Chowder Barge Reviews

Found the Chowder Barge on line. Saw the pictures...and just had to try them out. Love the Barge, the surroundings and the inside of this place. Chowder was excellent, staff was friendly and good service. We had fish and chips too, and they were good. Not greasy. We can hardly wait to go back and enjoy this place again. It is really different, and worth finding.

This place is special and uniquely wonderful. It's a rather eclectic bar and restaurant on an old barge tied up in a rather backwater marina in Los Angeles Harbor. Access in down the plank to the floating dock where it is, and has been for years, tied up. Food is simple, amble, and great tasting. I haven't tried the cocktails, but the bar has a number of regulars, plus those looking for some place different. The breakfasts are pretty much standard fare, but way above average tasting. Their sausage links are the best I have ever had. The real eating joy is there namesake, clam chowder. I especially like the double chowder. It's a bowl of thick creamy New England (white) chowder with a pile of fried clams on top. As a frequent traveler to Southern California the Chowder Barge is always one of my "must goes" on every trip.

Very interesting place even if hard to find-- not on H Ford Ave but on a side road to West, toward local marina, cross the railroad track, park then walk down a steep ramp to the barge. Then drink beer. Lots of bottled beers, only 3 draft (one is Blue Moon). Fried clams and clam chowder are great, large generous salads, big hamburgers, large menu so try them out. Bikers, locals, boaters, card clubs, everybody meets here.

the chowder was great, fantastic and quite delicious. The setting is what one would expect for a small marina. The view was a bit industrial. the fish and chips were not so good. The fish was out of a box frozen, after all the work to make the chowder, they could devote some of the same effort to the rest of the menu. I would go again, but only for the chowder.

I hadn't been to the Chowder Barge in about 40 years and was hoping that it was still as good as I remembered. It was. I got the fish & chips and my wife got the shrimp basket. Both were really good. The two meals and a Corona for me came to less than $25. The Chowder Barge is in a rather dingy part of the Long Beach port (what part isn't dingy) but don't let that stop you from going here. I suggest using GPS if you don't know your way around this area because the streets are a little confusing. Anyway, great food, great service and good prices. You won't be disappointed.

My wife and I ended here at the end of a wonderful day touring the Queen Mary. It is about 10 minutes from the ship. It is an old barge that ended up in the Long Beach harbor and is now a "Jimmy Buffet" style of restaurant. They're specialty, of course, is the clam chowder, which was delicious! Along with the chowder my wife had the salmon and I had the fish and chips. We both enjoyed our meals. Our server, John, was an exceptionally nice fella, who was a hard worker and efficient as well! We really enjoyed the dining experience at the Chowder Barge.

Good fish and chips, onion rings and chowder in a fun, tiki nautical atmosphere. The chowder was so good that we bought an extra to take home. We will definitely return.

A real nice out of the way place . where the atmosphere is excelant . the sevise is always promt and the food good . Fridley crowd , and if looking fore some thing different . you can't beat it . basikly fun all around .

i love these kinds of places. This is a fab spot in Long Beach harbour, don't ask me how to get there, my brother is a local and navigated us to a great local spot for chowder and fish and chips. No airs and graces, just great food, beer and location. We went back for a second time during our vacation as we loved it so much. It's a lovely old fashioned barge bar. great service as well.

I come here for breakfast because I live on my boat in the area. Pretty consistent with the basic pub food. Service is good but can be inconsistent depending on the server. Champagne today with breakfast

The Chowder Barge was recommended by a neighbor a couple of days ago. We decided to give it a try today. First, it is easy to miss the entrace since the GPS tends to take you to side of the street and,restaurant is inside a marina complex through crossing the train tracks. We ordered 3 different dishes: clam chowder, fish and chips and salmon sandwich. Clam chowder was creamy, tasty and loaded with crispy fried clams. The fish and chips ....pieces were huge and deliscious. Service was great and friendly. This is the only floating restaurant in the,area and it is full of fishermen character. Love it

I order a grilled cheese sandwich with coleslaw. Oh yeah and a split of dry champagne! Typical pub food with great ambience and great clientele at the bar. Sailors, bikers and lost travelers all come in here. Great service too!!!

Been passing this place for years and finally tried it. Family loved it. We actually went two days in a row. The chowder was very good. Other dishes tried were the fish and chips (excellent, mmm steak fries), double chowder with cheeseburger (wife enjoyed with recommendation from server), salmon salad, and fisherman's deal (daughter enjoyed those two). Very nice atmosphere. My wife said we should have been coming here for years.

