Shanghai Red’s

This was my absolute favorite place to have brunch. The food was a+ and the ambiance Was quite nice.

Shanghai Red’s is now Whiskey Red’s. The name has changed. The ownership we were told is the same. Something has definitely changed.
My wife, my daughter and I had a late lunch at what now is Whiskey Red’s. We hd had dinner there several times before and we enjoyed the food and the view. This time we were shocked by the food. It was a disgrace. My wife and daughter had the Fish and Chips. The fish was a few sticks of 1″ wide and ½″ thick fish that had been breaded and fried. The chips were garlic Parmesan fries. The fries had plenty of garlic and some Parmesan but they were soggy and limp. My wife said that she could get better Fish and chips at Denny’s. I ordered the crab Louie. My daughter had it the last time we were there and it was magnificent. This time there was naked crab meat piled on top of a small portion of lettuce. There were a few slices of tomato, cucumber and hard boiled egg. There was a tiny container of dressing. It was nothing like the salad my daughter had before.
At $ 15.00 for the Fish and Chips and $ 19.00 for the salad we decided we would not be back no matter how wonderful the view was. The food has gone to ?? We will find another restaurant in the Marina to have good food and a good view.

Lack-​luster company hosted here. I’m sure the buffet style used for the party negatively impacted the quality of the food.
The fresh pasta guys were more fun to watch than the pasta was to eat… could have been a bit more tasty.
Won’t rule this place out for a re-​review.

We came on a Saturday afternoon, just after the weekend brunch, and the staff was changing to the dinner menu. We wanted dinner, so this was perfect. We sat outside to soak in the afternoon sun. The service was just okay. The server never smiled or looked happy. We had to turn our heads several times to get his attention. The overall feeling of this restaurant is TIRED. The décor needs to be updated. I must say the food was 5 stars! Yes! 5 Stars! I ordered the sea bass and it was perfectly cooked and delicious!

If you would like to pay $ 40 plus/​person for a Hometown style buffet, I more than welcome you to come here.
I will choose KFC or Hometown Buffet next time before, EVER, considering returning to Shanghai Red’s.
Shanghai’s food and dessert selections have minimized in size by 50%, their price has increased by at least 5%/ year and the food quality/​selection is meager by 50−60%.
I’ve been gong to Shanghai Red’s for over 10 years and I can guarantee my review.

Great location, service unremarkable, food — not so good. It’s a shame because with such a great space to have a restaurant in Los Angeles (hello, there’s the PACIFIC OCEAN!), the focus on AMAZING service and food could make this place a gem. Sad.

I made a reservation here for my sister in law’s birthday because I heard she loved the atmosphere and they had a good brunch. Little did I know that Sundays here are basically an institution and no matter when you had made your reservation, expect to wait for a GOOD table. Otherwise, you get cast off to the «Southbay Banquet Room» where the tables are set much like a gaudy conference meeting and the noise level is high enough where you compete with screaming children to have a conversation.
More annoying than this though, was the shear look of shock and Pretty Woman moment when my step dad asked if we could get another table, perhaps outside. Which apparently is the Elysium of Shanghai Reds and only the privileged or those willing to wait another 90 minutes are allowed to dine.
So we schlepped on. And we ate our meals. The food is OK, but honestly that’s not why you pay for a brunch experience. The rest of the restaurant is actually quite pretty, but getting service on Sunday mornings is an effort.
All in all — decent if maybe not on a Sunday. Host staff has a bit of attitude. Considering our party shelled out over $ 300 for a birthday brunch. You might feel like you’re in internment camp, so just remember that.

