Islands Restaurant

Multiple visits and it all comes down to service, the food is decent, the prices are decent but there always seems to be a significant delay between when you order something and when it shows up — Point in case, we always order the endless bowl of Tortilla soup, not something they make from scratch for every order, yet, it almost always takes at least 10 minutes for a fresh bowl of soup to come out of the kitchen, refills on drinks are equally slow. You have the food you need to work on the service.

Who doesn’t crave «Islands» every once in a while? Food is good. Spinach dip is really good but service is a 2 stars. I had the BBQ chicken sandwich with fried onions and that was good. Unfortunately I requested condiments but never got them. Another buzzkill was that we waited over 20 minutes for the check after being done with our meal. Server was nice. Not rude or anything but not on point. Our bill was over $ 50 for 3 burgers and an appetizer which is alright if the service is good. Place is clean. With so many burger options out there (The Habbit, The Counter, Smash Burger!!) at half the price point we will have to rethink coming here.

Not a good experience at Island’s today. Granted the place was packed due to it being lunch time on a Saturday… but anyway the waitress came over to us fairly quickly to ask for drinks which was nice. After we ordered it took almost 30 minutes for us to get our food. When we did get it the fries were cold and the kids cheeseburger we received for my niece was cold and the cheese wasn’t even melted. Overall, I’d have to rate this place a two. Really not planning on going back.

We come to islands on a weekly basis and its normally good in the bar area during dinner and the nighttime crew is 10 times better than the afternoon crew. We came in to eat in the afternoon and the service was horrible including they giving us a plastic knife instead. The entire meal dirty dishes sat on our table which normally doesn’t happen at night. We got asked once how we were doing. I guess who might only come in the evening now.

First of all, I have to say the main reason for the 5 stars is due to one of their server/​bartenders whose name is Tim. He is one of the friendliest, most charming and attentive bartenders I have ever met. He knows the menu and bar selections extremely well. Second of all, the restaurant has a very nice layout with inside and outside eating. The bar area and televisions are excellent. Since the televisions are large, they can be viewed from most of the seating in the restaurant. And last but not least, the food is good with a nice variety, and they have a great selection of beers and speciality drinks. So for a good meal and excellent service from Tim, you can’t go wrong with Islands in Redondo Beach.

Pretty disappointed because when we ordered the appetizer we never got our plates to serve ourselves :(and when we finally did we had already used napkins to serve one another. NOT TO MENTION it was spinach artichoke dip not fun at all. When our plates finally came out the server Chelse apologized and said the dish washer was broken. WTH!!! that is when MANAGEMENT places an emergency work order to get someone out there ASAP. This Islands seemed to have gone through to many changes in management (not good)
They would not let us order Fish Tacos alacart even if we were ordering 2 :(that is how they get you to spend $$. They should stick to burgers and beer not Fish Tacos, we ended up ordering them any ways with our burgers since is was my husbands birthday. They were not what he expected ate only 1. If your party is spending $ 152.00 and we had to eat our appetizers off a napkin before it got cold at least the server could of offered the birthday guest a FREE COOKIE!!! :(
Won’t be back anytime soon…

Wow. Only 3.5 stars, ?. Well we have been a regular here for a few years definitely one of our favorite places to hit regularly and the food is always great but the service is even better. The bartenders are awesome. Melissa, Tim & Brett are the best we have had anywhere. They are always attentive and follow through with everything. Definitely a 4.5 –5 rating service is a 6
Fast service and always helpful and personable. Great staff.

Good burgers and great fries. Nice TV’S and drink specials for big sporting events. Can’t go wrong when in the area

Service is what defines a chain. They all have the same basic menu and for years Islands and the service was fun and reflected the vibe of an island getaway… if only for lunch.
Today, promises of refills and I’ll get you that right away were forgotten. Instead we sat and waited while our overpriced burgers grew cold. «More fries?» She asked? They came the same time the check came… ah… no thanks. It was like a Hawaiian vacation with lots of rain. Not what you dream of.
Just for clarity, we had the big wave burger, hula burger and chicken tenders. All ok, and worthy of a better review. But, that lack of care pops it down.
The Diet Coke was great, would have liked a refill. Parking and ease of seating was fine although after 12:00 noon it gets busy. Maybe a bad server day, but the island vibe was not here today. A very cloudy day at the beach.

