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Vineyard House Restaurant the
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
20 reviews for Vineyard House Restaurant the
WOW!! Went here tonight during our visit to the Santa Ynez Wine Valley. The service, food, and ambience were all outstanding. This was an amazing meal in a great relaxing atmosphere which we needed after a full day of wine tasting.
I had the Shrimp Orchiette pasta dish - perfectly cooked shrimp with shitake mushrooms, spinach, and tomato in a light cream sauce. My hubby had the Butternut Squash ravioli with Chicken - nicely cooked pasta with a breast of chicken on top (perfect, cuz I could have a bite of the yummy ravioli!)
Service was 'spot-on' - 3 ladies all covering each other doing a great job. Great wine list of local wine selections!
we attended a rehearsal dinner here with a fixed menu, but still, the food was lovely. i had a mixed green salad and a cajun steak plate, which was pretty darn rare (and i like my meat medium rare), but wonderful in flavor.
the service was wonderful- i'm not sure if that was due to us being a private party, but i don't think so- and the setting was gorgeous. i imagine this would be a really nice spot for an outdoor dinner of romantic intent.
girls, bring a sweater, there's never enough heat lamps.
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This was the first time I had dined at the Vineyard House. The service we received from the waitress was appalling. She was short, extremely rude & never came back to refill beverages. She was also kind enough to point out that I changed my order (salad dressing). She personally delivered the correct salad, making it a point to state that she fixed it for me even though "I had changed my mind". Talk about service! I must have had a brief moment of Alzheimer's!
The food, however, was excellent! We had the pleasure of meeting the Chef. Chef Guzman runs an amazing kitchen. My filet mignon was cooked to perfection, vegetables cooked to savor their flavor. We called the Chef over requesting for the manager. When we explained the situation he was sincere and profusely apologetic.
TIP: DO NOT ASK IF THE BILL CAN BE SPLIT. That's when it went all down hill. Bottom line they won't do it. We were told they were too busy. There were a total of two parties in the main room. One of the parties being our group, the other, the chefs' family.
Went to the restaurant on the recommendation of family. By request we were seated outside. Very nice ambiance. Great service initially; wine, starter, salads, and main courses all arrived appropriately warm in a reasonable time. Food was very well prepared. Problems with desert though. Placed two orders of Bananas Foster. Took longer to get to the table than dinner. Methinks they ran out of bananas and had to make a run to the store. When desert did arrive it was poorly done compared to dinner. Our groups main disappointment was that our server did not communicate there would be a delay. In fact she seemed to avoid our table. Nice wine list at fair prices. I would come back but I would want a different server.
On my own "SIDEWAYS" tour, I ventured to Vineyard House Restaurant and had a fantastic steak meal with baby carrots, amazing warm bread and 4 glasses of wine. The meal was superb. This is a wonderful restaurant to try on a weekend getaway to Santa Ynez/Solvang/Santa Barbara.
Guys - If you want to treat your lady to a nice meal, treat her to Vineyard. It's a charming Victorian house that is inviting, romantic and good. I sat in the outdoor patio and enjoyed a great meal at sundown. The summer sunsets are great in the Santa Ynez Valley. Enjoy!
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Let me preface the food and wine by saying that the entire experience was enhanced by being flown up to Santa Inez in a private jet, hopping a fence, wondering through a pasture hoping to avoid the cows who lived there, and walking a country mile.
We were exhilarated and hungry upon arrival. A perfectly crisp bottle of Pino Grigio with a fresh salad for starters and I knew that I was in heaven.
The quaint setting looks much like an English Garden and the service makes you feel at home. On the porch, with a gentle breeze and spring flora popping up around us I felt like I was worlds away from Los Angeles and indeed I was.
What make the Vineyard House so special to me is that it's casual but makes you feel like a star which a rarity these days when it comes to service. I can't wait to come back again.
With a half marathon looming on the horizon, we wanted to carb up. We saw a few pasta's on the menu out front and decided to give this place a shot.
We had to sit outside. They were completely booked for the evening. I didn't mind so much. It was a little chilly but I'm no pooh-C.
We decided to share a dinner salad and walked on the wild side when lavender dressing was in the mix between ranch & bleu cheese. We were glad we did. I'm not used to tasting flowers in my greens but it's something I'd gladly do again.
They were smart and took advantage of the marathoners being in town. "Carbo-load" was on their specials menu. Perfect! It was a really nice mix of linguini noodles, spinach, mushrooms & shrimp, in a basil & tomato sauce.
We also ordered a plate of chicken picatta. Well, after we figured out the "Chicken Three Ways" puzzle in the menu. The sauce was superb and the chicken was cooked perfectly. Slightly grilled with a moist middle.
