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Elements Restaurant & Enoteca - CLOSED
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Elements Restaurant & Enoteca
18 reviews in English
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Review from Karlton L.
Burlingame, CA
1/9/2009
This was our third time dining here. Each time it has been excellent.Each plate we've had exhibited a complex but always balanced melange.
The wine list has good variety and is very approachable. When I go to places like Bacar or Mina, I get a little overwhelmed. This is a place I can work with and is pretty economical IMO.
We typically order the specials cuz I believe that if the chef has gone to the trouble of thinkin' somethin' up....why not? We've never been disappointed. The Sea Urchin Flan was a puzzler at first cuz I've had some questionable Uni in my time. No worries, It was great. Almost mousse-like, scented with curry, a Granny Smith relish floated on top. There was a lovely hint of the sea underlying all.
The staff are always good. Attentive without being intrusive.
They even paced our plates to our palate's advantage. For example, my wife and I were sharing evrything and I wondered why our entree Black Cod arrived before the app. Uni Flan. A wise move as the cod was subtle and would have been clouded a bit after the Curried Uni. Nice.
We always take a bottle of something home to add to the cellar and again, the variety is nice and very affordable.
Only one tiny, itty-bitty, wee fuss I might express is the funny door opener thingy. When you pull the door open, It swings to its full openness, pauses a few seconds, then slowly closes. Brrrrrr for the winter in such a small dining room.
Otherwise Joe Bob says check it out.
And to the folks who complain about the insurance fee.
For Chrissakes!!! 50 cents? FIFTY- FREAKING-CENTS YOU"RE COMPLAINING ABOUT?!!!
SO SOME PEOPLE CARRYING FOOD TO YOU CAN HAVE SOME HEALTH COVERAGE?
Yagottabekiddin'me
Karlton says its elemental -
Review from Nikki M.
2/24/2009
I think i'd give this place 3.5 stars. The food was good, but didn't blow the four of us away. I like the ambiance, and the live jazz band, and our waiter Shay was fantastic (like he didn't even mind when one of the members of our party asked for a fist bump after partaking quite a bit in their lovely wine list!)
Yummy:
Ahi
Lobster Ceviche (which was nice and spicy)
Skate
Asparagus
Not bad:
Steak
Skate
Calamari
Not great:
Pasta with Clams (kind of bland)
Desserts
I would skip dessert here, nothing was very impressive and with places like Sweetie Pies in the neighborhood, I expected more. I probably wouldn't be back. Celdaon is one of our favorite restaurants and while pricer, the quality of the food and flavors is so far above this. -
Review from amnnor n.
Berkeley, CA
9/7/2008
R.I.P. gone Sept 2009. Napa just didn't get it. Napa wants more burger joints.
Finally, someone in Napa who gets it. I'm kind of tired of this year's batch of french bistro, or tuscan trattoria. The dishes here (small plates) are varied, creative, well prepared and promptly served. The cheese varieties are plentiful, accessories (pickled figs, marconis, etc) are present. The place is comfortable, well served and keeps real hours (starting next week continuously from lunch 'till midnight)
Indeed an enoteca as well as a restaurant. Buy a glass of wine at the bar, a bottle to take home is then 15% off of wine store retail, or to drink there moderately marked up. Good and interesting variety, don't gotta drink those ridiculously overpriced, over alcoholed, jammy Napa varieties - though many are represented (o.k. a point of opinion, but Carneros is not far away.) Also a good assortment of elegant draught brews.
Beautiful room and fittings. Romantic spot.
Further, all employess have a covered health plan, most fishes, meats and vegetables are local and died of natural causes.
What's not to like? Too many of you guys pushing to get in. No resv. yet, but probably soon.
As my dog would say: Bone Appetit! -
Review from Southnapa Y.
Napa, CA
1/25/2009
Thank God they serve Hoegaarden.
I went to meet some friends here, excited about their sustainable practices and their late night hours (finally! a place with--potentially--good food, good people and open past 6p!).
I'm told (by the friends I was meeting) that it's a good thing I was late, that the food was disappointing, the service indifferent--although I was greeted nicely by the staff when I arrived--and that things were just, *off*. A sauce not quite right, the decor not quite together, something a little funky, and not in a good way.
Which brings me back to the beer. Thank God they have Hoegaarden. I ordered one and I loved it. Now if they could just work on the other things... -
Review from Theresa M.
Daly City, CA
1/7/2009
Lisa, the maitre di, is the best. So friendly and personable. The staff is overall very friendly and accommodating. The owner of the place even greeted us. The people redeems the place alone.
Water filtration is very cool and the whole health insurance promise for their employees is very socially responsible, but the food was just OK. I've had better stuff in San Francisco.
We weren't very hungry so we got something small. Chris liked the sea urchin custard, which I must say was very good. I had the cheese platter. Their cheese was OK. I think I may have just picked the wrong cheese. The serving size of accompaniments for the cheese were so small. Almost unacceptably small. The honey comb was mostly wax and the candied butternut squash, which was also good, was small in amount as well.
...ehh. *shrug* -
Review from oliver l.
Detroit, OR
10/21/2008
I was told that this place was hit or miss and that is exactly what I got. I had the oxtail pate and the Veal-tounge sandwich special of the day. I was really hungry and initially excited by the extensive offerings of variety meats.
