Mason M.
Yelp
Have I just been completely disillusioned by the Tree Room? I've eaten at this restaurant many times over the years and it's always been a great experience, but this time it felt like the restaurant turned a weird corner and not in a good way.
My party of two (partner and I) made a reservation for 5:45 on a Friday evening, arrived on time (parking was scarce even at this early hour, I agree with the other review that asked for designated parking for Tree Room guests). We were seated promptly, albeit in a center room table, which I didn't love, the booths are far more comfortable and less exposed. Felt like we were being stared at the entire evening. Can't knock the ambiance of the restaurant, it's rustic, cozy and adorned with Bob Redford photos.
The menu changes quite often, and it had changed pretty significantly since the last time I was in a year ago. The Pepper Steak was the only item I recognized.
We started with a couple of cocktails, the hot buttered rum and the gunslinger, and they were both pretty good, although the price point on the gunslinger ($29) was steep and the whiskey in the cocktail was High West and nothing special. Our waiter forgot what our drink order was and had to come back for reminding.
We wanted to start with a couple of starters, but upon trying to order said starters to follow our drink orders, our waiter impressed upon is the strange need to put in all food orders in at the same time for the kitchen's sake. What kind of fine dining kitchen needs it all at once? Never experienced this request at the Tree Room nor any other fine dining restaurant. It felt rushed and it was uncomfortable. We took some more time with the menu and the waiter meandered over after a while to take the food order.
We started with the wagyu beef cheek and fried green tomato, middle course of a seasonal soup (pumpkin curry) and Sundance salad, entrees we had the truffle chicken roulade and the elk loin. I ordered a glass of the cab with dinner, which again had an absurdist price point ($29/glass). They need more by the glass options. Wine was excellent however. I asked the waiter how the elk was cooked and he assumed I wanted to change the temperature (I didn't, only curiosity) and it was uncomfortable. He also asked "have you been here before?", but why does that matter anyway?
Starters were ok, not sure the wagyu moniker on the beef cheek is a selling point (beef cheek is beef cheek) but the sauce and starch were tasty. Skip the fried green tomato. Tasteless and lacking any kind of bite or acid. Also to note: starters are BARELY shareable.
Sundance salad is a skip, it's over dressed and mostly greens. Seasonal soup was easily the best part of the meal, it was perfectly puréed and absolutely delicious.
The Entrees were ok, the chicken was tasty but the dish wasn't cohesive. The Elk loin was one of the worst cuts of meat I've ever eaten. It wasn't cooked poorly, I think it's a symptom of the leanness of the cut of meat. My jaw is sore the morning after from chewing through it. Berry gel didn't mesh well with the meat and the root vegetables and mushrooms added nothing to it. ($60). If you go, Stick to the pepper steak.
We ordered the chocolate hazelnut dessert (not really shareable) and they stuck a birthday candle and a chocolate "happy birthday" sign on it for my partner and she was pleased. I ordered a double espresso and was charged 16 dollars when a single shot was on the menu for 4.
At that point I was kind of over it, paid the bill ($360 with tip) and we left into the gorgeous Sundance evening, debating whether or not we'd be back. We probably won't. Farewell Tree Room, we hardly knew thee.