The only disappointment was having to be disciplined enough to skip wine and dessert.
I smiled when I heard one of the servers talk a lady into drinking some wine anyways. "Awww, one or two glasses won't effect your time tomorrow!"
I think I passed her somewhere around mile 8 ;)
People thought this was:
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Yum yum yum.
Something about this place is just very refreshing. Something earnest going on here, so that even if one dish isn't quite perfect, you taste all the respect and effort that went into it.
The setting is like a big old victorian house, like a B &B. There are two dining rooms on the ground floor of the home plus an nice outdoor patio area for the good weather nights.
Something caught my eye right away- Prix fixe four course meals for $60/couple! Sun-Thurs I believe. But we didn't qualify, we arrived a few days before they were beginning it. DARN.
We knew from our day of wine tasting that Syrah was more our thing than Pinot, so we asked our waiter to recommend one as they had three and were all the same price. ($27/bottle I believe). He was refreshingly blunt that he couldn't personally say, but said that many people liked the Qupe. So we got that. Oh man, was it good. My favorite wine we tasted the whole trip, I think.
We shared the lemon fried calamari. Excellent. It was neither rings nor tentacles, but a thick tube of meat that I'm seldom served but is quite hearty and good. The lemon flavor and breading both were subtle, you could really taste the succulence of the meat. There a green creamy dipping sauce that tasted of basil.
Instead of adding simple side salads to our entrees for $3 each, I opted for us to split a "Vineyard" salad ($8) because it featured goat cheese and tomatoes. Our server thoughtfully brought it out on two plates. Delicious and generously sized.
I had black cod in a lemon butter sauce with a pesto crust and a vegetable risotto side. Boyfriend had braised short ribs with potatoes.
My fish was excellent, perfectly prepared. I'd almost have to take off points for using the words 'pesto' and 'risotto' since neither would aptly describe what was served, but it was all very tasty, so let's just pretend they said 'herb crusted' and 'rice dish' and call it five stars.
Boyfriend's ribs were good and hearty though not as refined or delicious as my fish. He described the taste of this meat as a cross between a potroast and ribs. Who knew what culinary insight Boyfriend had to offer?
Dessert was SENSATIONAL. It was a chocolate molten cake with a sour cherry sauce. Allow the 15 minutes, it's worth it! The souffle was that dizzying combination of warm and gooey and rich and the pieces of whole cherry in tangy sauce were fucking divine with the chocolate. It took all my willpower not to lick the plate.
So the bill was like 112, something like that. 4 courses plus wine, 2 people, mega-yummy. Not too shabby.
Optional Service Rant:
Our server was quite well-intentioned and kind but a tad under-educated in fine dining. When I asked what a green sauce was, he said "Uh, I think wasabi?" No way was it wasabi, it was certainly basil something. He also rushed us by bringing the foods while we were eating the previous course and asking if we wanted dessert while we still in the middle of our mains, a big no no. Don't make me feel like I'm getting in the way of your evening. Unless I'm at Chili's, allow me, the diner who's dropping the coin, to set the pace. $100 for a meal had better last longer than an hour. And much too often, even in fine establishments, I get a bill dropped off while I am eating my dessert. I hate that. Dessert = Heaven. Bill = Not so much fun. They just don't go well together.
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We had a romantic dinner here on our vacation. We both had the salmon and it was good but the bruschetta was lame and we fell for the "DEAL OR NO DEAL" special. I don't recommend it. The wine is awful! but the salad was good and the entree too. I would eat here again.
I wish I could have gone lower on the rating. My boyfriend and I came here on a Sunday morning, looking for a little brunch before we hit up a last winery and heading home. We got here around 11:15, sat outside and were enjoying the nice weather and casual atmosphere.
That is where the good things end.
I feel bad for our server because there was a group of six nurses sitting in his section, making his life miserable. They kept asking him to change items on their plates and being rather rude about it. Then when they got their bill they argued really annoyingly about being charged for adding a specialty item (I think it was crab or shrimp) to their dish. It must have thrown off his entire groove because my boyfriend and I sat for over an hour waiting for our food. When we got the food (two eggs benedicts) the yoke was not runny, like normal, and the food was lukewarm. And the table next to us, one person's order came out wrong, waited for him to bring it out again, and then when it came out, the chicken was raw. When he pointed it out to the server, the server asked, "oh, too raw for you?" The guy was like, "too raw?!! It's chicken!"
The manager was walking around so he could have improved matters, but it didn't seem like he cared. The server was clearly overwhelmed and flustered. And the kitchen was not on their game that day.
