Rustic Root is such a solid choice. The service has always been great with super friendly staff. The chicken pot pie is my go-to every time. Perfect comfort food. Any chance we get we try to snag bar seats, shoutout to our favorite bartender, Erich, who always brings great energy and makes killer margs. We'll definitely keep coming back. read more

Valentines dinner at Rustic Root was delicious! They had a special Valentines Day menu including well curated dishes and specialty cocktails. My boyfriend ordered the beef tartare for the table and it was so good it was gone in seconds. The restaurant itself is beautiful and inviting. Hannah was our server and topped off the night with her great service. She had a great attitude and took such great care of us. Will definitely be back. read more

Rustic Root - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

Came here for a girls night and Hannah took the best care of us! Excellent service and menu recommendations. I had the cornbread (amazing!) and the mini pot de crème (delicious!). The restaurant is super chic with a great menu. A delight! read more

Now this place has a cool and fun vibe, and is ALWAYS jumping! Lotsa people, flowing cocktails, and amazing dishes. We walk there but there's plenty of parking in the nearby garage. Our absolute favorite dishes are the Wild Boar bolognese (I know it sounds scary, but believe me you'll be thanking me later!), the Lobster Tagliatelle (big chunks of tender lobster), and the Chicken Pot Pie (one of there best we've had in a long time). Always looking forward to going there. See you soon!! read more

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Rustic Root has a catchy name. Table for two and was told by the host there was seating. She came back to the podium and requested we give our phone number. We questioned her and she mentioned the restaurant wanted the phone number so they can text diners of specials and other offers. Didn't especially like to get pressured on the spot to give your phone when we actually did not. Ambiance was nice but music level was a bit loud. Food was mediocre. Smash burger was well seasoned, came with pickles but bun was soggy. Salad was over dressed and highly recommend dressing on the side. Parmesan fries were crispy and good. Ketchup was provided when requested from the server. Strawberry Matcha Latte was good. Ice tea came with free refills. Our servers attention was not focused when requested tea refill and ketchup that took longer to receive. When we got our drinks, the server slammed it on the table. Maybe the server had a bad day? read more

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Went during restaurant week so we got to taste some of the specials . The crab cakes was delicious. Everything tasted great and we had leftovers to go. The only issue is the porkchop I wish was cooked more. The banana pudding was my favorite . Service was great and ambiance was cool . Parking was easy . read more

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The service was great, but the food left a lot to be desired. The crab cake was obviously frozen and kind of mealy inside. The cauliflower appetizer was pretty good however, the so-called fresh fish of the day halibut was definitely not fresh , had no floor whatsoever and came out very dry so I asked for some aïoli sauce to make it more palatable. It was served on what looked like the leftover cauliflower appetizer. My sister had the lamb and she said that was actually OK. So to be fair overall would not recommend the food but the the ambience is fun. Perhaps it's a great place for drinks, but we would not return for the food. Very disappointing.. read more

Went for happy hour finally! The ambiance and happy hour prices and drinks and food were really good. Can't wait to go back!

Robert, one of the bar tenders, has always treated us with the utmost respect, helping guide the stellar experience of stopping by by enhancing drink recommendations and truly taking care of us every time we're there. It's one of the most beautiful places in Solana Beach, already a neighborhood cornerstone and for good reason given the quality of the product they are putting forward. I've never had a bad bite or sip here. Happy put eats are great, but so is the regular fair. read more

Friendly staff. Great food. Amazing drinks and awesome ambiance. I recommend going on Sunday for their brunch. It doesn't disappoint. read more

Rustic Root - Mimosa Platter for the win - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

This review is for the Solana Beach location. The happy hour scene here is fantastic. It doesn't hurt that, on Wednesdays through Fridays, happy is between 5 and 7 p.m. I mean, those are great hours. Good luck finding a spot at the bar (and the bar is huge and wraps from the inside to the outside). But it is very much worth trying to snag a spot. The happy hour food portions are, like most places, on the smallish side, but they are ample and not tiny. Everything we had was excellent. The Idaho Parmesan Fries are superb. Get those, for sure. I could have eaten 50 of these fries. The Mini Maryland Style Crab Cakes are very nice. The Wagyu Meatballs (you get three good-sized meatballs, served over garlic mashed potatoes) are also a winner. I wanted to lick the plate to get all of the mashed potatoes I could. The drinks are also very good. For those interested in mocktails, the Side Porch Shrub, made with blackberries, is excellent. It is very fruity and delicious. I am not normally a mocktail guy but I would absolutely order this drink. I almost never order a bar's own cocktail creations but I tried two of their "Signature" cocktails here: the Dirty Cola (Gentleman Jack, Coke, vanilla, and oat milk--yes, oat milk) and a spicy margarita (I can't recall the exact drink name). The Dirty Cola was fine but, honestly, a little strange with the oat milk. The margarita was very spicy and delicious, if you like spicy margaritas. The bar and restaurant itself are very attractive. The design is super cool and there is lot of wood and great lighting. It's a gorgeous, lively place and based on what I tried so far, I would gladly return for happy hour or dinner. read more