We had been told the food was great and we were out boating with a friend. We docked and went in. They were really busy but the had open seats. The table needed to be cleaned and the indicated they would be right over. It took awhile but the server finally came cleaned the table and took our drink and food order. One of our party had asked for their salad before their meal. We waited for quite awhile and our server never came back, finally one of party went to find the server and Indicated he was hoping to get his salad before his meal. The server was rude to him and he told the manager on duty. We had ordered a bowl of chowder ended up with a cup. I ordered another cup which took a really long time. We had to get our own tea. The chowder was excellent but after our poor service experience it really diminished my view of the food.

Wilington CA The Chowder Barge is on the water. Kind of hidden in a mostly industrial and shipping area. It is a floating barge in a marina with lots of small sail boats. The train also goes by often. Lots to look at. The staff is nice and attentive. The food, Fish and Chips with a cup of clam chowder was execelent. Food and drink, beer and wine, prices were very reasonable. The Chowder Barge is well worth a visit.

The servers are friendly and efficient. The food is wonderful and the atmosphere unique. Tr the Revs special, a burger smothered in chowder. Sounds odd but tastes great

We headed here for lunch after touring the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum (see separate review) on a cold Thursday. After parking in the lot above, we walked down the gangplank along the pier to the barge. We were seated right away near the red metal fireplace, which warmed us up. Located in an industrial area, we had views of boats in the the marina and the trucks on the nearby highway--a very busy place. We went for the comfort food--chowder, fish and chips, and a burger, although they do have salads. The nautical decor is fun and kitschy--a row of boat captain figurines, painting on the ceiling, and lots more. Fits the bill if you are looking for a unique experience in the area.

I imagine you can get here by car but I was taken here by an old pal who is now a local, we arrived in his dinghy thingy, a very small boat with a little engine and a cooler full of beer. We meandered all over San Pedro harbour, allegedly the largest in the U.S, and eventually 'docked' at a jetty thing, which is like a car park for ships. The Chowder Barge looked like it had been closed for a considerable time but I think thats just to confuse any land-lubbers that might come wandering along by mistake. Once inside I immediately felt completely at home, surrounded by Longshoremen having their lunch from 32oz glasses and a few old 'salty dogs' who looked like they'd been there since the place opened 40 years ago. Fantastic. We sat at the bar and ordered some refreshments and I was warned that the Chowder Burger is "a little bit heavy, but good" which I took as a throwing down of the gauntlet and had no choice but to accept the challenge. The bowl of chowder arrived and it was delicious, but it had a cheeseburger sitting in the bowl, smothered in chowder. I didn't think IO would but amazingly I finished the whole thing, even though I was full after about a third of it. Yummy yum yum. The staff here seem really good too, nice and friendly and a bit of a laugh, perfect after a morning messing about on the water. I might make it a road trip next time, I don't understand boats.

I just love this place. Make my way down to Wilmington every time I am in Los Angeles. A little hard to find if you don't know the area, but a pleasant surprise. Food is amazing. Good serving size. Great value. The breakfast is terrific. Visit and chat with the locals. The place has some kooky locals, and the staff are neat. Cold beer. Great sunsets.

This is a quaint floating barge with excellent clam chowder. The rustic nature of the place puts you at ease. The sandwiches are also great and they have good breakfasts. The bar area also seems appealing.

Like the name implies, great chowder with lots of clams. Colorful locals writing in journals stay and drink coffee. There was an attorney meeting a client. Truly a barge overlooking the place where the 99% ers keep their boats. A blue heron stands sentry.

Ok, it's Feburary and this place has a ton of flies. This is the first bad sign. The chowder is loaded with rosemary galore it really took away from the flavor, not to mention my wife and I both hate rosemary. The harbor this place is located in must be the boat dump for all of long beach, I would not come here at night. This restaurant needs a make over but seems to be popular to the locals. The food is all fried and very greasy. Sorry I can't recommend the Chowder House.

I met a colleague for dinner at this restaurant. It was a very cool and very different atmosphere. The service was great, the food was great and I thought the clam chowder was better than most. My colleague ordered a burger and it was huge, and he thought it was fabulous. He lives close and he said that it was definitely a spot to which he would return. Be aware that it is a little hard to find, so call ahead for tips on how to get there. Also, if you are a single female meeting someone, ask them to wait in the parking lot for you so you don't need to wait in the parking lot alone. The restaurant is down from the parking lot level. This is a place I would visit again, but not alone as it is in the middle of nowhere.

