Our second stop on the Summer Beach Tour took us to Poseidon on the Beach in Del Mar.  The “on the Beach” part of the name is very descriptive of the restaurant.  As you can see from the picture on the right above, if you get a seat on the patio you literally are right on the beach — so much so that seagulls periodically land on the ledge looking for food.

The view really is the highlight at Poseidon.  All the ratings hovered around (and averaged to) a B.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  There were several comments to the effect that the burger is fine and the view is great and we would return because we like the view and the burger is acceptable.

In general, there was a feeling that the burgers were somewhat dry and not juicy enough.  There is only one burger on the menu — the “Pojo Burger”, which consists of a half pound of “natural” angus beef served on a brioche bun and topped with sautéed mushrooms, onions, chopped bacon, melted jack, cheddar cheese, and pickles, with a choice of fries, cole slaw, or a house salad.  They do also have Kobe beef sliders on the menu.  I ordered the Pojo Burger my usual way — with pickles, mustard, and ketchup only — and it was immediately apparent to me that the burger was dry.  You might think that all the toppings would hide that, but others who ordered the burger “fully loaded” felt the same way.  Also, one of our members had a little incident with the mushrooms.  Apparently the toppings do not easily stay within the bun, and some of the mushrooms jumped out and decided to take a ride on his dress shirt.  When it came to the fries, I thought they were a bit too thick and thus a bit too potato-ey / plain.  Others generally liked them more though, and I acknowledge they were cooked well and had a nice amount of seasoning salt on them.

We arrived at Poseidon around 11:45am and there was ample seating at that time.  As the noon hour rolled around though the restaurant started to get crowded — especially on the patio.  We also observed that the clientele — or at least those arriving early — appeared to be on the older side.  There was nearby parking available when we arrived, though we opted for the onsite valet parking.  That area gets crowded in the afternoon, and at some point the $4 valet or the paid parking across the street may be the only options.

Bottom line:  The view was great and inspired a leisurely lunch and engaging conversation.  Poseidon may not be the best burger in town, but if you want a great view with a decent burger, Poseidon should be on your short list.