With seven Southern California locations, and one in Phoenix Arizona, Bluewater Grill is guaranteed to make you one happy customer.
Super simple interiors making you feel as though you were in a seafood shack somewhere in New England. Lots of black and white photography of seafood being caught off of various oceanfronts and piers. With its high open beam ceilings, and mixed industrial light fixtures, it will put you in the mood for some very creative cuisine. There are ships knots as dividers, with sailboats cleats as an added design highlight. Super relaxed, embrace yourself into a unique coastal food experience.
Their Story:
Celebrating over 20 years in business, Bluewater Grill was established in Newport Beach, California in 1996, by partners Rick Staunton and Jim Ulcickas. They have since grown into a family of seafood restaurants, located in resort communities, committed to serving guests pristine quality seafood, sustainably caught, and prepared classically or with a modern twist.
Fresh Sustainable Seafood:
They operate their own swordfish harpoon boat, the Pilikia, and serve the finest quality locally harpooned swordfish in season. Their fish is always the most pristine quality available as they purchase directly from fisherman, in season, at the peak of quality and freshness. Being fishermen at heart, they want to ensure the future availability of seafood and make responsible seafood purchasing a core value of their operation.
The Bluewater Experience:
Bluewater Grill’s Mission is to serve great food in a casual, relaxed environment by friendly and knowledgeable people at a fair price. They offer more than 40 varieties of seafood annually, with oysters on the half shell, award winning chowder, a kid’s menu approved by the Kids LiveWell program of the National Restaurant Association, patio dining, full bar and wine list, brunch, and happy hour.
Harpooned by “Pilikia”:
They have their own boat called Pilikia plying the waters of the Channel Islands. Harpooned swordfish is better because it is caught on day boats, it is a 100% sustainable method of fishing and there is no by-catch like there is with nets or long lines. “Pilikia”, which means “trouble” in Hawaiian, has been the #1 harpoon sword fishing boat on the west coast for many years. The boat was custom built in Hoquiam, Washington and supplies their Bluewater Grill Restaurants with direct access to the freshest swordfish for the summer season. Pilikia will ply the local waters off Catalina and the Channel Islands looking to harpoon “The Gladiator Fish.” Selectively harvesting mature fish and processing them only minutes later, the fish is quick cooled in “on board” refrigerators and rushed to the restaurants that same day. Bluewater Grill’s Pilikia gives “real” meaning to “from our boat to your plate”. The freshness, quality and flavor are as good as it gets.
Manager Max was very instrumental in my tasting, as well as my server Jordan, who did a fine job.
Here’s What I Tried:
Cocktails:
Handcrafted:
American Mule – Blue Ice Vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime.
Violetta – New Amsterdam Vodka, fresh lime and pineapple juice, St. Germain Elderflower, Crème de Violette, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and served up.
Pilikia Margarita – Cuervo Tradicional Silver Tequila, De Kuyper Triple Sec, fresh limejuice, agave syrup, orange bitters.
Captain’s Mai Tai – Cruzan Coconut Rum, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Gosling’s Bermuda Black Seal Rum, triple sec, tropical juices
Cucumber Mojito – Myer’s Platinum Rum, fresh cucumber and mint, fresh lime juice, aloe vera and soda water.
Each cocktail was delicious, with all having the perfect balance between sweet and sour, alcohol and mixers. My favorite was the Captain’s Mai Tai, making me feel like I was off on a deserted island in the tropics. So leave your cares somewhere else and indulge in their specialized cocktails.
Wine:
House wines by Grand Cru, Chardonnay. This is a great mellow Chardonnay, not too oaked, just a great pairing with Chippino.
Robert Renzoni Pinot Grigio, Temecula ‘17. A nice fruity effervescent, wine, a nice choice for the Seafood Louis Salad.
Chardonnay:
William Hill, Central Coast ’16.
Annabella, Napa ’14.
Wiens, Temecula ’16.
Trefethen, Napa ’16.
Each Chardonnay had their own individual characteristics. My favorite was the William Hill, with its buttery profile. You can drink this wine with any of the seafood dishes.
