Coach's Mediterranean Grill (Downtown Huntington Beach)

food: 5/5

experience: 5/5

overall: 5/5

Along the downtown strip of Huntington Beach there are two Greek/Mediterranean places. One is Charlie's Gyros, which has a limited menu and is more fast-food-y; and the other is Coach's, which is right next door - a full-service sit-down restaurant. And their menu is quite extensive, believe me. It took me quite a while to work my way through it.

Let's start with the appetizers. And there's a helluva lot of cheese, be forewarned.

Gyro quesadilla! Why didn't anyone else think of this? A flour tortilla with mozzarella and perfectly seasoned gyros, nice and tender and they didn't slack on them either. There's gyros aplenty in here. A very hearty meal. If you're not familiar with gyros, they're a mix of beef and lamb meat and they're spectacular.

This is not fondue, but it is close. Saganaki. A melted cheese, very hot, with a delicious crust on the bottom. Eat that first. It's nice and burnt. And do what I did and flip the whole filet of cheese over while you're doing that so the other side gets crispy too. Repeat until finished. If I had to describe the flavor it's like a very sharp gourmet cheddar. Comes with nice soft pita bread to spread it on (or if you're a master, slice in half and stuff inside).

Mozzarella sticks. Everyone loves them and if you do you'll love these too. Theirs are nice and crisp. The batter is seasoned well, a nice herbal blend, probably Italian. The cheese isn't melted, it's more stringy and chewy. So it won't melt all over your hands when you bite in. Comes with house-made marinara which is very unique in flavor.

Spicy feta cheese, an interesting idea. This is fresh (very fresh) chilled feta cheese topped with a cayenne pepper sauce. It is spicy for sure. Not for the weaklings. Comes with more of that delicious pita bread.

If you haven't had spanakopita before, I'm surprised. The guy I went out with had never heard of it in spite of having been to Greece. How does that happen? Theirs are normally the traditional triangular shape but they made these special for me because they were out of those. Still the same ingredients. Delicious flaky fried phyllo dough inside of which is spinach and ricotta cheese, plus tzatziki sauce on the side (yogurt, dill, cucumber). A nice little snack before dinner.

The shrimp scampi is pretty decent. It says it's marinated in butter and garlic but it seems pretty tomato-heavy. Which isn't a bad thing. Very flavorful. Just not much of a butter flavor.

The eggplant dip is kind of weird. Yes it looks like baby throw up. I'd compare the flavor to tomatillo sauce. It's tangy and doesn't really taste like eggplant. I was expecting something like a baba ghanouj flavor, something thicker. I wouldn't recommend this to be honest. It's just weird.

This breaded calamari is bomb though. The calamari is fresh, you can tell. It's tender and not chewy or tough. The breading is crispy and delicious. The serving size is perfect. I'm a fan of fried calamari and this does not disappoint.

The tabouleh salad is...interesting. It's very green, for sure, but it's basically a huge plate of herbs. There's some onions and tomatoes, and cracked wheat spread throughout, but this seems more like a topping than an appetizer. Without the pita to put it on it would be very strange indeed. Healthy though. Lots of parsley in there. Good for detox.

There's a small salad selection. Very small. They have a Greek salad (of course) and a Caesar salad. Went with the Greek to be authentic.

Pretty big, and excellent presentation with the pita. Pita comes with everything I guess. They must have stacks in back. Plenty of chicken on top (not included), and it's not drenched in dressing which is nice. Kalamata olives, feta cheese, etc., etc.

Coach's has several tapas, most of which are available as entrees (lamb chops, filet mignon, and chicken kabobs) The salmon florentine is one that isn't.

This is smoked salmon topped with a creamy tomato sauce (possibly tomato vodka cream) and capers. Very savory and very delicious.

Coach's also has a pretty decent variety of pastas. I just tried a few since most of the sauces have heavy cream in them.

Seafood pasta. Love my seafood. They put three kinds in here: mahi mahi, salmon, and shrimp. A decent amount. Plus seasonal veggies - zucchini and carrots in this case. It normally comes with florentine sauce which is a combo of red and white sauce. I went for butter and garlic instead. Still delicious. I'm a fan of rigatoni. Nice and chewy.

As mentioned Coach offers two main sauces, white and red. White being alfredo and red being marinara. The alfredo sauce is featured on the chicken fettuccini alfredo and Coach's special pasta, below.

Kinda basic. Eh. This time they made the presentation a little nicer. The special pasta just has chicken and veggies in it. Nothing special but it's decent. Alfredo sauce tastes decent. Subtle and creamy. The fettuccini alfredo is probably a better option since actually it has parmesan cheese in it.

Marinara is featured on the penne arrabbiata with shrimp (also has kalamata olives and parmesan), cheese ravioli, and spaghetti with meatballs. Was gonna try the meatballs but figured they couldn't beat the gyros. Now there's an idea. Spaghetti with gyros.

As I said, they have regular cheese ravioli, but ricotta cheese by itself is so basic. So I went for the lobster ravioli.

