Went to Californios for my partner’s birthday last night, and unfortunately the experience was just good.
We were last here 2 years ago and our issues at the time were with the weird pacing and amount of food (only time I’ve left a place hungry). The amount of food has definitely beed addressed (really full at the end) but some pacing issues remain (40 minute wait between some dishes). However, service was definitely a miss, and we felt some dishes were really lacking.
Good stuff
– Ambiance is fantastic. What a beautiful venue
– The lobster soup, the final build-your-own-taco fish course, and all desserts were outstanding. Especially the lobster soup, and the impossibly creamy and smooth salsas and taco accompaniments
– The birthday touches are really nice (hand-written note, sparkler, glass of bubbles to start)
Bad stuff
– The mole dish was so built up by the staff and it was just… so flat. No punch, no intense flavors, nothing. We’ve had better tasting mole from a freezer bag unfortunately
– The tamal dish was also very flat and uninspiring
– Drink service: The biggest miss of the night. We ordered a half bottle of champagne to start, which we finished by the 3rd course (minor point, we served ourselves and no one came to check in). After that the empty bottle was never picked up and remained on the table until the end of the night (3.5 hours later). We ordered some cocktails that were just ok, that took 45 minutes to come to us after we ordered. Lastly, we each got a glass of wine for the last 2 savory courses. After we finished the wine, no one picked up the empty glasses and instead servers would move them around on the table to make space for the different dessert courses for the next hour – it was just so weird? I had to politely ask to have the glasses retired before someone took them. Lastly, our water carafe was regularly empty, and very few times someone came to check in on us
We went to Saison a month and a half ago, and felt like it was a whole level above Californios across the board, with the exception of the ambiance. Still a good experience overall, but not at the level we were hoping for. Felt like a very off night for the service crew
by trianglesaurus
8 Comments
That duck on the taco looks like it would be texturally gross to eat because of how big it’s cut
I never would have guessed this was a two star based on the photos.
For a two star those service issues are inexcusable. This also doesn’t present like a two star food experience.
Unfortunate to hear, my wife and I loved californios. Service was warm and well paced, we LOVED the mole dish also
No comment on the drink service as we both did a pairing so our drinks were continuously refreshed on time
Agree on the tamal, it was pretty meh
I went here with my husband ~2 years ago and found it to be a very middle-of-the-road experience. Sometimes we forget we ever ate here at all.
While I haven’t been to Californios, I have been to Saison. When I was in San Francisco it was between those two restaurants. Now I’m glad that I chose saison. I have nothing bad to say about it as my experience was simply incredible.
Those drink service issues would *really* irritate me and seem inexcusable for a started restaurant.
Very interesting, I liked Californios more than Saison (all that to say, I love Saison). It felt more memorable and unique to me.
That said, our service was a little lacking. It felt like they had the B team with us for service. Nobody was confident in their explanations of the dishes and were talking quietly. Thankfully the quality of the food made up for everything because it was amazing.