If you’re boating around L.A./Long Beach harbor, if you can find this little place, it’s totally worth it. You can drive there, but that’s not the point, and besides, unless you’re driving a semi-, you’ll probably have a heart attack because this area is where a vast percentage of all the consumer goods that come into the U.S. arrive first, and then get trained or trucked away, so it’s no place to be driving. The menu has a good diversity, but it's still a smallish barge. I’ve had the grilled cheese and veggie burger; I think the veggie burger was better. You're really going for the ambiance of the industrial harbor; if you're looking for "cuisine" on a barge, then you'll have to head over to The River Cafe under the Brooklyn Bridge. Boating location is: Latitude (33.777164), Longitude (-118.242718)

We ate here the last day of our Cali vacation because of a $10 restaurant.com coupon. It's not that easy to find, but it' worth plugging into your GPS or using Google Maps to locate. We ate here for lunch, and family members had from succulent fried shrimp with Cole slaw and fries, to my grand daughter's chicken strips & fries to my triple chowder that included fried clam strips, on top delicious thick clam chowder with chunks of potato in a bread bowl. O.K., perhaps not on my diet, but it was very yummy.

We stopped in here after finding this as a spot to go get chowder and thought it had to be good as a barge serving chowder for over 40 years. It did not disappoint. The place is like a floating double wide trailer with kitchy decorations including wood paneling. The chowder was pretty good, but not amazing, but the experience overall was great. I had triple chowder, so it was with fried clams and in a bread bowl. Bread bowl is a relative term - it really describes a small sourdough loaf that is cut and then the soup is poured over the bottom and the lid is put back on the top of the soup. Everyone had chowder, and my wife even tried the hamburger version. Micheladas at great prices as well. It was a good meal with a homey feel and comfort food.

Great breakfast. The country fried steak is excellent but go with the home fries the hash browns are lacking.

From the moment you walk in - it feels right. The food and the beer are top notch. The servings are copious. The service is friendly and prompt. The bathrooom is clean. Best of all - quite fairly priced. Will return with pleasure and bring friends and business assocciates.

My family and I heard about this restaraunt from a local...unbeknownst to us, we showed up 10 minutes before closing and the staff happily greeted and served us! Dinner was awesome - sour dough bread bowl was outstanding - clam chowder was the best ever - creamy and loaded with fresh, chopped clams (we learned it is a homemade recipe that dates back to the 1930’s), the chili in a bread bowl hit the spot and the chicken chopped salad was fresh and crunchy. Our server was friendly, shared the history of the restaraunt, and incredibly professional. The dinner was very reasonably priced - a fun night out for the family! We will definitely go back! Thanks Chowder Barge for the great dinner!!!

Good food.. awesome staff .. Clam Chowder is the best...Have to try it... Had fisherman platter was good.. Will come again...

Great clam strip basket and fries. Service was slow because a big group came in before me. Sit at the u shaped bar and meet some interesting characters.

This barge was built in 1935 for the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty”. We were riding our bicycles in the cycLAvia Wilmington event and made a side trip to this hidden gem. If my friend didn't bring us here I would probably never have bothered to go since it's in an odd location. We ordered the veggie burger with onion rings, Chowder drenched cheeseburger, deep fried clams with fries, clam chowder, beer on tap made into michiladas, and a well drink. The atmosphere is cozy and the staff is wonderful and friendly. My friend devoured his famous chowder drenched burger and the clam chowder in a cup was delicious.

We were a little skeptical about the location, but it was such a cool little place. The triple chowder was awesome! That's a bread bowl in a big soup bowl covered with New England clam chowder and fried clams!! The rest of the food was great too. My family really enjoyed the atmosphere, service and the food. They did a great job! Try this place whenever you are in Long Beach!!

Spent time with family on The Queen Mary and decided to find a place on the way home for clam chowder. We found the Chowder Barge. Interesting place with the train tracks on one side and the Barge surrounded by water and the marina. As far as the Clam Chowder goes it was tasty, thick and filling. Fish and Chips were also ordered and ample sized portions. Plenty of nautical decorations to look at while you wait. Service was good.

The Chowder Barge is well known for, guess what, the chowder. Home made from scratch, large pieces of clams, potatoes, and bacon. It's the New England type, and worth driving to from the greater LA area. You sort of have to find it as it's located on an actual barge in a backwater marina . Check their website for hours and location. And watch out for the train and truck traffic.

My wife and I have never had a bad meal here! Shrip dish was delish! and the Fish and Chips dinner included the best deep fried fish I have ever had! TOP: Unless you are sharing the F&C dinner get the 2 piece dinner or you will be taking some home! It has a nice Local waterfront setting with nice sunset views of the marina. a bit hard to find but well worth it once you do.