17 replies to this topic

[caligirlz]

I had the pleasure of eating here tonight, and so far, it's the absolutely best restaurant I've eaten at in a very long time.
http://www.hawksrestaurant.com/

Our party of 3 all ordered the 5 course Chef's Table Special....I'm still licking my lips. Wow....so delicious.....

The service was top notch & perfectly timed. The atmosphere was beautiful, and relaxing. My one complaint was that our table was too close to the bar, which was very loud, even though there were only 3 other occupied tables during the majority of our meal. Even when the crowd increased around 730, there were still plenty of tables available further away from the bar. That said... by the time we got to the 3rd course, I didn't care what was happening around me, as I was deeply enjoying eat bite!

So, on to the food. Each course perfectly blended with the others, but had a full, rich flavor of it's own. After I ate all the gnocchi, I even considered drinking the remaining cream....yea, it was that good.

Course 1: caesar salad, sourdough croutons, boquerones and parmesan
Course 2: purÉe of potato and leek soup, apple-celery salad, bacon and brown butter
Course 3: house made gnocchi, hen of the woods mushrooms, parmesan cream
Course 4: slow roasted short rib, pommes purÉes, caramelized rutabaga and fresh horseradish
Course 5: the hawks bar, valrhona cocoa nib gelato

The portions were just right. I was pleasantly full but not stuffed at the end...just totally content.

Absolute perfection!

[eVader]

We have been meaning to go there and this review may have pushed me to make reservations soon.

[Molly]

They have a great happy hour menu, too!

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

We went there for our anniversary last night and also had the 5 course Signature Menu. Very similar to what was posted above. Food was excellent, as was the decor and the atmosphere. 

 

Unfortunately, the service was an issue. My husband ordered the wine pairing with the signature menu and our server got the pairings wrong. We asked to see a printed menu since the wines we were served didn't seem to go with the courses. When we asked her about it, she insisted that she prefers to do it that way and she thinks the way she poured it was better. We were astonished. My husband even tried to make a joke of it and said, oh, we thought you just made a mistake and she got fairly indignant and insisted that her way was better. It was not. The chardonnay was way too heavy and buttery for the corn soup. The soup needed more acid to break up the flavor. She eventually brought us the sauvignon blanc which was supposed to go with the first course salad but by that time we were eating a beef dish. :-(

 

Secondly,we were then served (by another person, not her) the short rib before the gnocchi. It took a few minutes to get that sorted out but then our server never addressed it when she came back. 

 

Again, I have to say that the food was excellent (my husband is also an executive chef in Sacramento) and we were pleased overall. It just seemed like our server was more concerned with what she thought than with what the chef had in mind and we would have preferred. 

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

 

We went there for our anniversary last night and also had the 5 course Signature Menu. Very similar to what was posted above. Food was excellent, as was the decor and the atmosphere. 

 

Unfortunately, the service was an issue. My husband ordered the wine pairing with the signature menu and our server got the pairings wrong. We asked to see a printed menu since the wines we were served didn't seem to go with the courses. When we asked her about it, she insisted that she prefers to do it that way and she thinks the way she poured it was better. We were astonished. My husband even tried to make a joke of it and said, oh, we thought you just made a mistake and she got fairly indignant and insisted that her way was better. It was not. The chardonnay was way too heavy and buttery for the corn soup. The soup needed more acid to break up the flavor. She eventually brought us the sauvignon blanc which was supposed to go with the first course salad but by that time we were eating a beef dish. :-(

 

Secondly,we were then served (by another person, not her) the short rib before the gnocchi. It took a few minutes to get that sorted out but then our server never addressed it when she came back. 

 

Again, I have to say that the food was excellent (my husband is also an executive chef in Sacramento) and we were pleased overall. It just seemed like our server was more concerned with what she thought than with what the chef had in mind and we would have preferred. 

 

Thanks for the review and, again, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I'm glad the food was good, but am very disappointed to hear about the service. Did you happen to mention this to management? For a restaurant of that quality, there is no excuse for what the server did. I hope your dissatisfaction was reflected in your tip.

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

Since it was our anniversary and we were having such a nice time, we didn't want to make a big deal about it last night but I did email the chef and manager this morning. We left a little less than we normally would (usually pretty generous tippers). 

[TruthSeeker]

Great reviews. Hopefully that issue was isolated to just that server. She should be fired for thinking she knows more about pairings then the chef and/or sommelier (if they have one).

[4thgenFolsomite]

Great reviews. Hopefully that issue was isolated to just that server. She should be fired for thinking she knows more about pairings then the chef and/or sommelier (if they have one).

reprimanded or re-educated about her role maybe?

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

I need to call them. They still haven't responded to my emails.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

I need to call them. They still haven't responded to my emails

There is no excuse for not responding to you. I've refused to give any further service to restaurants that can't be bothered getting back to me.

[TruthSeeker]

There is no excuse for not responding to you. I've refused to give any further service to restaurants that can't be bothered getting back to me.

100% agree. This latest news will keep me from going there. When I'm spending $$$ on dining out, I don't want some daft server changing the chefs menu because they as a waiter think they know more then an experienced chef. I would have been highly annoyed by that servers cavalier attitude.

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

I emailed the chef/owner last night again and he wrote back. He said they were trying to reach the server to find out her reasoning first before formally responding. He was quite apologetic and said the general manager would email us as well today

Any place can have a bad night and I want to be clear, the food was great. Unfortunately, it can be hard to control the actions of your servers and it was too bad that two mistakes were made by two different people at the same time.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

I emailed the chef/owner last night again and he wrote back. He said they were trying to reach the server to find out her reasoning first before formally responding. He was quite apologetic and said the general manager would email us as well today

Any place can have a bad night and I want to be clear, the food was great. Unfortunately, it can be hard to control the actions of your servers and it was too bad that two mistakes were made by two different people at the same time.

I'm glad he finally got back to you, but there is no excuse for making you wait so long -- tantamount to ignoring you. A good manager would respond immediately, apologize for your experience, indicate he is going to look into the matter, and let you know he wlll contact you again after doing so. This isn't rocket science.

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

Without a doubt Deb! 

[Devdave]

Sorry you had a bad experience, on your special day even!

 

I can't say enough good things about all the times we've been to Molly Hawk's restaurant.  The service and especially the food has been thoroughly enjoyable.  When we want to get out of Folsom and celebrate something, Hawk's is always on the short list.