restaurant review: ballard inn

(Ballard, CA).  The Ballard Inn & Restaurant is home to some truly wonderful cooking which I first discovered over 7 years ago when I was introduced to their pork belly on cabbage at a food & wine event hosted by Wally's in Westwood, California.  Based on the allure of that one dish, I made sure to check out the restaurant during a wine trip in Los Olivos, and I was not disappointed.  The food was amazing and the service was impeccable.  I recently went out there again to see if anything had changed.

Was I disappointed?


With respect to the food - no.  Just like before, the food was simple, flavorful and perfectly executed.  The room and ambiance remained similarly cozy and intimate.  However, the service seemed to have diminished slightly.  One could say it's because it's more casual now, but in my opinion, it lacked the perfection that I experienced on my previous trips.  And for these fine-dining prices, you do expect the service levels to be better.

We had the following dishes complimented by a bottle of Brewer-Clifton pinot noir (yum):

• Tiger Shrimp Salad - very fresh and flavorful; the dressing
  
  was richly creamy but not overpowering (avocado & citrus)
• Seared foie gras on toast - very simple, straightforward dish; the foie gras was perfectly seared on a nice crispy toast with a sweet marmalade.  I actually appreciate when chefs prepare foie gras simply without a bunch of unnecessary distractions
•  Local Black Cod with Crispy Potatoes - I don't usually prefer fish over red meat, but I was really pleased with this dish.  The fish was cooked so perfectly - tender and juicy on the inside, with an amazing crisp on the skin.  The crazy buttery, crispy potatoes under the fish were a delight!  It was probably the best fish dish I've encountered in a restaurant in several years!
• Rack of Lamb with pomegranate glaze - Again, perfectly cooked without any gaminess.  My husband really enjoyed this dish.

The food, as usual, met (or exceeded) our expectations.  

The service was just a tad lacking.  It was perfectly friendly, but here were the issues we noticed:

• When we entered, it took a long time before anyone even acknowledged us.  When you enter you are basically in a small lobby of the inn at the entrance to the restaurant, so everyone notices when someone enters.  But no one - not the 2 people behind the reception area trying not to make eye contact with us or the servers - made any attempt to tell us that a hostess would be coming or anything...  We sort of stood there awkwardly for about 5-8 minutes before the hostess showed up.
• After we ordered, my husband noticed that they neglected to give us our bread basket.  Essentially they simply forgot.
• Throughout dinner, whenever they came to pour our wine, they would almost knock the wine glass and/or the water glass over.  

Although none of these things denote terrible service; they certainly do not evidence great service.  It was probably even more glaring because of how wonderful the service was in my previous visits.  But if things that this don't bother you and you simply want some delicious good while wine tasting in the area, then you should check this place out.