
When we got to the top of the stairs, in the corner there were 4 chaffing dishes, each 3/4 empty holding some crusty looking eggs, a few strips of flaccid bacon and an omelet chef that looked like he'd rather be working a roach coach. The omelets looked it, too.
Over in the corner was a folding table with like 3 muffins and a loaf of bread. It sounds like I'm exaggerating, but I'm soooooo not.
We sat down, all looked at each other and then got up and left without even ordering a beverage. To hell with that. Instead we went to the pizza joint down the way and ordered a whole pie for the same price as one sub-par brunch.
If you're looking for a beautiful brunch, try Karl Strauss in Sorrento Mesa and give this place the finger.
People thought this was:
The only reason I come here is for their fish tacos and margaritas and so should you!
I have eaten off their regular menu and can honestly say that the food was not all that great and lacked flavor. The fish tacos are $3.95 and the margaritas are $2.95. They have a selection of hot sauces available on all the tables and bar.
The best thing I liked about this place is the view. It sits right on the marina and offers a great people watching view while you sit.
If you do order off the regular menu, try their pizza. It is made in the shape of a surfboard!
People thought this was:
We came here for Easter brunch this year and I have to say, I really enjoyed the place. Usually, Sunday brunch can be overwhelming with a ton of options but Buster's kept it simple. My favorite part of the buffet was the custom made omelets. I think it may possibly have been the best omelet I've ever had. They offered a variety of other breakfast classics such as eggs Benedict, pancakes, and blitzes but didn't overdo it. They had a variety of lunch food too such as salmon, shrimp, mashed potatoes, seafood salad, pasta salad, ham, and fruit salad along with a greens salad. Their desserts were limited and not that good but that did not bother me because I had more room to fill up on the good stuff. I was seated at the window and overlooking the water which added to the overall experience. I would recommend coming here and definitely will come back here for Easter brunch next year.
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I should've known better. Any restaurant that is empty during lunch should be skipped. But I didn't and, unsurprisingly, wasn't impressed. I had their signature BLT-type sandwich, which was on toasted (not) sourdough (not so sour) bread. The pizza here is okay, but nothing to rave about. The service was definitely great, so it gets to keep a star.
Pass it up if you're hungry. But it definitely looks like a decent place to hang out and have a couple of drinks. Nice view of the harbor.
People thought this was:
They've got a great hawaiian burger.
This place is a bit touristy but the service and food have always been good (but not good enough that i would make a special trip to come here).
Keepin this review short and simple only because there's nothing too special to say about this place.
Went here over the weekend to check out the brunch they have upstairs. It was a buffet brunch...my dream came true! The food wasnt stellar, but it got the job done. Our server was awesome...friendly, attentive and she was way cute. The weather was perfect and I think that made the view overlooking the harbor that much better. I would definitely recommend coming down here and checking this place out if you ever have a lazy Sunday where you arent in a hurry to wake up and rush anywhere and maybe you want a relaxing meal with a good view....otherwise, maybe just save the trip until you have family or friends in town and you can all check out Seaport Village afterwards.
People thought this was:
Sorry to have to downgrade, but the food has taken a turn for the worse. My wife & I dined here from breakfast Aug 8th in the am.. I had once again the Down Island F.T. .. Sadly this time it wasn't very good. I ordered a side of bacon too. Let me start by saying that the french toast was mildly warm at best. I had to ask for the "special" syrup that is "supposed" to be included with the meal, after my meal was already delivered. The syrup was tart and overly sweet. As for the above mentioned bacon, it was umm delivered stone cold (probably left over from fridays breakfast with dried bacon grease on it).. I asked for a 2nd order of bacon instead and it was super greasy. At this point I am not hungry anymore, not because the food was good, it was clearly lacking this time, but because I was disgusted with the quality! Next time I visit San Diego for ANY occasion, this happened to be my birthday weekend, I will stay away from Busters. Its more hype than anything now!
If you're looking for a BIG filling breakfast then head on down to Buster's..
If you're staying in…
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There are other options in this tourist village that would be more worth your while (and wallet). Food was blech, you'd be better off at an applebee's (which is a sad statement in itself). At the very least, you can get a view of the water...and the Tuna Tsunami is relatively decent.