Decadent and scrumptious. You can tell it's real lobster inside. There's seven raviolis and it's covered in florentine sauce, which is the mix of white and red sauce. One of the tastiest things on the menu, and that's saying a lot cus all their food is tasty.

The garlic pasta with clams is pretty decent. It's in a white wine sauce with garlic, olive oil and parsley. A simple yet decadent sauce, tastes very fresh; and clams are always delicious.

Pizza? Sure, why not. They have a few of those. Pepperoni, shrimp, gyros, BBQ chicken, Mediterranean, artichoke heart, veggie, and plain cheese. Mediterranean sounded like a good option as it is their specialty after all.

It's pretty basic to be honest. Pesto made in-house - garlic, basil, olive oil. Very simple. Topped with feta, Kalamata olives and mozzarella. Their crust is nice and soft and bready. It's good but I've had just as good from say Trader Joe's. 

And since I've never had gyros on pizza I had to try that one as well.

Plenty of delicious gyros on top, the same as in the quesadilla, with delicious burnt mozzarella cheese on top. The same delicious crust as above. Very filling and plenty for two or three people.

Seafood, my favorite! Yes I already said that. Couldn't wait to try this part of the menu. First off: they have branzino. A.k.a. seabass. A.k.a. the best fish ever. Out of the choice between salmon (tried it), tilapia (eat it every day), and branzino... I had to try this.

It's a thin filet but it's seasoned well, very flavorful. The portion size is just right. All seafood dishes come with a rice pilaf and seasonal sautéed veggies. The rice pilaf is really good. I think because they put pasta in there as well. There were some skinny noodly things in there. Rice pilaf is served with all the entrees.

The mixed seafood kabob has three pieces each of shrimp, salmon, and mahi mahi. It's a bit of a small serving in terms of protein but there's plenty of that delicious rice pilaf underneath. Marinated in butter and garlic. Delicious. 

More selections from the grill...

Filet mignon. Super fancy. Well not so much when it's just a kabob. This tastes a lot different from the first (and only, prior to this) time I had filet mignon. It's not as tender and it tastes different, I guess cus it's marinated. It's still really good though.

Rib-eye steak! Seasoned with salt and peppa. This is a big one, I assume about 16oz. Steak is always good and this one is as well. Medium rare, the best form of done-ness. I actually haven't tried rare yet though. Maybe I'm missing out.

 

On to the lamb, the best meat in Mediterranean cuisine. First I tried the lamb kebab, which is just lamb meat marinated and grilled on a skewer. Since lamb is always good, this, obviously, is delicious as well. But they didn't quite hit the spot as much as...

Lamb chops! Hnngghh. Tender, juicy lamb meat on the bone. Big cuts too, no chincey thumb-size pieces here like I've had at other places (to which I shall never return). Meaty and scrumptious. 

Next, Coach's mixed grill, which has three meats: chicken shish kabob, gyro, and kofta. The chicken is marinated and it's very juicy. I don't know what it's marinated in but it's good. More of the gyros. And kofta which is kind of like a little oblong meatball made of beef presumably, or maybe a beef-lamb combo like the gyros. It's good but it's a little dry.

Last, the Alexander kebab, which is more gyros, plus a creamy yogurt sauce and red sauce on top, underneath which is fried pita. Fried pita is interesting I guess. It just tastes like the fried batter of any fried food. It's crispy on the parts that don't touch the meat/sauce but squishy on the parts that do. Makes for a nice snack for leftovers I suppose. Obviously the gyros are the best part of this dish.

Other menu items I didn't try because they seem more Italian-inspired, and just didn't impress me much in the description, are the spaghetti and meatballs and the chicken picatta.

For lunch they have a lot of their menu items for cheap. By a couple bucks anyway. You got pita sandwiches with the above-mentioned meats: gyros, chicken, falafel, lamb, or tuna salad. You got your bowls which are the same meats as the sandwiches but in a bowl with rice. And then you got your burger.

I wasn't expected to be wowed by a burger but this was honestly some of the best beef I've ever had. Color me impressed. I did not see this coming from a Mediterranean joint. The fries are thick-cut which I like, not seasoned very much so they're a little plain. This burger though. Ditch the American cheese though, damn. Ruins it.

Dessert!

The most famous Greek dessert, and the one we tried first, is baklava. It's a flaky pastry with nuts inside. Sweet, obviously. It's made with phyllo dough and it tastes like maple syrup with a brown sugar walnut interior. Very good. Small and simple and light.

Tiramisu is always good and so is theirs. Layers of thick cream sandwiched between layers of coffee-infused sponge cake, topped with chocolate powder with a drizzle of caramel sauce all over. A perfect sized slice for sharing.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

If you visit for dinner, make sure you have some time on your hands. Service is incredibly slow all the way until closing because they're so popular. On weekends anyway. I'm talking planning an hour visit minimum. Being okay with eating at 9pm. That kinda thing.

What I appreciate most about Coach's is they don't fall for the mask scam. The owner doesn't wear one and socializes with all his regulars. The hostess rarely wears one. The waiters usually do but they're not strict about it. And you know what? They still have a bustling business. Because Huntington Beach is one of the few cities in Commiefornia that hasn't gone absolutely nuts.