GTO's Seafood House

Here's an old place that we don't miss at all. I don't know if they named it after the cars from the 60's, or the obscure female group on Bizarre records from the 60's. Either way, it wasn't as good as either one of them. It seemed to be one of the 1st $wine country ripoff restaurants in $ebastopole. We were only here once upon a time for happy hour & appetizers. They had 2 boring beers on tap, & I had the 5 buck burger which went right thru me later. Poor sanitary conditions in the kitchen. My wife ordered the stuffed peppers, which were expensive & a la carte. The owners had an arrogant attitude for no good reason at all.

It pains me to give GTO such a low rating, since I've wanted to go there for a few years now, but our experience was such that I doubt I'll return unless someone else insists, and they're paying.

Met a friend for happy hour and a light dinner. She arrived before we did and reported a lukewarm reception at the bar. Others rec'd noticeably warmer receptions & still others rec'd hugs and kisses. Appears you're pretty much ignored unless you're a regular.

Since there weren't 3 open bar stools we asked if we could sit at 1 of 2 tables in the bar area. The decision wasn't immediate & seemed to hinge on whether or not we planned to eat. We didn't know what the "right" answer was, so we said maybe & were allowed to sit there. Or maybe it was because it could seat 6 & there were 3 of us.

Friend had a lemon drop, I had a cosmo, & DH had a Manhattan. Lemon drop was pretty good (I had one as my second drink), cosmo was pretty bad, and the Manhattan was like none I'd ever seen. DH said it was very dry & tasted watered down & our friend said when she was waiting for us & watching drinks being made it appeared water was being added to some drinks.

DH and I ordered the weekly special - a 1/2lb burger (DH questions the stated weight) and a grilled cod sandwich. Both came quickly along with tiny pots of barely-there mustard, mayo, tartar sauce, & ketchup. Could have asked for more, but it was hardly worth the effort at this point. The cod was nicely seasoned & perfectly cooked. I pulled it out of the bun & enjoyed it mostly on its own. Too much bun made the first few bites flavorless (& remember those tiny pots of almost nonexistent condiments?) with no way to moisten the bun, so it was discarded.

A few other observations. Two women came in about 1/2 hr. after we did and wanted to have drinks at the bar. The hostess actually turned them away saying "sorry, no room". I couldn't believe it! There was ample standing room & may have been one open bar seat meaning one could sit & one could stand, but no, they'd rather turn away the biz. Or they could have shared our bar table & easily had their own conversation without having to be new BFFs with us. Service was adequate, if not too friendly, at the beginning of our time there. It appeared other staff members started their shift while we were there & they were noticeably friendlier & more attentive.

Overall a disappointing visit to a place that I'd looked forward to trying.

It's a "seafood" restaurant with a burger night and more chicken on the menu than fish. I think they are confused. There was 1 seafood dish that wasn't fried or a shrimp dish, and it was the special.

I went in one night to give it a try upon suggestion by a friend as a local's joint. There were a number of locals at the bar, and some good conversation, but the dining room was mostly empty. The menu is overpriced, short, and doesn't fit the theme.

One of the owners was tending bar, even though he seemed lost at it. He did have a friendly demeanor though. I guess it wasn't normally his thing, as one of the servers inquired if the bartender was coming in (he wasn't). His wife however, seemed a polar opposite as far as mood. She was very off putting. She has a big "that's work and I don't wanna bother" kinda attitude.

What a surprise. Had dinner here on a Friday night. We got right in even though we didn't have a reservation. We were early so the crowd wasn't to bad. Lady that seated us wasn't the most friendly but was quite professional, she was the only server. If appears she and her husband own restaurant as he was the bartender.

The decor was an interesting mix of old mismatched tables and chairs which was completely appropriate for the area. Read in another review that the party was offended because a table was actually a door complete with whole which I personally find interesting and enterprising.

