Cevascos - DEL MAR

I hate leaving a negative review so will try to add some constructive criticism in the hopes of the restaurant improving. The service and atmosphere were great. The restaurant was absolutely SLAMMED with a large party and we waited a VERY long time for our entrees... we understood there was nothing they could do about that and we weren't even grumpy about waiting. The thing is when our entrees arrived two were no longer hot, and two pasta dishes were hot. None of them tasted good. The seafood risotto (lukewarm lacked flavor, the scallops (also lukewarm had a citrus sauce that overpowered everything. The bolognese sauce (hot had a strange spice (cumin??? but it didn't go and the chicken alfredo was probably the best of them all but tasted like something you could find at olive garden. The appetizers were good (hamachi and shrimp cocktail but all in all for the price it was very disappointing. Hopefully they can fine-tune some of their offerings and have a real winner of a restaurant because Del Mar lacks a good, non-chain Italian restaurant on Camino del Mar.

Our food and drink were good. The service was very good. However, we demoted the review because the tables, we feel, are too close together. They were so close that the chairs at adjoining tables had less than an inch between them, and the waitress could not fit between the chairs. Given the current COVID situation in San Diego, we would prefer to eat at restaurants who leave more space between diners.

Nice may go back. It would be nice to have music. Our waiter was excellent!

Food was so so nothing special when we entered host was on phone and ignored us for 10 minutes

I ordered the "Shake Up" cocktail (made with gin), hamachi crudo (yellowtail), and the hanger steak with a lobster tail. The cocktail was delicious and reminded me of citrus juice. The crudo was sliced a bit thin and had a generous amount of ponzu sauce—almost too much pooling at the bottom of the plate—but overall, it was tasty, and the fish tasted fresh. The hanger steak was cooked perfectly medium rare, just as I wanted, and the lobster tail was outstanding—not a small piece, but a generous serving with great flavor, accompanied by a side of butter. We definitely plan on returning!