House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer - Laguna Beach

I went to House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer  in Laguna Beach the other day for lunch.  I saw that it had great Yelp reviews and its large and diverse menu sparked my interest.  I got there at 11:30am when they opened to get a good seat with a view of the ocean.  I was pleased and surprised that I was the first customer of the day, although after I was seated it got semi-busy.  The hostess told me to have any table that I wanted, so I picked a nice one next to the window with a view over PCH looking at the ocean.  The decor of the restaurant is very casual and beachy.  I love the fish that are mounted all over the restaurant! 

To drink I went with a large Stella (had to with a name like this place has ;)  although they do have a full bar if beer isn't your thing.  To start with I went with the Coconut Shrimp served with a sweet chili sauce.  The above picture is missing a few shrimp since I forgot to take a picture when it first came out LOL!  I would describe the shrimp as 'OK'.  The batter they were dipped in didn't have that much flavor and the shrimp were kind of greasy. 

Next I went with a Combo Hawaiian Plate with Teriyaki Chicken Breast and Kalua Pork with cabbage mixed in with the pork.  The Hawaiian Plate comes with white rice and macaroni salad.  There is A LOT of food on this plate.  A good choice if you are hungry for sure!  The Hawaiian Plate was 'OK'.  The quality of the food was good, it just lacked flavor.  The teriyaki chicken was average tasting.  The pork was VERY tender, but very bland also.  The cabbage helped add some personality to the pork.  The macaroni salad was also lacking in flavor.  If I had to describe this dish in one word it would be "bland".

House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer has a very cool atmosphere and feel to it.  Very casual and comfortable.  I won't come back here in the future just for food, but I would come back with a group of friends and have drinks and appetizers at happy hour since it's such a cool place to just relax at.  They have an AWESOME happy hour!  Happy Hour starts at 2:30pm with appetizers at $2.30 and gets one dollar more expensive every hour up to 6:30pm.  $1 off all beers, $5 well drinks, $5 margaritas, $5 house wines, $6 martinis, $.25 shrimp, $.25 wings, and $1 oysters.  PRETTY COOL!!!

Have you been here?  What was YOUR experience???