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Oddly i read your post by email notification and it seemed fair and a good post, before you deleted it. i will not repeat the topic, of course.
I guess I deleted because I don’t want this to be about their staff but I’ve tried to reach out to them twice now and no response so I’ll repost.
Boy, we had a very uninspiring dinner at Village pub on Thursday night. I’ve been going there for a long time for special occasions and sometimes for their bar burger in pre Covid days. They still have bar menu but regular menu is now fixed price and was are only option since we still only eat outside and bar food is only inside. Food was ok, my husband liked his bass and salad choice I wasn’t so lucky with hamichi (boring and bland) and filet and paid extra for both options. Beignets for dessert were excellent. My biggest issue was the sommelier coming over and after finding out it was our anniversary suggesting we start with a glass of rose Champagne. We said yes and then discovered at end of the meal it was $40 per glass. I guess we assumed that he wouldn’t have suggested that price point without telling us. Not cool especially since our kids were paying for the dinner. Have never paid that much for one glass of anything and will not be returning.
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10 times outta 10 on an anniversary or bday that has happened to me it’s been a comp. Never been to this spot. That’s super sketchy. Appreciate the feedback.
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i don’t think it is sketchy, even if it is unfortunate. This is a place targeted at the 100m++ asset category people, where talking about money and prices is declassé. I can see a policy of only offer the price if asked, and if something is on the menu with a listed price, the person pushing it can say ‘it is on the list’. Generally I think all specials should have an announced price but I find a lot of places don’t, not just here, but crazy about that trend.
Otoh I wouldn’t blame the diner, either. It is unfortunate, and doubly so that they haven’t responded. That is on them.
We should note this is a restaurant with a gigantic wine tome with bottles into the thousands of dollars (probably 10k++ if you include large format), which offers fois gras and truffle as burger upgrades (used to be off menu, now on menu). last time i was there a struggled a bit to find something i wanted under 200 a bottle, which at 4 pours to the bottle is about the same.
By reference, i got a small pour of mid range chablis at chez maman last night for 17 bucks, and had to buy two because they were small pours. it was on the menu so i knew what i was getting into but i didn’t realize the pour was going to be skimpy.
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I def don’t blame the diner - sorry if that’s not clear.
Sounds like more reasons to avoid this spot. I do think it’s predatory and sketchy and it would leave a foul taste in my mouth.
Lots of spots in Beverly Hills/WeHo here have poured many a free pair of glasses of champagne to my wife and me on special occasions…always pays for itself cuz we return…
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Yeah, I get that. I still don’t call it sketchy, nor predatory,more how they roll and vibe, imho. I literally don’t know another place like it in the whole bay area. And I don’t go there much myself for the same reason, the attitude there is peculiar. I have had enough of the bougie vc attitude for a lifetime. They can keep it. Also, for a place with a nice cocktail bar, they couldn’t mix me a corpse reviver.
GF and I had our last birthday at Vesta, and they comped dessert. we keep going back.
Flea Street has made our eternal circle of the damned for poor service one day. Don’t care if they ever improve.
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that’s hospitality and kindness … makes everything taste better and feel more fun
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Or you can be like me going el cheapo and just get their burger for lunch with water. 
I’ll add that to my list for sure! Outdoor dining at Tai Pan was definitely not so formal. I do agree that dining indoors is rather quiet, but sometimes that’s a plus. I have some older relatives who prefer a quieter space so they can more easily follow the conversation at the table.
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Four of us went to Yank Sing Sunday (1st time for one) … this was always my favorite place, was always a bit pricey. Hadn’t been in over 4 years. Sadly, this is probably my last time going there … prices are unbelievable and the cart routes unorganized. At least no one came by with pricey sea bass!
The har how, favorite, as good as ever. I ate sparingly, Bill came to $161 before tip BUT they charged tax on what we ordered PLUS on the 5% Health Mandate, which was over $7.
Prices not justified.
Wanted to update and say that the manager did email me back finally and we had a nice conversation on the phone. I told him I know how difficult things have been for restaurants and how hard staff works but I thought this was a pretty egregious move. He comped the two glasses and said that he told his staff to let people know costs or point out what they’re recommending on wine list. I did tell him we were slightly confused about the recommendation and thought perhaps it was something that was being offered up for our anniversary. We had just received the 100+page wine list and hadn’t had a chance to even look at it yet. The bottle of wine we did end up getting (California Sauvignon blanc) was on lower end of price point and wine steward also tried to push a more expensive bottle. As I said our kids were paying for the meal (we had come up from Santa Barbara early to help with babysitting) and we weren’t interested in padding the bill. We’ve gone to village pub for many decades and their bar menu was pretty good-used to get burgers with blue cheese or steak frites but I’m not a fan of fixed price menu’s and this visit didn’t change my mind. Should have gone with Rooh (only other place I could get a reservation at late notice). Interesting looking food and our kids would have saved a lot of money.
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We usually celebrate our anniversary at San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito where we got married a long long time ago. I think they have one of the most beautiful garden seating areas in California. Food is expensive nothing exciting but good and they usually comp something to celebrate the event. I’m not looking for free food so either way is fine with me. Village Pub in Woodside gets lots of Silicon Valley people who want familiar food surrounded by people they probably know. Kind of a Lucky’s/Craig vibe if you’re a SoCal person…
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Going to Zott’s (Alpine Inn) tonight with a big group of friends. All the people who go to village pub on the weekends probably do Zott’s on Tuesday night. Good old Silicon Valley.
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have fun with your friends!
what i find objectionable about the current alpine inn is the poor beer selection. The clientele seems to include more of the reluctant rich class, who i am ok with, as well as some of the other subspecies i find less pleasant. found the food ok. i look forward to your report.
I (we, my partner) truly miss barrone for dinner. quite the loss, the place was really pleasant on the later side.
Is this the same as Rossotti’s ? - We drove by recently we interested to find out more about - please report back
Yes, it has at least three different names 
Used to live down the road and came here after kids soccer/baseball games. In 2018 the group that owns Town, Milagros and Nola bought it and really spruced it up. We’ve been 3 or 4 times in the past 18 months and it’s wildly popular. Forget even going on the weekends, we usually meet friends during the week. You order online at the table and pay so it’s also convenient with lots of people, no worrying about dividing up the check at the end. I usually get their pizza but may try the brisket tacos tonight! I’ll write it up tomorrow.
Didn’t know it was the same group, makes sense. All of those places are crowded. Nola came back a little closer to its prior glory after inattention in about '18, they put the clover burger back on the menu. Milagros I tried once, but prefer actual Mexican ( the el gruellebse) when in that hood. generally these places don’t do great apps which is what we look for. Tonight I am having drinks and a light dinner at cru in rwc, owned by the donata enoteca people, which accounts for why the flatbread is a cut above. mostly for the company but it is in rotation.
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