SD Mag 2010: one of the critics (David Nelson?) awarded Vincent Grumel best chef in San Diego
Does the restaurant deserve it based on my visit? Ummm...No (aka, WTF? given the creative talent in this town? Ummm...no again).
I've been there 2x before in last several years, remember it as pretty tasty.
Tonight...
Service: not really very impressive, took forever for someone to come over. They were also not veggie friendly: meals come included with soup....while there's a veggie entree on the menu, there's no veggie soup. They won't even give you a green salad instead ("no substitutions"). So they're charging you for something that you can't eat. Not friendly at all! Every top chef in this town would be happy to send out a veggie alternative, as both a challenge/opportunity for the chef and to please the customer. Not impressive!
Amuse: Sorry, what amuse? (at this price level, shouldn't they be giving you one?).
Food: tasty enough, "correcte." Not worth the prices at this moment in time, IMHO. Tasty - not wildly creative. Not Ricardo Heredia or Brian Malarkey creative/delish. And certainly not Olivier Bioteau tasty! (This place ain't got nothing on Farmhouse Cafe as far as la cuisine française).
Wine: they don't even give you a list of wines priced by the glass, so you have to ask what the wines are and no prices are given. Tacky!
Dessert: Best part of the meal. Enjoyed a Pithiviers - very tasty almond cake. Can't get this elsewhere in SD.
It's definitely the fanciest restaurant in these parts. But I had great meals in the last few weeks at Habibi's (fraction of the price and delicious) and Hacienda de Vega (great atmosphere, very flavorful and interesting, also much cheaper).
I'd go back at some point if someone else was paying. Tonight was absolutely not cravable, and the service was not too pleasing. (On the other hand, my companions, who go out less, were very happy with their food. As I said, it was tasty....but hardly at the level of other places in town at this price.).