I have such mixed feelings about this place. My dad just celebrated his new marriage with a dinner here back in June.
Pro’s:
— Its location right on the water in the Marina… beautiful
— The Hawaiian-​like entrance to the restaurant is a nice welcome
— The hostess and manager were very accommodating (I had a bunch of decorations to put on the table, including candles and glitter and they were totally ok with it).
Con’s:
— First off, the name would suggest a Chinese menu, but…
— The restaurant itself is straight out of the 80’s…it would REALLY benefit from an updated interior.
— the chair that I was sitting on felt like the back was going to give way, while my sister complained that nails were sticking through the pad on her seat.
— the food was nothing memorable… pub-​style almost with upscale prices.
Overall, this restaurant left me with a BIG? mark

I was a little nervous when reading other Unilocal reviews of this place. Lots of complaints about servers who were rude and, worse, stingy on the champagne.
Aside from not wanting to «waste» $ 35 on a dry brunch I had friends visiting from out of town and wanted to ensure that they had a good time. I called ahead and was told by the hostess that the champagne is not bottomless as many mistakenly think but «complementary» which typically means 2 glasses per guest. Given this misunderstanding I can see why people (especially those who are inebriated) would get a bit pissy.
I went ahead and made the reservation and my friends and I showed up with very low expectations, especially for the champagne. We were therefore pleasantly surprised when our server appeared to refill our glasses three or four times. It could be that we killed him with kindness (read: flirted) or that we stayed sober enough not to get snappy.
The food was nothing spectacular but the variety was great — everything from sushi to mexican — and lots of fresh fruit and salads. I can’t speak to the prime rib others have complained about because the idea of eating something like that for breakfast doesn’t even appeal to me. Bonus points for the coffee bar and chocolate fountain. And, of course, the view.
In all if you can stand to have less than a pitcher of mimosas and aren’t expecting a Four Seasons quality brunch I think you will enjoy this experience.

The view is nice when sitting on the outside patio. They have little fire pits which is a nice touch.
Try to close your eyes as you walk through the actual restaurant. The décor is straight from 1985 and not in a good way. Wicker chairs and an old dirty carpet that they need to replace.
The food is mediocre but not terrible.
I would suggest coming for some drinks and an app at sunset but go to dinner elsewhere.

We went here for our 13^th wedding anniversary. We used to live in the Marina and I wanted a view of the water. If I was just judging hospitality and the patio setting, I would easily give 5 stars. The waiters were polite, professional and overall excellent. The patio has a stunning view of the marina and the fire pits really make the setting fantastic.
However.
The décor inside looks like it came straight out of 1970, complete with the same folding card tables my parents used to have in the basement. We were easily the youngest couple there, and we’re both on the short side of 40.
The food is extraordinarily average and entirely overpriced. The oysters on the half shell were good, that was the high point of the evening. The clam chowder tasted like it came from a can, and don’t get me wrong, I like canned chowder — but I can get that at home, and not pay $ 10 for it.
I ordered the lobster tail with the garlic mashed potatoes. The lobster was rubbery and the potatoes cold. They had been squeezed out of a decorating tube and the resulting effect was it looked like the chef had tried to ice my plate. The veggies were a vinegary mix of what I think was baby carrots, but they had been burned so badly that I was impossible to tell.
My husband’s steak was unremarkable, overcooked and bland.
Overall, with tip, we spent close to $ 200. I knew we were going to an expensive restaurant so this didn’t shock me. However, what I found jarring was how stunningly average the food is.
If you go, go for a drink (overpriced) and a view of the marina (priceless) — save your appetite and eat elsewhere.