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Came for restaurant week and was so pleased with everything! The food was delicious, the "lover's flannel" cocktail was amazing, and our server, Hannah was awesome as well. 5/5 would recommend!!! read more

Rustic Root - A Lover's Flannel. Yummy!!!! - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

Had a minor issue with our table but the manager Vince and waitress Hannah made it right in every way. Just a reminder to speaker up and let them solve a problem rather than not say anything and never go back. Food was solid, drinks better than usual, and the live music pushed it over the top. Def will be back. read more

Came here with friends for dinner. The food was delicious and the wait staff were attentive. We hit the end of happy hour. The acoustics are great for conversation and the atmosphere was friendly. We were celebrating a friends birthday and the personalized card was a lovely touch. read more

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Celebrated Valentines Day with my husband and thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Rustic Root. We ordered our servers recommendation, the oysters with macerated strawberries. They were delicious and the presentation was beautiful. Hannah made our night and we will definitely be coming back and asking for her as our server! read more

Rustic Root - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

The good: Great ambience, love the indoor/outdoor vibe. Good music at appropriate volume so you can still talk. Wednesday night 1/2 price reserve wine bottles is a great deal. The not so good: Food average at best. Service spotty. And cocktails can be way overpriced. For example, the house gin martini (cutwater gin) with three (out of a jar) blue cheese olives which were a $3 up charge, totaled 23...meh... read more

Just arrived in town and needed to grab a bite after traveling all day. Yelp said that this location closed at 10 pm. I arrived 15 mins before 9 pm and they said the kitchen was closed. read more

Went on a Friday night to check out this cute place. Food was all very good, we had almost every appetizer and 1-2 mains and shared. Everything is flavorful and tasted great. The drinks are also very well made. Only con is the service was extremely slow. We weren't seated until nearly 20 mins after our reservation- no explanation- just "your table isn't ready". So maybe someone better to handle those seating delays.. the actual server we had was very sweet but seemed overwhelmed (not enough servers or maybe they were short staffed) because things kept being forgotten, some of the non-alcoholic drinks never even arrived. But overall great food & drinks, fun if you go with a group of 4-5 and share so you can try more. Also- pot de crème for dessert is amazing! read more

Love the ambience, service is great and food is awesome. Fun little spot and new addition to Solana Beach! Will be back :)

We busted Rustic root a couple weeks ago for my friend's birthday brunch. When we arrived we were greeted by the GM who was so friendly we told her it was our friend birthday and she asked if we had a picture of her because she wanted to do a little something special. I text her a picture and to our surprise she printed edible pictures and put them on top of our espresso martini's! We were so surprised that she went out of her way to make our friend's birthday so special. We loved all the choices we had to choose from for brunch from crab cake Benedict to chocolate pancakes! Everything we ordered was delicious. Our food came out quickly and our server was amazing. The cocktails were also good and everything was reasonably priced. Look forward to coming back for happy hour! read more

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Ate here for the first time during restaurant week. Food was great. Service from Hannah was excellent! We'll be back! read more

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Bar was awesome and service was great even though the team is under staffed. Erich and Tatiana were so great! Love both of their personalities and will definitely be back here! Thanks for being awesome! read more

Food was delicious, beet salad, lamb shank, chicken pot pie and chocolate pot de crème and banana pudding were winning dishes. Hannah, our server was delightful! read more

Went here with a small group recently and probably wouldn't go back. There was nothing that wowed us. There was a free parking garage next to the restaurant which was nice and convenient. I had the lobster roll which was recommended by the server. It was one of the blandest lobster rolls I've had and there was not a good bread to lobster ratio. It was also over $30, and you had to pay extra $3 for fries. Absolutely not worth it. Another person in our party ordered the pancakes and she said they weren't anything special. The service was also a bit slow, and we had to wait a long time for them to take our order, bring our drinks, bring our food, bring our checks. They were very friendly so that was nice. Overall i just don't think it was worth the visit for us. read more

I can't believe I haven't reviewed the new hot spot in Solana Beach. Love the atmosphere and the food is good too. My favorite being the biscuits and the prime rib. We have yet to try the chicken pot pie because they always seem to be out. Best to make a reservation or get there as soon as they open to snag a bar seat. read more

Rustic Root - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

Love the vibe of the restaurant, especially the indoor/outdoor feel at the bar. Robert the bartender and his fellow bartenders were all super kind, attentive and helpful, outstanding service for sure. Weds they had half off reserve bottles of wine so that was a win. We got the pork chop and filet. I think the food is a 3.75, my filet was cooked perfectly but it lacked flavor especially with the sauce and even the mashed potatoes were a little bland. The pork chop was juicy, but again the sauce was underwhelming. The mini cookie skillet for dessert was tasty. but tasted more like cake than a cookie texture wise. Overall Service is a 5, food is a 3.5-3.75 and ambiance is a solid 4.5. Id come back but order different things. read more

