Michele K.
Google
I booked what was advertised online as a Thanksgiving Buffet at Shore Ocean/ Shore American Seafood Grill at the Hyatt in Newport Beach. I found it through OpenTable, made the reservation there, and paid directly through OpenTable, $70 per adult and $30 per child for a total of three adults and three children. Everything pointed to a dine-in buffet experience.
When we arrived, the hostess informed us that our reservation was “for outside,” even though we had booked for inside. The restaurant was practically empty, so they gave us a table inside with no issue. We sat, enjoyed the buffet, and finished our meal; at no point was there anything said to us about an issue or misunderstanding.
Then the bill arrived.
They handed us a check for over $700. I explained that I already paid online, showed them the OpenTable receipt, and the confusion began. First, they claimed the online charge was only “a partial payment.” Then they changed the story and said it was actually for to-go plates, something we never ordered, never saw advertised, and were never told when they seated us.
There was only one option: to click on OpenTable, the “Thanksgiving Feast.” Nowhere did it specify it was to-go, nowhere did it offer multiple choices, and nowhere did it warn that the charge wasn’t for the buffet we clearly believed we were booking.
I even showed them the page, and they said, “If you click through, it mentions to-go,” but how on earth is anyone supposed to know that when it’s the only thing listed, and they’re advertising a buffet? And more importantly:
If they truly believed it was a to-go order, why would they seat us, serve us, and let us eat an entire buffet without saying a word?
Their answer: “That part was our fault.”
Yet they still tried to charge us an additional $380+ for their mistake.
We went back and forth for almost an hour. They eventually knocked off $100, which doesn’t even begin to cover the confusion, the bad communication, or the complete misrepresentation of what we were booking. It felt like a deliberate bait-and-switch, and the whole situation came across as a blatant rip-off, especially because it happened on a holiday when families are vulnerable and stuck.
As for the food:
The cold items, salads, and desserts were decent.
The hot foods and sides were honestly pretty bad, not worth the original price, let alone the mess they created with billing.
This experience was absolutely unacceptable. I’ve never had a restaurant allow a supposed “to-go” reservation to be seated, served, and charged as dine-in, then blame the customer for their system. The lack of transparency, the misleading online setup, and the refusal to take full responsibility ruined what should have been a simple family Thanksgiving meal.
I would not recommend this place based on the experience, the confusion, or the way we were treated. This was hands-down the biggest holiday rip-off I’ve ever encountered.