While I can’t quite attest to the food here being «crème de la crème’, I’ll definitely state that Shanghai is definitely worth visiting from time to time; I just can’t see myself traveling out of my way to do such.
The buffet features everything from salmon to a «waffle/​omelette» and even a «pasta-​making station» and sweeping views of the marina fall nothing short of being phenomenal.
This all into consideration,… based on my experience yesterday and/​or visits within the past, it’s come to my attention that this establishment has grown «COMFORTABLE» and/​or began to «bank» on not only their location but additionally… their reputation.
While in line for the «waffles» the server (one of two) yesterday, just –up and left– w/​o any given notice to those waiting in line let alone his colleague directly next to him, who was compelled to become a «mover and a shaker» on both ends and facilitate the making of both omelette’s as well as waffles not to mention carving turkey and roast beef affront two lines of cantankerous let alone hungry scavengers waiting to fill their bellies. This server’s disappearance perplexed us all… Did he leave to obtain more food items? …DID HE DIE???
Uhm — would raising his index finger (like the usher’s do in church) have been completely out of the question to allude to his departure??? At least those waiting,…such as myself, would’ve known to call off requesting the filing of a police APB seeing as how he was clearly «Missing in Action»…
I mean dayum. #IMJUSTSAYIN’
Moving forward, praise God for our having booked reservations for 8 in advance. Of course giving the inevitability of this thing called life, folx’ failed to arrive on time and in turn, to be seated — we were compelled to reduce the size of our party…
Mitch, our waiter was absolutely outstanding; he dare not even allow our glasses to become «thirsty» —–
HOWEVER — there is absolutely NO excuse for the way that I witnessed staff members treat those walking in and/​or calling to make or obtain reservations. Not only were walk-in’s shunned away but those calling in to obtain reservations for a later timeframe were rushed off of the phone and/​or forwarded to The Warehouse (restaurant on Admiralty) just down the street.
Shanghai — this is absolutely unacceptable. You all really do need to coalesce as it’s undeniable that you’ve developed an impudence based merely upon the good fortune brought your way through your imperishable reputation. This stated, might I emphasize the obvious?, — which is that reputations are made and can just as easily be broken at the drop of dime.
#WORDOFMOUTHTRAVELS
* Mark this one as being a «buffet for thought».

Shanghai Reds is good clean eating fun! Be warned its popular and it’s packed. Don’t blame anyone but yourself if you’re late to your reservation because you’ve been angrily stalking the parking lot for twenty minutes.
Tip the guy with champagne in his hand. He’s a busy man, with hundreds of glasses to pour, your buzz isn’t his concern.
Pace yourself and take your time with the buffet. The buffet rule says the good stuff is at the end so blame your own eyeball greed if your plate is too full for shrimp or crab legs.
It’s not the Ritz, it’s a good old buffet. Act like you know!

Clientele: An older crowd, unless it’s the business lunch crowd.
We came for the lunch seafood buffet.
The pastas were soggy. Perhaps for the older clientele?
The seafood consisted of 2 shrimp items and one seafood pasta. Where was the abundance of seafood my coworkers promised me? Nowhere to be found.
Don’t be fooled by the name as it’s got nothing to do with Shanghai or asian food, though they do have a nice koi pond and walkway leading up to the door.
Come for the view of the marina.

I have visited here on several occasions. My favorite dining experience happens to be the brunch. I have come to both the Saturday and the Sunday Morning Brunch. Both appear to be equal in food choice despite the higher price on Sunday.
The brunch is buffet style, with your usual made to order stations: waffle, omelette, carving, and pasta. Of course, unlimited champagne is also available.
I mainly enjoy the view of this place-​serene and beautiful. The wait staff are attentive and pleasant.
If dining outside of brunch, I would recommend the jumbo shrimp cocktail and clam chowder. As the name implies, the shrimps are JUMBO and are accompanied with a nice spicy cocktail sauce. The prime rib is good, but have been found to be a bit fatty on occasion.
The décor is stale and outdated. However, the view more than makes up for it.
Restaurant is good for groups. Parking is located in a shared lot. Valet is available.

My first visit here, I was very disappointed. I had the buffet for lunch. The prime rib was dry. The fish was tough. The pasta was gummy. But the view was spectacular and drinks were strong so I gave it another try. I am glad that I did.
I came by again for happy hour. The crowd was a little gray but jovial. The drinks were amazing and cheap. The food was a step above the typical bar fare.
Recently, I stopped by for dinner. I had the grilled seafood platter. The scallops were perfect. The risotto was well seasoned and correctly prepared. The shrimp was not deveined properly.
I like this place. I would not have the buffet.