We tried Rustic Root on Valentine's Day, since we were headed to a Belly Up concert in Solana Beach later that evening, so the location is close and convenient to pair. We were excited for their specials and ordered mostly from their v-day menu, and we did enjoy the food. We also enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant. The Lavender Haze cocktail was also delicious and cute! However, I am only giving 3 stars since the bill was over $250, which is rather high for the quality of the experience overall. There may have been a server mixup as we had a different server half way through, who we had to flag down eventually to get a water refill and another cocktail and to find out the status of our entrees since we were sitting there for a good 30+ minutes, seemingly forgotten about. He asked us if we wanted dessert and we had not even received our entrees, so that was concerning as we had a concert to get to. Once that was sorted out, our food came quickly and it was good, but not amazing 5-star level considering the price. Lastly, and although nitpicky, their bathroom is outside which is a bit inconvenient and the table we were seated at felt very crammed in a corner. read more

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Really enjoyed coming to Rustic Root . Great ambiance and vibe . Our Sever who is from Australia was very attentive , polite and friendly. She made sure everything was perfect with our meal. Thank you so much for great service . read more

Rustic Root - Rustic Egg Plate - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

We can't say enough about the excellent service. Pre-show dinner and our waiter made sure the order went right in and serves quickly. The chef came out to assure us the meatballs were gluten free. Definitely will be back read more

This definitely was a cute location! The staff were all friendly and accommodating. We had the bubbles and berries which was a choice of champagne, and came with fruit, 3 juices and 3 purees. Super fun idea, and enjoyed created new flavors with the juices and purees! I had the blueberry pancakes and it was kinda disappointing as the compote was very overwhelming and hardly could taste the bourbon blend and was rather sweeter than I would have liked. I ended up scraping most of it off as it gradually became too much. Another friend also commented on how her Benedict was overpowered by mustard making it not as appealing. Overall, I may try this spot again, if not the food at least the drinks. read more

Rustic Root - Bubbles and berries - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

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Attractive restaurant, well decorated and easy to find with parking on the back of the establishment. We got seated immediately (we had reservations) and they were very kind to open up an umbrella so we had shade. Our server seemed she wanted to be anywhere but there. Barely spoke above a conversation tone so it was difficult to hear anything she was saying. We asked for white wine recommendations and everyone of them was not even listed on the wine menu, we were confused. Apparently she was listing wines from another restaurant she works at. The food was average, not great, not horrible, it was passable. Not raving about it. The restaurant manager was very attentive and stopped by our table a couple of times to check on us. I'm thinking this is not a restaurant I'd return to knowing there are so many that hit the mark in Solana Beach. read more

Been coming here for years and I would say the only thing better than the food and scenery is Tatiana! Super attentive and by far the only reason I still come back to this place. Her service and attentiveness is better than any that I have received. Give Tatiana a promotion or something, this girl is the best!!!! read more

We almost didn't come here due to the 3.9 stars, but we drove by and the curb appeal was . Beautifully decorated and inviting, and a super nice outdoor space. The happy hour was a great deal, the food was surprisingly flavorful and tasty, and the service was really good. We have two little ones and they shared one kids menu item with plenty to spare. They even subbed the French fries for a perfect bowl of fresh fruit. I'd give it a 4.7 and we would definitely come here again! read more

I had a wonderful experience! I want to especially thank Hannah for the amazing service. She was friendly, attentive, and made us feel so welcome. Her recommendation of the chicken pot pie was spot on -- it was absolutely delicious! Everything we ordered was fresh and flavorful. Great food and even better service. I'll definitely be coming back! read more

Came here for dinner and drinks. Our server Hannah was excellent. Had a great night and will return.

The food was fantastic and our waitress (Hannah) was best of the best. She had an engaging personality and an easy going demeanor. What great service! read more

We had a fantastic experience with Hannah! She made fabulous food and drink recommendations for us! 10/10 experience!

Wow, it was restaurant week so it was a little bit hectic! But everything was awesome especially our waiter Sunny! There were a lot of things that were sold out on the menu, but she really went above and beyond to make sure we still had a great experience and got what we needed. I'm also gluten-free and she was super helpful pointing out what items I could order and made sure there were substitutions for the restaurant week menu. Such a fun time and really appreciated her attention to our group! read more

Bad service. The man that was ate server did no come back and check on us. No refills no follow up. Very poor service. Server was unable to figure out what he could recommend other than two salads. Was not able to help me with gluten free. read more

Architecturally the restaurant is beautiful , we came in for dinner around 5pm on a friday , early enough for me to look at how this place was built before it got busy , the Bar area is really nice and inviting. For our dinner I ordered the New England steak tips dinner and my wife ordered the Roasted Atlantic Salmon dinner. We both agreed our dinners were great! the presentation and taste was A+ We will most certainly come back for the food, my only minus for this place is the seating is a little tight for my taste, however don't let that deter you, they have great tasting food and drinks read more

Rustic Root - this is the Salmon dinner - New American Near Me - Solana Beach, California

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