First off the staple item on the menu, the oxtail pate, was horrible, the worst representation of oxtail I have ever had. it was overly dry with an overly roast beefy taste. but to top it off it came with an accompanying carrot, pickle and I think cabbage salad that tasted of wet-watered down salt with a faint taste of chemicals, if that makes since...Just utterly bad
The sandwich on the other hand, which I almost thought of cancelling after a good 15 minute wait from a ticket-less kitchen, WAS Delicious, rich & succulent braised veal tongue, great bread, sauteed wild mushrooms and goats cheese. It was a relief, too bad it isn't a staple menu item.
The decor was nice and the giant patio window offered a welcome breeze to the bar. -
Review from Julie H.
Napa, CA
12/28/2008
Favorite new restaurant in Napa! Small plates are perfect for sharing and tasting lots of different flavors. Each featured item is balanced perfectly sauces and garnishes. Highly recommended are: hamachi tartar, pepino salad, honey glazed duck, beet salad and the yellow fin carpaccio. Also, save room for a cheese course... The staff/owners are fantastically friendly and are happy to help you make menu choices--food or wine. It reminded us of one of the enoteca's we visited while in Italy. We will be back soon!
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Review from David T.
Napa, CA
11/14/2008
My entree was served before my appetizer. Portions were VERY small for the price. Every dish seemed to be missing some ingredient so everything looked great but was relatively bland. With the glass doors open to 2nd street, the car and truck noises rumbled through the restaurant. They had a nice selection of wines and the staff was polite. With so many great restaurants in Napa Valley, I won't be back and I don't recommend it.
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Review from sheryl m.
San Carlos, CA
6/23/2009
The food was good. I like the variety of small plates. There was live music the last time I was there. They offer every wine on the list by the glass with reasonable prices to back them up.
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Review from Laura H.
San Diego, CA
12/1/2008
This resteraurant has the best food! We had this apple/ bell salad that was so awesome. I had this veal and gnocci dish that was incredible. My husband had the most tender steak with horseraddish. Then this yummy chocolate dessert. Our entrees were $12 and $13 - so reasonable! The portions were perfect and the wait staff was so nice.
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Review from Erin M.
Crystal, MN
9/27/2008
The food at Elements is FANTASTIC. Elements is a couple blocks off of Main Street in Napa and just opened in September 2008. We went for dinner and shared almost all the small plates on the menu. The presentation of the dishes is beautiful, and everything tastes as good as it looks.
They don't accept reservations, but we didn't have to wait long for a table. Once everyone figures out how great the food is, I'm sure that will change. I would highly recommend Elements to all of my friends... give it a try! -
Review from Sasha V.
Napa, CA
10/15/2008
Who dosn't put chocolate on the desert menu??? I was not to impressed with Elements. Althought the service was great.
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Review from Vivian J.
11/24/2008
We went here for dinner while staying in Napa and we were a bit mixed. This is a place where you share plates together. We ordered the Tuna dish with salad and this salad with red peppers, red onions, feta, and cucumber that was so good! The other one seemed a bit bland. Good portions to share with one other person and not fight over food. We ordered the Swordfish and the Salmon and the swordfish needed more sauce and seemed bland to me. The Salmon had tons of flavor and came with these yummy bed of cabbage below. For dessert we ordered the rice pudding with apricot compote on top but it was just way too healthy to be a dessert! It really needed some sugar to jazz it up. Service was super fast and quick. The place was noisy almost like eating at bar so if want to chat it may be a bit tough. We didn't try any wine since we had been wine tasting all day but they had tons to pick from. They also had a tons of different beers to try as well.
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Review from Ale O.
1/27/2009
this place is pretty good. its better than pizza azzuro. it looks great, has an open wall, and the food is pretty fresh. the chicken salad was great and so was the hamachi tartare.
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Review from Marcy D.
Napa, CA
10/9/2008
I just went to Elements for the first time yesterday and really liked it. I met a friend for lunch and we shared 4 small plates. The service was excellent and the food was really tasty. I also love the giant window that opens to the outside. It was nice to sit inside but have the breeze and fresh air from outside without being in the direct sun! I would recommend this to anyone. Next time I'll try some wine.
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Review from Sonyia g.
Napa, CA
12/17/2008
Okay the food is good but the prices are a little high for such small portions. The wine by the glass is $$$ you are much better of buying a bottle. The kicker that ticked me off was getting the bill and having a surcharge for insurance. I may not have minded if I knew this in advance but there was nothing that warned me about this. I asked another friend who had dined there and she said that her table had a framed sign that let people know about the charge. This WAS NOT on my table and I have very mixed feelings about being charged for insurance. When I waited tables I bought my own with my TIP money....
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Review from Booboo S.
Walnut Creek, CA
5/27/2009
Went here over Memorial day for a nice dinner. The restaurant was beautiful. The live jazz in the background was great. The food was good but not spectacular. We had the broccoli (good), goat cheese (very good), calamari (okay), sand dab fish (okay), duck salad (good). Service was great. I can't give 4 stars because the portions were so tiny (I'm petite and don't need huge portions) and I was barely not hungry after the meal. If you are hungry - don't bother to come here. The food was okay to good but not spectacular - but if you just want a snack with good ambiance and live jazz - consider here if you don't mind paying modest amount to get little food. Wine selection excellent.
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Review from Stefanie S.
Oakland, CA
11/11/2008
yes they do have chocolate for dessert!! beautifully presented and quite an ample portion, to my delight they had a flourless chocolate cake on the menu last night. the black cod in napa cabbage with Piedmont truffle oil was fabulous. the broccoli rabe with a trace of anchovy paste - sensational. we live in the 'hood, walked over and had a great meal.