Third time we’ve eaten here, and at $ 40 each for brunch, it will be the last time. My husband and I both realized in this entirely underwhelming visit that neither of us eats enough to make this even remotely worth almost $ 100 with tip. All the food is mediocre. It’s waffles, omelets, pasta and a chocolate fondue fountain with an extremely cheap unlimited champagne pour. The desserts are restaurant supply quality standard issue fare — the whipped cream is artificial whipped topping, not cream.
My palate can’t handle this kind of garbage food anymore. The location itself is adorable (koi entry, beautiful waterfront marina view, outdoor seating).
I think one of my photos kind of sums it up. There was a disposable plastic clothes hanger on one of the rose bushes on the patio on the waterfront. No waiter or bus boy even bothered to remove it. Service was poor. Our champagne glasses were filled once when we first sat. Twenty-​eight minutes later, after we had already gotten our second plate of food and the glasses were empty for at least 18 of those minutes — I got up and went and filled them myself. A disgruntled busboy came and scolded me, and repeatedly stated that he could be fired for me filling my own glasses. Perhaps he doesn’t understand, he SHOULD be fired if it takes so long to get a glass refilled that two very agreeable guests get up to fill it themselves. The restrooms were hot and smelled icky (and it’s obvious they were kept dark to hide how dirty they may actually be). I’m a restroom stickler, if it’s dirty, the kitchen usually follows suit.
I’d rather have one exceptional plate and one high quality glass of champagne than gorge at the buffet pig trough here.

Came here for Breakfast Brunch and I gotta tell yah… I have a new addition to my «Breakfast List»!!! Yey!
2 hours parking is free with validation. Another 2 hours would set you back about $ 6.
To enter, you’ll go over mini bridges/​pathways over the ginormous koi pond with super old and large koi (or carps). I was already transported. You would barely even notice that the décor inside is a bit dated.
For your Breakfast Brunch, they offer the following:
Omelette Station
Meat Carving Station
Waffle Station
Continental Breakfast Station
Mexican Food Stations
Seafood Bar
A Modest Sushi Station
Buffet Line filled with regular breakfast items such as sausages, eggs benedict and eggs
Buffet Line filled with regular lunch items such as seafood lasagna, bbq, pork loin, chicken, etc.
Cappucino
Juice Station
Giant Chocoloate Fondue
Variety of Cakes
Bread Pudding!
Unlimited Champagne
It might not be the best food in the world but with that beautiful view and the large variety of foods they are offering, everyone will be able to get something they like.
They have an outdoor patio beside the koi pond with a fire pit…
They also have an outdoor patio by the water.
They have two rooms that extend over the water to maximize the view.
The service is great too by the way.
There’s an attendant assigned just for the restroom so even though there were much traffic, the lady kept the restroom from getting trashed.
And it’s next door to the Fisherman’s Village which isn’t as dead as the San Pedro one. There was some sort of festival going on today and there were a lot of people and a live band with dancing going on. So…
Yeah, I have a new place for Breakfast Brunches for the family!

