This was a nice experience but I'm marking a star down because of the drink mishap. I hate to do that, but I felt like I was being pressured into drinking something I didn't like.
The pros:
We were quickly and delightfully able to park in the valet spot. Very quickly seated. The waitress came and took our drink orders quickly. We all ordered cocktails. I got an Old Fashion style house cocktail (whiskey, orange, special house bitters) with some kind of fancy bitters, and the rest of the party ordered martinis of varying types.
The overall:
We started with marinated olives, I absolutely love Castelvetrano Olives. They were marinated with citrus peels and olive oil. We also had the fried polenta [sticks]. OMG, it was exactly as polenta should be. Fried on the outside, and oh so creamy-forget-the-calories-you're-eating-on-the-inside. It was served with a nice creamy spicy sauce drizzled on the plate. I wished we had more sauce, but the polenta was gone before I could order it.
We had two orders of burgers, which the women loved (who wouldn't after a day of wine tasting?) that was served with house made ketchup and awesome french fries (I had to taste them). I must admit the juicy burgers looked divine. But I was in the mood for something lighter so I went with the raw ahi syle salad. The waitress was nice enough to let me know that the serving was only x amount of ounces and inquired if that was enough for me. I told her it was. The sashimi style fish was very fresh and tender, but the bitter greens in the salad overtook the delicate flavor a bit. The other was a braised short rib style dish that the other person in our party loved.
The con:
We ordered another round of cocktails to round out our lunch. The other girls stuck with what they had original ordered but I was told that the bar had run out of the special bitters used for my original Old Fashioned style drink. Would I like something else? I said I would welcome something that wasn't spicy as most of the drinks either had gin or tequila which I couldn't drink, or they had a spicy element like ginger I wasn't in the mood for. I told her the previous drink without bitters was fine.
I was then brought the Dark n Stormy "to try" which has a blend of rums, lime, ginger beer, and a different house made bitters of ginger instead of my original drink. This was far too overpowering and I wondered if it was just my palate. I passed it around to the other girls (one of which also had a very powerful drink she liked and was drinking) and all said it was just too undrinkable. The ginger house made bitters, was my guess, the ginger took over all of the other flavors completely. I don't normally send back anything, but I simply couldn't drink this drink. I know it was not the waitress' fault, but likely the bartender or a confusion of communication in between. It was a nice try, but to final that out she actually asked "Are you sure you can't drink it?"
Um, maybe it was the way she said it ... like I was a child but I felt like I had come up with the nerve in the first place to say so, so um, yeah. I honestly felt affronted. I would have even paid for the drink I couldn't drink despite their mistake but now I was just slightly offended. I can't explain exactly why other than that but politely replied "Yes, I am sure I can't drink it."
Astonishing, all of a sudden they were able to make the previous drink I asked for. Had someone just misplaced the bitters? By the time I got my drink, everyone else had finished theirs and it was time to go. So I didn't even get to drink much of it. Poop.
The deal:
Overall the food was wonderful, the service decent (minus the drink deal), and I think I would go back. But just be more firm about what I order. read more