Ordered a couple of Cornea's which weren't quite cold enough, could be due to the heat. Seems criminal since we were in wine country not to order wine but when it's in the 90's beer is better.

My husband ordered something called a hanger steak, we weren't sure what to expect, with veggies and I ordered Prawns, battered, with fries. Both were excellent! My husband said the steak was the best he has ever eaten, which is saying A LOT! he's a complete meat and potatoes kinda guy. The steak was very small but was perfect and the veggies were crisp and appeared to be pan seared and delicious. My prawns were a surprise also, I thought when they said battered that they were just going to be a few shrimp on a plate of fries. The shrimp was awesome with a tempera batter and more than enough for one person.

Bill only came to 50.00 which where I come from, Monterey Bay, would have been higher and not nearly as good.

All in all great!

When I was a kid, I used to order the fried shrimp platter on the rare occasions that my parents would take us to a seafood restaurant. GTO's Seafood House is tucked away in the Sonoma County wine country, so everything is fancier. If you order the fried shrimp, you get garlic fries and a side of local organic salad greens.

It's not just fancy for the sake of being fancy though. The food here is quite delicious. Worth considering for dinner on your next trip north.

I visited GTOs for the first and last time about two months ago. I too found that service here was cold which was extremely offputting. My dining companion and I shared the popcorn crawfish appetizer which was good but would have been greatly improved with a sauce or dip of some kind, instead it was served with just a few lime wedges on the side.

I had the Mac n' Cheese and my partner had... I forget. Something unremarkable as I can't even remember. My entree was rather bland while the crawfish tails that were incorporated tasted less than fresh. They've changed their menu since my visit and although some of the options look tasty the high prices and unpleasant service will prevent me from doing so.

Was surprised to read the other reviews on here saying how harsh the service is, because that was not the case for us. Everyone was as charming and friendly as they could be. Loved the charbroiled oysters, and I had the best fish and chips I've had in Sonoma County. My wife said her burger was the best she's had here, as well. We ended the meal with a bread pudding that was terrific.

We are looking forward to $5 burger night and returning here frequently.

Went in and was treated terribly by the owner/hostess. She was put out by the fact that we requested a particular table and would not allow us to sit there, saying, "we decide where our customers sit". I told her she was mean.
Then, after being seated where she chose to seat us, there appeared a reserved sign at the table we had requested. By the way, the place was empty.
The owner/bar tender, when I asked, "Where is the chef from?" He responded, "That doesn't matter, I tell him what to cook." Rude dude.
Thgen he brought martinis to our table (mistakenly) and wehen we said we hadn't ordered them he angrily walked away without a word.
Then, the order came. OMG!!! A medium well burger came back burnt, looking like charcaol and another was burnt under the cheese. All burgers were terrible.
In short...mean people and BAD food.
Don't waste your time and certainly not your money.

I'm not a seafood fan, so we went for $5 burger night. Tasty burgers, gourmet style with good quality meat and breads from Sebastopol's local Village Bakery. Excellent garlic fries and onion rings, but petite portions to go with the upscale feel leave you wanting a couple more bites. Any other night paying $11+ for the burgers would have been a mistake, but its a nice special and good exposure for them.

They have some unique well drinks, plus a decent wine selection. The dessert menu was limited and didn't interest us much.

I see where the other reviewers complain about the service, the owners seem over their head in how to effectively manage service. Ours was slow, and not real outgoing, but pleasant and it worked.

We were craving seafood tonight and decided to go to GTOs. My husband had the blackened fish sandwich which was spicy and delicious. I had fish and chips, which were light and scrumptious. The last time I had good fish and chips was in New Zealand (English style). We also shared an organic spring mix salad with blue cheese. The service was friendly, the ambiance comfortable and many locals seemed to enjoy "hanging out".

There is a New Orleans vibe to the menu and restaurant, which is fun. The owners are from New Orleans and seem to be quite entertaining. What a treasure in downtown Sebastopol!