Ahwanee Hotel Restaurant: 3-star food in a 5-star setting
Written: Sep 05 '00 (Updated Jan 23 '01)
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Pros: Fabulous setting and decor, friendly staff
Cons: Food didn't always measure up to expectations
The Bottom Line: The Ahwanee is quite expensive to stay at, but well worth the cost of dinner and a drink in the gorgeous Great Room and Lounge.
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| Penguinlady's Full Review: Yosemite National Park |
The Ahwanee Hotel is one of those places that you hear about a lot, but unless you are operating on a much more generous budget than ours, you don't get to see it. It's a hotel at the far end of the Yosemite Valley that was designed in the 1920s by Julia Morgan, the same architect who designed San Simeon, that exercise in wretched excess, for William Randolph Hearst.
By its placement, it gives the impression of being backed right up against the granite face of the mountains, although it's not. It's a big building in the Arts and Crafts, or Mission, style. The outside is interesting but not terribly distinctive. Once you go inside, though, it knocks your socks right off.
The unifying theme that runs throughout the entire building is Arts and Crafts married to Southwest. It's built with huge Lodgepole Pine timbers, which allows large open spaces unobstructed by pillars. The ceilings are about 30' off the ground, and the public rooms, with their huge windows, are decorated with geometric patterns, Navajo rugs, enormous sit-in fireplaces, and comfy chairs and sofas lit by individual lamps.
The dining room is famous as the most spectacular example of this kind of architecture and decoration, and for the quality of its cuisine. So when we found ourselves in Yosemite over Labor Day weekend with friends, one of whom was having a 50th birthday, we decided that this was an occasion appropriate for a Major Splurge. As always, the beauty of the place won five stars, but our experience at the restaurant was worth only three.
OUR EXPERIENCE
We entered the dining room, which is truly breathtaking, and were seated at a table big enough for eight. We had originally booked for seven, but three cancelled at the last minute, so there were only four of us. They didn't seat us at a smaller table, so we gathered around one side of the circle so we could talk more easily. We would have preferred a smaller table, and some were available, but we were told that they were reserved. Our fault for not calling ahead...
The menu is extensive, with daily specials. On the night we were there, the starter menu special soups included cold cucumber and Thai curry with lemon grass. Gary ordered the latter, although we all agreed that this is the kind of fall-winter ambience in which heavier, more traditional dishes would shine; he wanted to see how they interpreted this familiar dish. He was disappointed - it was OK but not very distinctive. Susan had the crab cakes served on a puddle of sauce with fresh corn and red peppers, which were delicious. My husband ordered arborio risotto cakes with wild mushrooms, but the server made a mistake and brought him the crab cakes. She left them for us while the kitchen prepared his rice cakes. I had seared scallops, which were to die for.
For our entrees, Susan chose the rabbit, which she said was wonderful. I tasted it, and it was tasty, but I can't get past the fact that I'm eating bunnies, so I don't enjoy it. My husband had a filet mignon, which was terrific - dense and meaty with a wonderfully complex glaze. Gary ordered the prime rib; you'd think it would be wonderful, but he said it was tough and chewy. I was torn between the rack of lamb special and the seared sushi-grade ahi tuna with a wasabi sauce, and opted for the latter. I ordered it rare, but it was medium done, and not truly seared - tasty, but not the way I wanted it. The side dishes in each case were fairly undistinguished: the usual baby carrots, three asparagus spears, and some sort of potato.
We were pretty full after that, but decided to share a couple of desserts. I ordered the lemon tart, which was fabulous - a sour, lemony curd over a puff pastry base, garnished with strawberries and whipped cream, which I scraped off because it didn't look like The Real Thing. Susan had some sorbet, which was good but not very special.
We ordered two bottles of red wine - I don't remember what they were because I wasn't involved in the decision-making. But they were good and rich and heavy, the way I like reds.
SOME OBSERVATIONS
We'd heard that there's a dress code for men: jackets or sweaters. My husband was wearing a very nice dress shirt and matching tie, but hadn't brought a jacket, so he was directed to the coat check where they outfitted him with a jacket that absolutely didn't go with what he was wearing. Fortunately, the lighting was such that you couldn't tell that the jacket completely clashed with his pants, shirt, and tie. Gary wore a polo shirt under his jacket and got in with no problem. As we looked around, though, we noticed several people who seemingly violated the dress code. One man sat in a short-sleeved polo shirt, his jacket draped over the back of his chair. Another shambled down the center aisle of the room in huge chinos and a nasty-looking T-shirt under an oversized sweater with a hole in one elbow. Several women wore dressy dresses and flip-flop sandals. And some men and women wore very casual pants - sweats and chinos and those shiny nylon ones - with their equally casual sweaters, and, in one case, a sweatshirt. The entire dress code issue seems to be pretty murky. When we asked our server about it, she said that they had instituted it two years ago, and had wanted to lay it out very clearly: no denim, coat and tie or sweater and tie for men, etc., but decided to soften it. So now men who turn up in nice shirts and ties can't get in without a loaner jacket, but slobs with sweaters can sail right through. They definitely need to make some decisions and stick to them. The room demands a certain degree of elegance.
We had two servers, one for drinks and busing, and the other for our food. Both were charming and delightful, but the food lady got my husband's appetizer order wrong, and when she delivered both bottles of wine simultaneously, she offered one for tasting but not the other. So the service staff needs to brush up on top-notch service.
The food is good, but not in the class of other restaurants that charge $25 - $29 for entrees. For those prices, the soup should have been truly special, the prime rib should have been tender, not tough and chewy, and my tuna should have been truly rare. The environment is definitely awe-inspiring, but that doesn't lessen the obligation to provide food quality commensurate with the prices and surroundings. We felt that if they present a special that's out of the ordinary for their usual menu, it should truly be special, which the Thai soup wasn't. And the standards - what could be more standard that prime rib? - should be superlative.
Would we go back? Maybe for lunch, or their famous Sunday brunch. But our dinners cost $140 per couple, for a taste experience that wasn't worth more than about $80. The food was worth three stars and the setting was worth five, so we compromised and agreed that four stars would be appropriate.
Would we recommend it? Of course. Most of the food was excellent, and that which wasn't was certainly OK. And the setting - are you getting the idea yet about the look of the place? - forgives many other faults.
Are we sorry we went? Absolutely not! The place is spectacular and we had a very enjoyable time. The company, most of the food, and the surroundings were excellent, so we will certainly remember this experience with pleasure. A little fine-tuning would make it truly memorable - and repeatable.
Recommended:
Yes
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Penguinlady
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