Culinary Institute of American - Wine Spectator Greystone

Elite '08

53

121

Tiffany L.

San Francisco, CA

I've been to a lot of fancy pretentious small food serving type places so this one was just ok to me.  Don't get me wrong it was delicious but I probably woudlnt suggest it to anyone or drive the hour and a half to go back again.  I liked how they served the tasting menu appetizers with small bite size snacks.  Loved the duck pate.  I had garlic soup, oysters & the quail.  I thought the quail was a bit odd with very random flavors.  But the actual meat itself was tasty.  Best thing was the citrust beignets.  I didn't want to share at all!!!  Great selection of wine and the waiters know the pairings well.

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15

101

brenda s.

New York, NY

It is expensive for what it is.  Service is so-so,  a bit of attitude.  The view from outside is great.   Inside you can sit at the bar and view the cooking, or for more comfort, get a table.   There is a freebie  of mixed olives.  The vegetable sides and the fish plates have been our favorites over the years.  Shellfish was uninspiring.  It is worthy of a try, but it is not as good as its neighbors.

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10

36

Edmund L.

San Francisco, CA

This is a great place to dine between wine tastings in the Valley.  The food and service are both excellent.  Desserts are lovely, and the wine list is (of course) deep and bursting with winners.  This restaurant itself is located inside CIA, inside a towering estate/castle situated on a beautiful lot just a few minutes from downtown St. Helena.  

I've been here a few times, most recently spent a few days in Napa before Christmas last year, and this was the best dining experience of all.  (Note - didn't have a chance to stop by Bouchon this time).  Can't wait to go back.

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0

1

Kathleen M.

Fremont, CA

Wow, food at the famous St. Helena Culinary Institute along with the selections of wine from the Wine Specator! It was my birthday, and I was very excited about the possibility of tasting excellent wines and eating five star restaurant food.  Not!  While the food was good to very good, the service was horrible!  

First, we waited after our order was taken for water - 15 minutes, bread - 15 minutes (actually we had to ask for both).  Once our salads were delivered, I though that the food was really exceptional.  That is until our main entrees arrive.  My order had been written incorrectly on the waiters pad, and my order had to be sent back - well the side dish was left on the table - then wisked away with no explanation.  Ten minutes later, my order arrive.  The fish was good, but the side dish was too fatty and salty.  My husbands halibut was ok, kind of tasteless.

At the beginning of the ordering dinner we were told that an exceptional dessert - chocolate souffle -  was offered and should be order at the beginning of the meal.  "It takes at least 40 minutes to prepare the dessert," said our waiter.  After we finished our meal, we waiting an additional 40 minutes before our dessert was delivered.  No explanation.  Again, we had to ask for coffee, which came burned (decaf).  After the dessert was delivered (which was delicious), we again had to ask for coffee refills.

The check arrived by another waiter (I think our waiter was very embarassed about the bad service) with the entree that was an error (at a much higher price).  My husband had to ask that the entree be removed before we were able to pay the bill.

The wines:  We ordered a flight of Pinot Noirs.  It was a very expensive $25 for three wines of less than 3 oz  pours.  I then ordered one of the wines for $17 and received about 5 oz of the wine, a very small pour , and in a glass that was not appropriate for Pinot Noirs.  The wine was excellent - so I can't complain - just wanted more.

Overall, I was very disappointed in the service of this extremely loud and frantic restaurant.  There were so many service personnel running around that you would have thought that the service would have been better.  

Could the restaurant also work on the noise level - it was really excessive and irritating.
Over all, I do not feel that the restaurant should be charging such high prices for such a disorganized staff.  At first, I thought that the disorganization was acceptable - you know students - but then we found out that there were no students - just all hired staff.  A good restaurant should never be this disorganized.

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25

172

Karen Y.

San Diego, CA

What a fun place to have a culinary experience!  The service is excellent and the appetizers are creative, they are definitely aiming to please.  only half of us were wowed with our meal, but it's a hard act to follow after their special starters.  the ambiance is fun and festive- if you can, get a table where you can view the chefs in action.

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6

65

Gomerio G.

Los Gatos, CA

Famous culinary academy with restaurant. Interesting to see what is coming down the pike from Americas best talent, eat in the "school".

Ideal setting, fantastic old property, this is a fine way to end a day of wine tasting. I do it often on my library splurge, collection retrenchments.

Recommended experience for the real food people of this board. Always pairing fine local wines.

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