Castaway

09/26/2008 Posted by sawcy77

I just recently dined here on my GF 30th birthday. It was both our first time at Castaway. I did make reservations, and was very skeptical about going to this restaurant due to all the reviews I had read. WOW...is all I can say!! From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by the host/hostess and seated right away. We had a wonderful view right next to the window over looking Burbank and I could see Universal Studios as well. The waiter Stefan was awesome. He greeted us right away and was very friendly. Everything we ordered was brought to us in a timely manner. The Coconut Shrimp appetizer was delicious as well as the Filet Mignon and NY Steak. Stefan did come by our table often and asked us if everything was fine. I really enjoyed that! Even the Restaurant Manager came around and greeted us and asked us how our dinner was and I thanked him for such the kind service of his staff. I even spoke to the waiter Stefan and asked him about the restaurant and he gave me a full explanation of the dining area as well as the banquet rooms and patio outside. The ambience of the whole place was beautiful. At the end of the dinner, Stefan brought out a piece of cheesecake for my GF with a candle and wished her a happy birthday. And I didn't even ask him to do that. I thought that was very special!! From the start to the end, we both were very SATISFIED with the restaurant. Oh, we even had pineapple Mojitos which were delicious as well!! I would definitely recommend this restaurant to friends and family!!! And this is why I gave it 5 stars!

Pros: Great customer service

Cons: none

06/26/2008 Posted by JStarks3

I came here for dinner for a special occasion and had an ok experience. The ambiance was nice and the view was stunning. However, we sat at our table for a good 15 minutes and did not even get noticed by a waiter. What's more, they weren't even busy that night. I'd say less than half the tables were full so there was no excuse. Sadly, a really nice waiter had to come by and ask if we've been served. We told him "no" and he got our drink orders and apologized for his coworker. After drinks we waited another 10+ minutes and our unassigned waiter came by again and asked if anyone took our order. Again we said, "no." At this point a waitress was standing a few tables away and over heard and just said "Oops!" and didn't even apologize! Apparently she was supposed to be our waiter the whole time and didn't even care that she was doing a bad job. The manager should fire her or at least not allow people like that to work at restaurants that have a reputation to keep. Anyway, our surrogate waiter got us our food and checked up on us very well after that. He even threw in a complimentary dessert because he felt bad we got stuck with the bad waitress. The food was really good. I got the filet mignon and it was juicy, tender and delicious. My gf got lobster and she liked it a lot. Our dessert was a chocolate cake and it was good, too. Later we stepped out onto the balcony for a bit and enjoyed the view. All in all, it started off as a poor experience but had a happy ending. What can I say, I'd give it 4 stars if it wasn't for that one wait staff who didn't even apologize. Pros: Pretty good food, nice view. Cons: You might not get a bad waiter there, try your luck.

06/10/2008 Posted by kwhaever

I always think I want to go to this place because it has a great view, but after consistently rude waiters and bad food, I think I've finally learned my lesson. The icing on the cake was the night we went there with my parents to celebrate my birthday and tell them we were expecting our first baby. What should have been a wonderful night was ruined by our incredibly rude, pushy and down right mean waiter. At the end of the night, both couples were reaching to get the check, and the waiter actually held on to it and asked each of us what we would tip before he would decide who to give it to (and sadly, this wasn't a cute joke on his behalf - he was dead serious). There's other stuff - gobs of lipstick on my glass, bad and expensive food, but to me the waiters, on more than one occasion, have ruined this place forever. Even the management ignored me when I told them how disappointed I was. If you have a special occasion, please go somewhere else where your evening won't be ruined.

Pros: view

Cons: service, food

05/19/2008 Posted by tattertots

I was hesitant about this place because of all the bad/mixed reviews below but was pleasantly happy that i had a great evening.The BF made reservations for dinner on Saturday. We were seated quite promptly and had a very friendly waiter who had that right mix of being attentive but not coming back every minute to check on us. We had a nice booth in the back but still had a view of the valley from across the room which was lovely. Not fancy fine dining but business casual atmosphere; saw a wedding and sweet 16 party. Note that the Castaway is owned by the same company as the Odyssey in Granada Hills. I learned that the best entree to order is NOT on the menu; definitely go with the chef's special. BF had the peppered steak with mashed potato & steamed veggies. I tried a piece of that steak and it was done perfectly. i had the crusted halibut on a bed of asparagus topped with a medley of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. The fish was absolutely delicious; melts right off the fork and was so savory. Nice place for a romantice dinner. Would definitely come back but based on reviews probably not for brunch or the buffet, just dinner.

