St. James Social Restaurant & Social Lounge — Restaurant in Bayfield

The stars reflect the experience—great service and ambiance, but the food didn’t quite measure up. The space is beautiful and has all the hallmarks of a trendy, modern restaurant. The staff, including the owner/manager, were warm, attentive, and clearly passionate about what they’re doing, which I genuinely appreciated.

As an amateur foodie, I feel a little guilty saying this—but the food left us underwhelmed. My friend and I both ordered the cacio e pepe, which we were told is one of their top three dishes. While the truffle addition was a nice touch, the pasta itself was dry and bland. Traditionally, cacio e pepe features a silky sauce made from pasta water and pecorino. Here, the cheese was grated on top, but not incorporated into a cohesive sauce—there was virtually no sauce at all. The owner kindly offered more olive or truffle oil (we chose truffle), but without the starchy pasta water, it lacked the creamy texture and depth the dish is known for.

The roasted beets were good, but not particularly memorable. I also tried a bite of my partner’s Wagyu burger—decent, but it didn’t have the melt-in-your-mouth richness I’ve come to expect from authentic Wagyu, especially compared to what I’ve tasted in Japan.

Google mentioned “great cocktails,” but once seated, I found out they don’t have a hard liquor license. The drink menu consisted mostly of wine-based spritzes. After a weekend of backpacking, I was really looking forward to a proper cocktail with my meal, so it was a bit of a letdown.

In short: a beautifully designed space and genuinely kind people running it, but the food and drinks didn’t quite live up to the buzz—or the prices. I respect their vision, but I hope they revisit their menu execution to better match the...

Seldomly do I write negative reviews; this may actually be the first time.

First off, the food was fantastic- it was the service that I am complaining about.

We made a reservation over a month ago for our 11 year anniversary and called ahead of time to see if kids were okay to bring. I was informed that the restaurant was “family friendly” and there would be no issues.

After arriving and being seated we asked for a booster for our daughter. The waitress informed me that they do not offer boosters at their restaurant and “people don’t typically bring kids”.

A while later the hostesses did come by and offer one, but the waitress continued to make us feel uncomfortable for bringing a child. She told us that the menu isn’t “kid friendly” but they can make a cheese pizza if we really wanted.

We were told three times during our dinner that another reservation is at the table after us and we had to be done by 630 (reservation was at 5). Typically this wouldn’t be an issue, but the staff was slow to take our order and the food came out time wise as expected for a scratch kitchen.

Overall, the food was great, but don’t come with children, this is not a family friendly...

Everything was once new. The primary reason I give four stars for food and service is because of valuable feedback to a new establishment. With the understanding of a rotating menu or if something remains a staple. For food, I will preface the kitchen took around 1 hour for 3, 10-12” pizzas while maybe 8-10 tables total were being serviced: we had a 5pm reservation so no prior food rush to catch-up on. Be prepared to wait, this was not a quick or average meal service time. Second, I would indulge guests with a more hearty amount of arugula on the ‘Socialite’ fired pizza. For service, upon being seated we were informed of a time limit for guests following our reserved table. I recommend providing a notice when reserving a time limit (so it’s known) and then a subtly toward the end of reserved time slot (15 minutes) prior to the table needing to be vacated for the succeeding reservation.

All together, five stars!! A new establishment in mind and very great, kind and welcoming staff. Food exceptional when it arrived! Entrees,...