Champagne brunch? Of course!!! On the waterfront? Yes. So good? Could have been better.
«Is Shanghai Red’s a nice Chinese place?»
«Nope? Where did you get that from?»
«Shanghai is in their name…»
The only thing remotely Chinese about this place is the koi swimming in the water on the long walkway to get into the restaurant. Which, was very pretty cool. Other than that the food is all American (with some Mexican and Japanese) and the décor of the place is like a hunting lodge with deer heads sticking out of the wall.
The restaurant itself is much much bigger than I thought it would be. Several rooms that you could be in or just sit outside under the warm sun. We got seated in one of the rooms along the water with a nice gentle breeze and a view with some sea lions swimming by.
The service is readily available to take your plates and refill your champagne glasses. Grab some oj and make a mimosa for yourself. Then grab some food.
Keep in mind that overall, I felt that everything was decent, not too much stood out, and not too much was super bad either. They have a good variety of food to choose from, and desserts and drinks.
The best of the best:
Smoked Salmon-​in the very back of the main room there was a whole salmon laid out onto a platter. Head and all! Wonder if it scared some people away? Hahaha. This was nice and refreshing with good flavor and some herbs slathered on.
Cappucino-​Grab a cute glass and make your own. Cappucino, some whipped cream, some sprinkles, a marshmallow or two. Tasty with some nutmeg and cinnamon notes to it. Always fun to be able to make your own drink.
Chocolate Dessert Fountain-​just have to love these
Okay
Desserts-​variety of cakes and even baklava
Omelette, belgium waffles, otis spunkmeyer cookies (if fresh yummy), ribs, steamed tilapia, mushroom salad, eggs benedict, bacon, potatoes, mussels, fried fish
The Ugh…
Sushi-​they had california roll, spicy tuna, veggie, and a crab roll. All just ugh… think grocery store sushi that has been sitting in the fridge for a day. Smushy and all.
Tamale-​not so great
There was definitely a lot I didn’t even try. Lotsa brunch stuff, carving meat that looked really dry, mexican dishes I didn’t get to, snowcrab legs… good variety.
For the price, $ 30, and the quality of the food, I’d say I prolly wouldn’t come back here again. It’s not great, not bad, but I’m not going to be craving this stuff. Great for the view and all.

I had high hopes for this place… Marina del rey, by the water, pretty classic place I guess you could say.
First off, the décor is so outdated. I get that this place has been here for awhile but it just felt flat to me. Not a big deal but that’s just how I felt despite the view of the ocean.
The food was good. In my opinion nothing really blew me away. My fam and I had the app sampler which was tasty. best part was prob just lobster, spinach & artichoke dip.
I also ordered the clam chowder. It was more than your run of the mill clam chowder but again, nothing spectacular. For my main course I had the grilled rack of lamb and my boyfriend ordered the seafood collage.
My grilled lamb came with mashed potatoes & veggies. I ordered my lamb medium rare and it first came out well done. I had to send it back and then wait another 20 minutes to come out the way I wanted it. It was well seasoned and pretty solid. Didn’t care much for the potatoes nor the veggies.
The seafood collage was okay. It said it came with a white wine sauce but it was more like an alfredo sauce. Definitely too creamy and masked the flavors and freshness of all the seafood.
In my opinion, I really wouldn’t want to come here for dinner. The price you pay is not a reflection of the food but more of the ocean view. I feel that a trip to a restaurant on La Cienega would be more worth it. Nix the ocean and head somewhere that actually amazes you.

I’m really not sure why I used to like Shanghai Red’s. The last two visits were very disappointing experiences for lunch. This review is for the mid-​day buffet. It’s $ 16 weekdays and more on the weekends. If I go again (and I probably will since I live right next to it), I probably would skip the buffet option and just order off the regular menu.
Most of the buffet food just wasn’t very fresh. The salmon (fishy), the roast beef (no flavor), the turkey (dry), pasta (sticky), and the chicken (bland) all tasted like they were pre-​made and just re-​heated. Then the items sit in standard buffet trays over little portable heaters. Desserts offer pre-​packaged cakes and a warm bread pudding dish.
The main benefit of Shanghai Reds is the location right on the main channel of the Marina. Why live in So Cal, if you aren’t gonna eat by the water sometimes and watch boats coming in and out?
On weekends during the summer, the Marina gets busy on sunny days so make sure you are seated outside to enjoy the view and sea breeze. Only warning is to watch your food because the birds will swoop in while you aren’t looking.
Service is pleasant and generally quick. Parking options are valet or in the Fisherman’s Village lot. I recommend just parking in the lot.
1 star for location and .5 star for the service rounded up for the outdoor seating.
Also, tried Happy Hour a couple times (seating is indoors). The chips and snack foods (carrots, cheese, peppers) are basic small bar options with only a small discount on drinks or wine.