It’s islands! So enjoy your burgers with a drink. The tiki tenders are always a favorite appetizer to share. Take them with ranch or bbq sauce or both! Their ice tea is good and comes in regular and passion fruit.
For colder days I like to order the tortilla soup. It is really well flavored, packed with chicken and never disappoints. For any dish you can substitute sweet potato fries for regular fries. Switch buns to lettuce wraps. They are really accommodating and never say no.
This location tends to be crowded over the weekend and on sports nights. So check out the bar area if your wait is long. If you see a spot you can claim it. There are tvs everywhere so if you are looking for a romantic date this ain’t it lol!
Parking is super easy in front of the building on a huge parking lot.

My brother in-​law and I enjoyed the all you can eat Tortilla Soup. The service was good and the server kept the bowls flowing. This was a small price to pay for getting a free place to crash while in Redondo Beach. My wife and I got out of there for about $ 35. So I definitely would return again to Islands Restaurant.

Rarely do I ever leave a bad review because I feel that every establishment has «its day» once and awhile…
However, I cannot let this one slide because I got absolutely hosed by this place! I called 30 minutes ahead of arrival, letting the person know that I was coming w a party of 13 (mixed) w kids and we wanted to take advantage of the happy hour menu. They are usually gracious enough to sit me and my family in the booths so we agreed that we would sit in two booths side by side or sit in the patio.
I get there (on time) w my whole party and find out that they’ve completely disregarded our reservation. The won’t allow us to order from the happy hour menu drop the booths like they normally do. On top of that, they’ve given up all the seats in the patio and those weren’t even available. The manager wouldn’t even come out to talk and works things out.
On principal, I left w 7 adults and 6 starving kids. Will NEVER come back here ever again!

Don’t go here unless you enjoy having food poisoning that is so horrific it could star in it’s own horror movie. I went on Sunday and had a salad with friends. I was sick within 2.5 hrs. When I called the restaurant to report it to the manager, I got questioned if it really came from their restaurant.
If this costs a signficant amount of money, I’m sending my bills to their corporate office. Foodborne illness is no joke. I still have not heard from management what it was that made me sick.

Been eating Islands since i was 15 (29 now], definitely a family favorite.
Love turkey burgers, Soup, and the best onion rings anywhere!!!