Red Blends/Varietals – Leoness Meritage, Temecula ’14. I liked this wine with the Salmon, it is jammy and brought out the sweetness of the salmon.
Red Blends/Varietals – Wiens “Artist Series” Crowded, Temecula ’16, of course this wine paired great with the burger, truly a match made in heaven.ever
Appetizers:
Maryland Style Crab cakes, Remoulade, chive oil and micro greens. A very subtle and lovely appetizer, a great way to start my delicious meal.
Jumbo Prawn Cocktail with chive oil and housemade cocktail sauce. These are huge prawns and so delightful, the presentation alone will make you never want a traditional shrimp cocktail.
Soups:
New England Chowder, this is one of my favorite clam chowders. There are plump huge clam pieces and a very rich creamy soup, hit all the right notes.
Manhattan Chowder, not a huge fan of this type of chowder, but if you are it was a good rendition.
Salad:
Seafood Louie Salad, Red rock crab, bay shrimp, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, egg, avocado with San Francisco Louie dressing. I just could not get enough of this super rich dressing, which for me that was all she wrote.
Crab & Avocado Salad, Arugula, mixed greens, house vinaigrette, a bit too similar to the Louie, order the Louie instead.
Cedar Plank Salmon, King salmon cooked on a cedar plank and topped with a maple Dijon glaze with scalloped potatoes and broccolini. The salmon was a bit dry for my standards, but I’ll bet if you order it medium rare it would be out of this world.
Sides:
Sautéed, Spinach, great healthy way to accompany any dish.
Sautéed Brussels Sprouts, Currants, and Garlic. These sprouts are done the right way, cooked to perfection.
Bluewater Burger – “An Aussie Classic!” – Crispy onion, arugula, beet, fried egg, heirloom tomato with housemade fries. Oh what a burger, great flavors, love the onion rings, and the egg on top, wow, wow, wow.
Favorites:
Chipotle Blackened Swordfish, Chipotle dirty rice, corn and avocado relish. This is one of their most popular dishes, and for good reason, really terrific.
San Francisco Cioppino, with a zesty marinara sauce, clams, mussels, crabmeat, shrimp, scallops and fish. A rich mellow sauce with very fresh lovely seafood, it was super delicious.
Prawn Linguine, Grape tomatoes, basil, and garlic and tomato broth. These shrimps are large and plump and the linguini was al dente, just a great pasta dish.
Baby Back Ribs – Dry rubbed and slow roasted with housemade honey barbecue served with French fries and coleslaw. A huge slab of ribs with a nice dry rubbed seasoning, just loved this as well.
Fish & Chips, High Spot Beer Battered Fish & Chips. Since I am British I know good fish and chips and these ones made the cut.
Desserts:
Key Lime Pie, sweet but sour, the crust is buttery and light, a really great pie.
Crème Brûlée, one of the best Crème Brulee’s ever, you got to try this!
They also serve brunch on Saturday & Sunday – 10:30 am to 2:00 am.
I tried the Crab cake Benedict, from the brunch menu, with poached eggs, crabcakes on toasted English muffins with lemon hollandaise and breakfast potatoes. This is a great substitution for the usual benedict, it is flavorful with fresh crab goodness.
Bluewater Grill has been voted “Best Seafood in Wine Country”.
You too will get hooked on the best in fresh, sustainable seafood. Enjoy their seafood market, patio, full bar, happy hour, party platters and a pet friendly space. Centrally located in the heart of Temecula wine country on Ynez road, just off the 15 Freeway. I can’t say enough about the great food at Bluewater Grill. It’s worth a trip to Temecula just to try their spectacular food.
Hours:
Mon–Thurs: 11am–9pm
Fri: 11am–10pm
Sat: 10:30am–10pm
Sun: 10:30am–9pm
Happy Hour
Sun–Thurs: 3pm–6pm
Bluewater Grill
26700 Ynez Court
Temecula, CA.
92591
Tel: 951 308 2722
Fax: 951 699 6857
www.bluewatergrill.com
* Note some content was taken off of their website.