Pros: View, chef's special

Cons: Pricey

03/23/2008 Posted by GibbyB

Seriously... i saw tons of other reviews saying the food was bad, and the service was bad, but MAN, this was bad! The service was fine. Nothing special, but not bad. The food however was horrible. Tons of random choices on the buffet, but nothing was done well. Pastries were dry, waffles were soggy, and most everything else seemed ok when I grabbed it, but when i sat down, it just tasted weird. I sadly settled on going to the chocolate fountain.. thinking at least that would be tasty... but no, the chocolate had weird things floating in it, and the stuff they had on sticks to put in it were dried out and tasteless. For two of us... since it was Easter we paid 90 bucks with tip! As we left we saw a huge line of cars waiting to get in... I just wanted to tell all of them to turn around and save themselves... SO i thought I'd write this instead. It's such a shame, because it would be a great place to go for meals in Burbank, it's has such a great view. But DONT, i assure you.

03/07/2008 Posted by reasonablefoodie

while the views are nice enough, the dinner we had here for a work banquet was just, sadly, rather dreadful. it was a private party/seated thing, so maybe poor planning, but the staff served us, well, aggressively, and didn't ask who wanted chicken or steak, just plopped it down on any unsuspecting soul - including my vegetarian self. the staff was kind and accommodating in remedying that, it was just oddly unprofessional. we all felt like we were at some random wedding reception in the 80's or something. do not go for the food; though the outdoor terrace with the heaters and firepits were nice and could make for a good happy hour stop.

Pros: the view, the outdoor spaces

Cons: pretty much everything else

02/20/2008 Posted by galenone

View was great. Went there on February 16th (made the reservations the same day), were never toeld that there's a "Valentine's Day Menu" when made the reservations. When showed up were seated fairly quickly and to our surprize there was an outrageously expensive menue (two days after Valentines day). I have no problem of paying more for special day menues but they should have told us before we made the reservations. Once you are there you basically have no choice but to overpay unexpectedly. Made experience very very bad!! Befoe make reservations make sure you ask if it's a "special" menu for that day, even though it might not actually be a holiday.

02/17/2008 Posted by sacrilegist

My boyfriend and I went to Castaway the day after Valentines, so they had a fixed Valentines menu. We had heard it was romantic and were excited to try it out. To be sure, the restaurant has great views. However, that's all it has. The food and service were pretty terrible, especially for the hefty price. The food is on par with Sizzler, except that Sizzler has that very tasty cheese bread. An example, the lobster was battered and fried instead of broiled (which was stated on the menu), and was squishy instead of firm. The cooks seemed to use a lot of dressing, butter, and batter to make up for low quality ingredients. Perhaps because it was busy, the food didn't come as described on the menu. For example, a salad with walnuts, granny smith apples, and raspberry vinaigrette came drenched in dressing, with one small slice of red delicious apple, and five wilted grapes. Gross! Further, the server had too many tables, was sweating profusely, and regularly forgot simple requests (for example, I am allergic to walnuts, told him as much, but the salad came covered in them anyway). The dining room was noisy and not romantic at all. It reminded me of Disney Land. If you decide to go for dinner, get a window table. However, I suggest eating somewhere worth the money, then heading to Castaway for drinks or dessert and cuddling outside by the fire pits instead. This gives you an even better view and a more romantic ambience at a reasonable price.

Pros: The view

Cons: The food, the service, the dining room

11/03/2007 Posted by yomen

I read the post about "Laura" and couldn't agree more!!!! What a ignorant and rude person on top of inappropriate and lewd behavior. Couldn't believe that a place of business allowed a woman to behave this way at a private party. She should be relieved of her position!!!! This Castaways event bartender, was a black mark on our private party ... gross!!!!

Pros: None

Cons: Staff

09/26/2007 Posted by jaehongjake

On 9/25/07, we went for cocktails, and sat outside. The staff treated my date and I like animals, throwing stuff at us w/o apology. I guess I should not ask for extra napkins. Worst dating venue. DO NOT GO.