Worst of all was the three others at my table got their food about 20 minutes before my food was served. I'm sure they forgot my entree and then had to put in a last minute order once the tired waitress realized her mistake. I ordered chicken-lettuce cups..and they basically brought out the lettuce and the sauce out ten minutes late...then brought the chicken about 5-10 minutes after that. Unacceptable.
People thought this was:
The Bar:
The snotty server-girl is gone - one star
Their is not a lot of room in the bar - one star
Their happy hour specials do have alcohol in them - 1 star
Thir fish tacos are the best that I have ever had - 2 stars
BTW - validated parking!
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If I was rating on just food alone, I'd vote 2 stars, but I decided to bump it up to 3 stars for their happy hour. Unlike a lot of happy hour spots, their happy hour drinks are relatively strong. Where else can you get 13 margaritas on the rocks with salt for less than $46?? (Hey, there were 8 of us in our party - it wasn't all 13 for me!).
We did order a variety of different entrees, and nothing was spectacular. However, nothing horrendous either. Our waiter was super nice, laid back, and accommodating, except he forgot to put in our dessert order. Oh well.
People thought this was:
We had booked in advance as there was 10 of us for breakfast.
It took them forever to get us drinks and the coffee was stone cold when it arrived. The waitress kept getting the drinks wrong and when very politely reminded of the original order, rolled her eyes and was really rude.
A fork fell on the floor which she partially stepped on and she picked it up and put it back on the table. We saw 2 other tables walk out without being served. Food was below average and when we complained to the manager all he did was shrug. NONE of us tipped. We will not be back.
Great restaurant, if you order right. I much prefer lunch/dinner to breakfast. You don't need to get the expensive (and frankly overpriced) stuff on the menu, stick with the cheaper. The Longboard Pizza can easily be split between 4-5 people, is only $20 and is ridiculously good. There are six pieces of every kind of pizza you get, so everyone can sample. Their burgers are also extremely good. For dessert, you must try the Bananas tempura, they are fr'awesome (freakin' awesome)!
People thought this was:
My friend was in town from NYC and wanted to eat by the water and not pay too much, whalla Buster's.
The staff was nice, but they were definitley busy on a Saturday night. My friend ordered a personal pizza... very nice portion... he's 6'7" and was very full after it. I had the Hawaiin rice bowl, which was ok, but very americanized.
They lost 1 star because their Pina Colada had no colada and was yellow (though they took it off our bill) and the other because they served us an overcooked brownie (it was the a lamode thing with a white chocolate wave).
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The best part about this place? The waiter made me his own honey-mustard dressing when I asked for some. That dressing was the best part of my meal. Sad.
At least the bloody marys helped cure our hangovers.
I think touristy areas, such as Seaport Village, are often filled with restaurants that often fail to hit the culinary mark. Therefore, my expectations are generally low. Yet, with that said, I was pretty disappointed by Buster's. For three people, I ended up spending over $60.00 for theme park-esque food. There are definitely better restaurants in San Diego and if I had planned out my meal better, we would have gone to the Gaslamp.
If anything, the term "fusion" cuisine drew me to the restaurant. As I perused the menu, it sounded as if it would tempt my taste buds. Yet, the things that sounded interesting ended up tasting blah:
- Jamaican "voodo" chicken - supposed to be "jerk" marinated, but tasted bland...plus, it was COLD and the chutney was ok, but not really anything amazing.
- Big Kahuna's chicken salad - swimming in SALAD DRESSING...blech
All in all, I was underwhelmed by the food and the service. I wouldn't recommend it to tourists (or locals...)
People thought this was:
We were trying to figure out where to eat in Seaport Village and finally decided upon Buster's. We were looking for a more casual meal but some of the snack bars were probably much too casual so Buster's it was....
The food was pretty average. The only thing I could really give them is that they had some outdoor seating with a decent people watching experience. But that's about the only thing this place has going for it....
4 stars for the Happy Hour! Cheap mai tais and beer and pretty decent fish tacos. The service at the bar is great...but the service in the dining room is not fast. The breakfast is good and not too expensive...but it will take a really long time to get your food. Enjoy the harbor view which includes tan, muscular firemen out for their morning jog...makes you not mind the wait quite as much.
