The Boardwalk Waterfront Hilton

The food was oily, heavily seasoned, and frankly inedible. However, the service was excellent, the cocktails were fantastic, and the atmosphere was charming. Everything was wonderful except for the food.

I had a romantic Valentine's Dinner at Cabo Wabo Beach Club located in the Waterfront Hilton Hotel in Huntington Beach. The food and atmosphere were both fantastic. Unfortunately, I was disappointed when I discovered that the Cabo Wabo gift shop, which was supposed to be open, was closed.

The night we went, there was a big gathering and the noise level was louder than usual. Not a big deal, but this took away from the customer service in our section. It seemed like there was one waiter for the whole section of 12 tables. They really needed to have more wait staff. The food is a whole different story. It was mediocre at best. The chicken enchiladas had no flavor. It was very plain and the tortillas were a bit gummy. The shrimp and short rib tacos were ok, but the garnish was not fresh and the grilled shishito pepper was sad looking. The chips and salsa were complimentary but you needed to get at least three servings to even get enough chips. The SH GF specialty margarita was not my favorite. It again seemed like it was missing ingredients.

You have to try the tequila shrimp, it's a must! The short rib tacos are delicious too!

Not what I had expected for Cabo Wabo. This was just kind of tossed inside the Waterfront Hilton. If it hadn’t had a couple of signs saying Cabo Wabo, I would have thought it was a hotel coffee shop. The food and service was fantastic. Not the party atmosphere that I had expected but definitely would go again.