I don't think I will come back. We were there was so long we couldn't go to a last winery and just headed home. Really crappy way to end a nice trip. My experiences at breakfast in Solvang have been much more positive.
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We went for Easter breakfast and this restaurant is delightful. I had the eggs benedict which was made to perfection - hollandaise sauce was perfect and did not over power the dish. Husband had the crab omelet, which must have been good because no one heard a peep from him. Another friend had the chilaquiles omelet which I was told was amazing. I would love to come back and have dinner at this restaurant. Staff and service were great too!
We just dined this Sunday afternoon at the Vineyard House Restaurant in Santa Ynez. We were invited to eat lunch and celebrate after the dedication of my nephew at the Valley Christian Fellowship church earlier that morning.
The Sobell's Vineyard restaurant appears to have been a converted home built circa 1920's? with an incredible atmosphere. There was even a Model T parked outside. Don't get me wrong we had all the modern conveniences such as "air conditioning" etc...
We ate indoors in a private room all to ourselves and the food was terrific. Gabriel Guzman is the Chef and made an ordinary chicken sandwich extraordinary. Outdoors a chorus of music played throughout the afternoon.
Close your eyes and Imagine a summer afternoon in the south with the big hats and summer dresses. Then open your eyes and head over to "The Vineyard House" to experience it. Great way to spend the day with family, and those you love.
May the source be with you.
Loves it! One of my dining companions is notorious for eating VERY little of anything...ever...no seriously, it's a rare occasion if he eats half his meal. That being said he ate all of his Raspberry Pecan salad here. ALL OF IT. And we're not talking a small side salad...we're talking a pretty large sized plate of greens for what should have just been an opening course rather than an entree.
My friend left no trace of her Filet Mignon and I have no idea what else was on her plate as I was too busy shoveling Chicken Picatta in my mouth. I had picked a dish that I thought would be boring so that I wouldn't be enticed to eat too much.....oh how wrong I was! I even considered soaking up the leftover sauce with the warm bread they kept bringing to the table....but I decided to at least put up the appearance of being classy. Didn't want to scare all the senior citizens who were dining at the table next to us.
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They make a solid crab omelet.
The Sunday brunch here was a pretty good one.
People are nice, waiters have a smile and most of them speak English.
I got a reuben sandwhich to go and it was pretty good.
I needed the energy it was a long weekend.
Overall: it doesn't aim for the stars but it creates nice sunsets at will and that's not bad.
Bravo.
The V House gets five stars for being the restaurant I went to before senior prom and being the first establishment to introduce me to lavender creme brulee. In fact, creme brulee of any kind.
This still did nothing to get me any action on prom night but someone else in my class did get proposed to on the dance floor. I'm sure it was the creme brulee that saved me from such a horrible fate!
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Minus one star for "Chicken three ways." Who would've thought that "Chicken three ways" meant "We-make-chicken-three-ways,-but you-can-only-pick-ONE"?
Must've ran out of space on the menu and they had to shorten the chicken part.
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After a day of fine wine tasting, we went here even though we had reservations for AJ Spurs. The entrees (rack of pork and angus steak) were fine but the service sucked. We go to restaurants for service - that is the difference between take-out and restaurants. We had one fizzy wine which was definitely not good. the waitress came back after 3 minutes to say she and her boss tasted it and it was fine. The obnoxious comment she made was "but thanks for the opportunity!" (to taste it) Very poorly timed comment which put our judgement in question.
Maybe this part of town doesn't see Asians-who-look-young-but-aren't, I don't know. But I give it 1 star for the service and average food.
Simple home cooking done exceptionally well in a mellow outdoor dining environment. Perfect after a full day in the hot sun consuming copious amounts of vino bouncing from winery to winery. Great personal service and excellent prices. It hit the spot.
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this place is walking distance from the artiste winery. such a pleasant scene, sitting outside and enjoying a nice lunch. the weather was perfect and i enjoyed my cobb salad. the french fries were a bit soggy. service was ok. they were getting busy around noon on a thursday afternoon. i'm sure the weekends get packed. i would recommend this place to others.
We're never disappointed at the Vinyard House and had another wonderful meal last night. The filet steak was excellent and done just the way I ordered it. My husband's rack of lamb was perfectly cooked. We always have dinner here when in the area and always find the service personable and attentive. Our wine choice wasn't the best, but that was our mistake. From now on I'll always ask if the bottle is corked or screw top. It might be a personal thing, but I still don't think a bottle with a screw top is as good as one with a cork. All of the wine selections are from local wineries and most I'm not familiar with. Next time I'll ask for assistance.