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this place is right behind the manchester hyatt. so why not.
i just wanted a hamburger and that's what i got. i might be wrong, but i got the impression that it was those patties that you get from the grocery store, that's frozen and already shaped into patties. for $10 i would like a little more effort. bleh.
what i couldn't help notice was there was a group of 6 middle aged men and they were seated in those round booths - that one seem to only fit 3 people. it was not packed, it was brunchtime, so i don't know why they had to sit in that little nook. and they were not skinny. they even had to take off their coats and fold it as small as they can and place it under the table or something.
People thought this was:
Went here for a friend's birthday. Food was decent. I don't think the prices were worth the quality. SERVICE SUCKED HORRIBLY. It took us forever to flag down our waiter. My water was only filled twice. I mean, they are getting two stars because I enjoyed my asian chicken whatever to an extent. Their onion rings are hella oily. I guess their pizza is okay and the view outside makes it worth it.
I went to this place for lunch today. I got my usual for such a place, cesaer salad wrap. It was good on those standards. However, what makes me want to go back is what my friends got. From the fish tacos to the chicken sandwich it all looked awesome. Friends also said it was execellent which adds to it. So for a lunch spot it definitely is a place I want to come back to, nice views as well...
People thought this was:
I thought Buster's was mediocre but not in a horrible way. It's in Seaport Village area, which I recognize is hugely touristy, but then again, I'd only been to San Diego a few times before and was looking for something to satisfy the picky tastes of my family members. The "fusion" tropical cuisine here did the trick for that - the combo platters gave everyone options to try a couple of the menu options that they were debating over - drastically cutting down the decision time my family can be notorious for! The service wasn't special but it wasn't bad. Didn't get to sit outside or at the bar but between the view of the yachts and the TVs with the basketball games, either would have been decent options for hanging out if I were with my crew. Overall, not somewhere I'd rush back to, but a chill atmosphere with decent food and happy hour drinks for the tourist in all of us.
People thought this was:
Forced to meet family from out of town there. Fresh tomato pizza was fine. Caesar salad tasteless. Pesto pasta dish tasteless. Wasn't expecting much from this tourist trap and that's what I got. Hopefully I will never have to go back there again. Friendly servers was the only good thing about it.
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*Warning*- Do not come here unless you want to have a horrible case of battle$hi*....
Brutal I know, but I just came from here with my family and 2 year old niece for dinner and I had to come online and put my 2 cents in for this joint. Funny thing is, I've been here before to attend a friend's birthday that was held upstairs and the food from what I remember wasn't so bad then. I was hoping they would have more of a selection on their menu as far as seafood went. I couldn't really distinguish where they were going with their food. It was like a mix between Hawaiian and Jamaican food!?! I ended up ordering the coconut shrimp that came with rice and veggies while everyone else ordered the combo and jambalaya chicken with coconut rice. May sound appetizing, but to be quite honest, it tasted like it didn't belong in my mouth. The coconut rice was just weird. My 2 year old niece eats rice like candy and when my sister tried to feed her this coconut rice, she spit it back out saying she didn't like it! Heck, I didn't even like it! Thank goodness I didn't get coconut rice, but I did get fried rice?!!? I honestly didn't know it was going to be fried rice, but I get it now lol. My meal was totally Chinese infused lol. Well, it just didn't taste or sit right in my stomach and that was totally a waste of my $17.50. Can you believe I only got 4 little pieces of what they call "Jumbo" shrimp with a whole plate of fried rice!?!! It was like I didn't even eat my meal!
As for service, our waiter was pretty new. He didn't check any of our Id's when we ordered drinks, but I guess we look that old!?! Maybe he just wanted to be cool haha. He was a pretty old guy too! Seriously and really slow at serving! Anyways, long story short... Upon arriving home I was debating whether to go to urgent care or to just battle it out. Well, I ended up battling it out and let's just say it was the worst case ever! If you don't know what I'm talking about here then good for you! Btw, my friends mentioned their pale ale tasted weird :P My margarita wasn't the greatest either :(....so sad. I wouldn't waste another minute in this place.
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Neighborhood: Gaslamp
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Category: American (Traditional)
San Diego, CA
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Neighborhood: Shelter Island
Category: Seafood
Neighborhood: La Jolla
Category: American (New)
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