Sage Cafe — Restaurant in California

Sage Café is an always open sit down restaurant inside Barona. The menu is a mix of classic Americana fare, Mexican, Asian etc.

Our group of 11 had a dining credit for Sage Café. Making reservations on a Saturday morning, we were seated in about a half hour. After placing our orders, we waited..................and waited....................and waited.

Once our food came out, the adults received their entrees first. The kids had to wait even longer. If anything, kids should receive their meals prior to the adults. Plus, we weren't given baskets of bread to quell our appetites & had to request them.

My entrée was Sage Cafe's pad Thai. I had the choice of chicken or shrimp, with my choice going to shrimp. I knew not to expect authentic pad Thai, the kind you'd find from a hole in the wall Thai spot, and when given the choice of either chicken or shrimp, I knew it would definitely not be authentic, as the authentic stuff would have both. But, I haven't had pad Thai in a very long time &, when compared to the rest of the menu, wasn't too pricey.

Sage Cafe's pad Thai was a good representation of pad Thai. Sweet, sour (which I could've used more of), and a decent portion. The noodles had the right consistency, with just enough chewiness for that wonderful mouth feel.

I also had some of the fried calamari. I enjoyed this appetizer, with the accompanying sauces. I would've preferred the calamari to be crispier, but as a whole, I enjoyed the dish.

Upon recommendation of my companions, I also had a small bowl of albondigas soup. My first time trying albondigas, I thought it wasn't bad. The meatball was large & seasoned well. W/o prior experience eating albondigas, I can't truthfully say if Sage's version was up to snuff, though.

Having already touched on the service, I was very disappointed on the wait time & how our plates were staggered and lack of bread. Granted, our table was a party of 11, but simple things like bringing out bread to snack on would've masked the wait time. And, the wait time between the adult's & kid's food proved a buzzkill to me.

My first experience dining at Sage Café, I can honestly say I'd much rather save money & eat at Barona's excellent food court. The wait was too long & lack of simple dining etiquette really left a sour taste in my mouth. Hopefully, this encounter was an aberration & not a recurring characteristic of...

Unacceptable Experience at Sage Café - Costly Damage and Lack of Accountability.

I recently dined at Sage Café inside Barona Casino, and I must say that my experience was nothing short of a disaster. What was supposed to be a simple, enjoyable meal turned into a highly costly ordeal, both financially and in terms of the utter disregard for customer care and responsibility.

While eating a salad I ordered, I bit into what I expected to be a pitted olive, only to realize—too late—that it wasn’t fully pitted. This seemingly minor error resulted in a broken crown, causing extensive dental damage that required $2,600 worth of repairs. Not only was this incredibly painful, but the aftermath was made far worse by Barona Casino’s complete refusal to accept responsibility.

Because Barona Casino is located on Indian reservation land, they are not subject to the same rules and regulations as businesses operating outside the reservation. This means they cannot be held accountable in regular Superior Court, and instead, they essentially make up their own rules. The inability to seek proper legal recourse in a court system most of us rely on is absolutely unacceptable and leaves customers like me with no reasonable means of compensation or justice.

This kind of behavior—serving potentially dangerous food and then hiding behind reservation status—is not just bad business practice; it’s irresponsible and unethical. It’s outrageous that a well-known establishment like Barona Casino would allow this to happen without offering any form of compensation or solution.

I want to strongly warn anyone considering dining at Sage Café to be cautious. The lack of accountability and disregard for their patrons’ well-being speaks volumes about their priorities. I believe the public deserves to know how they handle issues like this, which can have severe physical and financial consequences for their customers.

It’s hard to trust a business that creates its own regulations to avoid facing consequences for their negligence. This type of behavior will undoubtedly damage their reputation,...

02/03/2022 - Apparently Barona has changed their rules on the age limit of guests. For the past 10 years we have been visiting Barona periodically with our children and eating at Sage Cafe. Our kids have always loved going there and it was my son's 17th birthday and that was the restaurant he requested to eat at for his birthday dinner. Our group of six arrived at 6:45 p.m. We put our group on the list and were told it would be a 45 minute wait due to them only having a couple tables that seat six. This was expected and that was not a problem for us. Our group sat in the Sage waiting area for 45 minutes and were text that our table was ready right on time! When we approached the hostess to be seated at our table she asked if everyone in our group was 18. I stated that everybody was except our youngest son who's 17th birthday it was. She said she was sorry, but we couldn't enter and eat there...........what? What do you mean we cannot eat here. We've been eating here with these kids for the past 10 years. We apparently their rules changed after covid and instead of asking us when we first arrived, they decided to allow us to sit there in front of them for 45 minutes and THEN ask us before we were to be seated. At this point it was almost 8 p.m. and my sons 17th birthday dinner turned into Cane's because most restaurants are either closing at 8:00 p.m. for not seating after 8:00 p.m. Much appreciated Barona for being inattentive to your guests. Had they asked me this question upon checking in then we would have had plenty of time to go elsewhere and save the evening. You have now lost an entire family that used to support and suggest this restaurant to others. Will never visit Barona again and will not suggest it to anyone. There are way too many other options. Visiting Vegas this weekend. I'm certain our family is not going to be turned away from ANY...