When it comes to restaurants, one that I have eaten at countless times in Monterey and San Francisco is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant & Market.
Inspired by the 1994 film “Forrest Gump”, the first Bubba Gump restaurant opened in Monterey back in 1996 courtesy of Viacom Consumer Products (Viacom is the owner of Paramount Pictures which distributed “Forrest Gump”).
The idea of Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant & Market was the collaborative effort between Paramount Pictures and Rusty Pelican Restaurants Inc. and the popularity of the Monterey restaurant would lead to over two dozen restaurants in the United States, four in Mexico, three in Malaysia, three in Japan and one in London, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In November 2010, Landry’s, Inc. acquired Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant & Market and a Rusty Pelican restaurant in Newport Beach.
The restaurant is best known for its fried shrimp meals but pretty much I tend to order the Shrimper’s Heaven which comes with hand breaded coconut shrimp, grilled shrimp, crisp golden shrimp and tempura shrimp with fries. You also get three dipping sauces: Tangy Asian, Cajun Marmalad and Zesty Cocktail for $21.99.
The traditional beer battered Captain’s Fish and Chips, Jambalaya (featuring blackened chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage, sauteed with bell pepper, onions, and rice in Bubba’s own spicy sauce. Topped with tomatoes and green onions). A shrimp po’ boy which comes with a fresh toasted baguette stuffed with hand breaded shrimp, tomaotoes, lettuce, pickles and mayo. And it also comes with fries.
You can click here for the Monterey menu.
Before eating, you are put through Forrest Gump trivia and also, if you want to get the attention of a waiter/waitress, you can set the license plates on your table for “Run Forrest Run” (blue) or “Stop Forrest Stop” (red) in order to get some help.
For the most part, customer service has always been great in the many years I have visited Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant & Market. The food has always been delicious and never stale.
And for the most part, it has been a great experience for each visit (although, if you want the waiter/waitresses to sing their “happy birthday” song, make sure the person who is celebrating the birthday are in the mood for such celebration).
Overall, there are many locations for one to try Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant & Market but having been to several, the best experiences for me have always been at the original location in Monterey on Cannery Row and at Pier 39 in San Francisco.