I hadn’t come here since I lived in San Diego a long time ago, so after moving back to the area it was hard to resist this place after seeing them almost everywhere! I didn’t remember if I loved it or was indifferent, but since we wanted to make a quick decision on a post-​pumpkin patch meal, I suggested Islands. Hubby has been wanting to try it, because now that we’re SoCal residents, what place called «islands» isn’t inviting?
We were quickly seated with a high chair at a table and our server came around soon after. The kids (Gremmies) menu is very cheap; $ 3.99 and includes a side and a drink. I quickly ordered the munchkin a half sandcastle, which is a half grilled cheese with a side of steamed broccoli with cheese sprinkled over top. They had sliders, mac and cheese, chicken tenders, and a few other average toddler/​kid offerings with adorable beachy-​themed names, and other sides included island fries (fries with their «special» seasoning blend), caesar salad, garden salad, pineapple or apple slices with yogurt dip, applesauce, etc. That probably took about 10 minutes to come out, which wasn’t bad considering Jia and Daddy were in the bathroom for a diaper change, so after they came back it only was a matter of minutes before she had her food.
Jeff and I both ordered ourselves beers (I forgot what mine was, but it was a really citrusy light orange wheat beer and who knows what Jeff ordered). After looking over the menu, I wanted to get something on the healthier side (considering their nutritional info is easy to get to, I was astonished at how high calorie their entrees and burgers were). I was tempted to get the grilled mahi fish tacos, but the server really said that the burgers were excellent. Welp, there goes my diet for the day. Beer + a burger!
I ordered the Maui burger, on a whole wheat bun. I ordered it medium, and it came with onion lettuce tomato, guacamole, and swiss cheese (mayo on the side). I upgraded to sweet potato fries from island fries (huge difference in calories, 240 vs. 470!). Jeff ordered the Kilauea, which is a jalapeño and black pepper crusted burger, pepper jack cheese, chipotle aioli, and fried onions (called Island Reds), and he added bacon. (his — not so diet-​friendly) My burger was excellent. I didn’t try Jeff’s but he said it was really good (how could it not be, with fried onions, bacon, and pepper jack?). The sweet potato fries were really good, Jia enjoyed tasting a couple, and by «tasting» I mean, she used it to shovel mayonnaise into her mouth.
The service was speedy, courteous, helpful, and very accommodating to children. There were 5 other kids in the same room and everyone seemed rather calm. At 12 PM, there was plenty PLENTY of seating on a Saturday afternoon, even during college football games (playing in the bar, lots of open seating there, too).
I’d definitely come back again since I love the island Tommy Bahama-​type vibe, the surf footage on the TV’s, tasty burgers, cheap kid’s menu, and probably the fact that Jeff finally took Jia for an independent diaper change in public.
Win for everyone!

As a frequent guest at this restaurant i expect better service checked in at counter was told ten minute wait group of 4 walks in behind me and were seated right away I was told they had a bigger party since when does that justify priority seating it will be a long time before i return to this islands
Someone needs to do a better job of training hostess’

I’ve come to this specific Island’s randomly throughout my time in the Southbay.
Island’s is known for their different types of burgers and they don’t ever let me down. My favorite burger to order is the Hawaiian burger, just a nice mix of salty from the meat and sweetness from the pineapple creates a perfect combination.
The other day I came with a friend and I wanted a healthier option and I’m happy to say that I was very satisfied with my turkey burger with the side of broccoli and carrots :)

I never like to review chain restaurants, as they’re sort of well know entities. However, I did want to say a couple of things about Islands. I do appreciate their burgers and fries. But I really like their specialties like their salmon and rice bowl. Even better, they will substitute brown rice, and offer crisp steamed veggies instead of fries, so you can eat on the healthier side.
But over the years, their quality has dropped. They’ve replaced their old plump chicken breasts with dry, cheap, pounded-​flat frozen breasts, and it makes me avoid their «Shorebird» sandwiches at all costs. Their salads are big but boring, and the soft tacos have gotten too gringo to bear, so I avoid all those now. And maybe it’s me, but I just don’t think their fries are as good as they used to be. In the past, I couldn’t resist them. But they must have replaced their original supplies with something else.
However, they have improved their beer and margarita list. And this particular Islands on Hawthorne has a great layout, with a long bar that offers three big screens to watch games (except the Dodgers, alas) along with their classic surf/​snowboard/​ski/​biking/​wakeboard footage. So I still go, just not as much as I used to.

Burgers are delicious
Tim and John amazing service. Beers and cocktails
The wife and I go there regularly for (NFL, NBA, NHL, and any other sport in between.
Thank you islands burgers. Keep the staff you have now.

Seating Time
we were immediately seated the moment we walked in. It’s Mother’s Day so this place was literally close to getting filled up around 1130am.
Food
Food was good. Had their aloha burger, fries, small Hawaiian salad, tortilla soup. Nothing over salted everything was perfect although the salsa and tortilla soup was a bit on the spicey side.
Service
Service was extremely fast. Wait times for our appetizers came in less than 10 minutes. Main entrée took less than than that as well. Their attention to our table was great too and offered refills and for help every 5 minutes.
Overall
Can’t complain about any thing over here. They also have a small selection of craft beer and other spirits