Dean C.
Yelp
8/8/20
Everything's relative, and though I'm giving 4 stars to this place, it ain't without problems, nor was the food that great. BUT, this is Big Sur, and if you've been around here you know eating is a major chore. And honestly, around here, you'll not get much food better than what we had for dinner here.....
Dinner. Yeah, so we came back for breakfast the next morning as we were staying at the hotel on location, and it was a bunch of hit and miss. I would give their breakfast a 1.5-2 stars, even relatively for this area. So don't come here for breakfast k? Well, I guess you can cause I don't think there is anywhere else to get breakfast around here... but just don't expect 4 star food.
Anyway, when we got here, despite having a reservation for 7:30 PM, the host told us "there are people in front of us and I don't know how long it will be." UM, WHAT??? WTF do you think a reservation is??? So we waited about 30min despite having a reservation.... (yes, I know, they really don't deserve 4 stars, but seriously, the bar is REALLY low around here).
So we finally got seated. Host just dropped us off and left. Didn't even offer a highchair for the kid, so we got our own. Anyway, here's our dinner, then breakfast...
1. Barrelhouse Big Sur Double IPA $8: Nice and vibrant, bitter and crisp. Not so much citrus as usual, but in a good way. 7/10
2. Hearst Ranch Chardonnay $9: Not super buttery but full bodied. Well balanced. 6/10
3. Stone Fruit Salad $9 "assorted grilled stone fruits, baby arugula, shaved shallots, and toasted pine nuts with a pomegranate vinaigrette": Oily but tasted good. Portions too small though. 5/10
4. Crab Cakes $15 "pan-roasted crab cakes with avocado crema, roasted corn salsa, micro-cilantro, and red chili oil": Not bad. Very little filler, which is awesome. But despite being heavily real crab, there's little crab flavor. Can only taste the seasoning. Not sure why. 6/10
5. New York (Steak) $32 "grilled new york strip, buttered fava beans, and grilled yukon gold potato rounds with an ancho-molasses demi": The steak was cooked medium-ish (I always order medium-rare) but that was okay. It was kinda small looking though. The potatoes were raw--that's not good. The fava beans were an interesting addition. They looked cool but didn't add anything to the dish. 5/10
6. Lamb $40 "mint-crusted rack of lamb with fig relish, roasted brussels sprouts, wild rice pilaf, and sherry syrup": Perfectly medium-rare! The semi-dried figs were delicious and a great substitute for the typical sweet fruit preserves. Surprisingly good. 9/10
7. Peach (Pie) $6 "brulee-oof-champagne poached peach, gran marnier sabayon, lavender-scented tuile, mint, floral aromatics": Got this to go. Baby was starting his transformation into the horned monster from the great depths of the earth, so...... mommy took him back to our room, and I waited for the pie and bill. Anyway, I ate the pie in our room and I loved the filling! Very fresh tasting, with plenty of natural peach flavor. The crust was good except for portions being burnt. Yes, burnt. Sigh... 7/10
Breakfast:
1. Bloody Mary $10: Thick and slightly spicy. Their mix was good, but needs a TON more alcohol. Almost tastes virgin!!! 6/10
2. Coffee $4
3. Crunchy French Toast $14 "thick brioche, dipped in batter, coated with corn flakes, and fried golden brown, with warm maple syrup and sausage": Man, it was fried to PERFECTION!!! Oooooh that crunch!!! Unfortunately the actual French Toast part was not all that. Just bread poorly dipped into bad French toast egg mixture. But the idea was so amazing I told my gf to memorize this and make it for me 10x better at home. 6/10
(The French Toast came with sausage, but see the next description for details...)
4. Pancakes Short Stack $11 "buttermilk pancakes with warm maple syrup and sausage": Very normal pancakes. The sausage though was HORRENDOUS. Like 2 cylinders of brick impregnated with sausage seasoning. Seemed like they cooked the sausage on the burner since the previous week.... 2/10
Okay yes, so the food would probably get 2/5 stars anywhere else. But this is Big Sur, soooo.....
4/5
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