TRUSS Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Calistoga

My wife and I came here for New Year’s Eve 2022. We came in for a dinner reservation at 7:30 and it wasn’t too busy. We were seated in the first area close to the kitchen (I think it’s called the Living Room).

The restaurant and resort are beautiful and have a great atmosphere. Black steel, tan leather and a modern western vibe provides a very premium feel.

The service was really great at first but then quickly wasn’t. I got the feeling that the restaurant was still figuring out how to be a great restaurant. I will caveat by saying that it was New Year’s Eve and as we ate it got busier and busier and there seemed to be some event in the back.

Our waitress initially was pretty attentive and made right an initially disappointing drink order for my wife. However, after she delivered the entrees we did not see her again until 18 minutes after we were finished eating and the other serving aides (expediters/hosts??) had bussed our table.

On that note there were 4-5 other people helping serve and attend our table. For example the woman filling water came by multiple times as well as the gentleman who bussed our table and two different guys in suits while our server was busy elsewhere. However, it was the server we still had to wait for at the end for the check and our to-go box of fries. This gave me the impression that the labor/workload isn’t balanced between the entire staff and could likely be optimized.

As far as food goes, everything was great except the Wagyu steak which was a little disappointing because it was the most expensive item and the centerpiece of the meal. We ordered the sourdough bread and onion dip and homemade chips as appetizers. Both were fantastic, especially the lightly whipped onion dip. For dinner, my wife ordered the burrata salad, I ordered the steak and we split a side of truffle fries. No complaints on the salad and the side of fries was massive. Like a mountain of truffle fries, it was awesome. This brings me to the steak. This item was one of three main entrees on the menu and the only item we ordered that required any real cooking other than dropping fries into a fryer. I ordered my steak medium rare. The steak was lukewarm upon delivery and when cutting in was very rare on one half and essentially not cooked on the other. This thing was so cool that the slab of butter on top would not melt. The crust typically seen on a properly seared steak was very thin and had little to no caramelization. Normally I would never waste an ounce of steak, regardless of quality but I actually stopped eating about 2/3rds through because I started to worry it wasn’t heated to a safe temperature to properly kill bacteria. I would have given this feedback to our waitress but as mentioned above, we didn’t see her again until almost 20 minutes past this point and our table was bussed by the time we did. I will say the meat itself was tender and juicy as Wagyu should be but the preparation did not meet the expectation of this nice of a restaurant or this quality of a cut of meat.

TLDR: Awesome aesthetic and great vibe. Great sides and appetizers. Service was slightly disorganized and eventually sparse. Wagyu steak was poorly prepared and a disappointment.

Maybe we’ll give it another shot next NYE and I hope they’ve improved on execution and organization of their service staff because that place was...

Deeply Disappointing Experience at the Four Seasons Napa Restaurant – A Shadow Over a Brand We Loved

We’ve stayed at Four Seasons Napa multiple times — in fact, we were just there a month ago for a weekend getaway and came back again, trusting the consistently high standards of the brand. Sadly, this recent visit left us truly disappointed, all because of one experience at the hotel’s only restaurant.

We had a brunch reservation for four and started with appetizers and Espresso Martinis. The glasses were unusually small — definitely not what you’d expect for this cocktail — and after just a few sips, all four of us agreed that the drinks were simply terrible. They were overly sweet, weak in both alcohol and coffee flavor, and tasted more like melted ice than a proper cocktail.

When our server checked in, I politely expressed my surprise and said the drink didn’t resemble the ones we’ve had here before. She was kind and apologetic and offered to have them remade. We accepted. Shortly after, we saw the manager step in, change the bartender, and prepare the new drinks himself. The second round was much better, and we appreciated the effort.

However, when the check arrived, the original cocktails were still included. I politely asked about it, and the server responded, “Well, you drank it.” I asked to speak to the manager, and that’s when things took a truly disappointing turn.

Instead of showing understanding or professionalism, the manager doubled down and told us he had to charge for anything that had been consumed. He gave us a forced smile and a tone that clearly implied we were trying to get a free drink. It was patronizing and insulting — not to mention completely out of line with the Four Seasons philosophy.

This was not about the money. It was about being treated with respect, and feeling like our long-standing loyalty to the brand meant something. Instead, we were left with the impression that our integrity was being questioned — over a $20 cocktail that was objectively bad and replaced by their own initiative.

We’ve recommended Four Seasons Napa to countless friends and family. But after this experience, it’s hard to say we’ll be back. It’s honestly painful to write this, but it’s even more painful to have felt so unwelcome at a place that once felt...

NOV 22 was in Calistoga for a lil getaway and Truss seemed like the spot for an early evening dinner. It’s located in the new Four Seasons Resort which is an amazing property. Valet parking was excellent and necessary as the restaurant is high above the property. We were seated on time 7:30om near a window and promptly greeted within the “Living Room” which essentially was a fancy hotel dining room-glass walls to the west and a small bar on the south. The kitchen, visible behind large glass panels, was bustling even though only six tables were occupied. The same kitchen serves room services and there was an event downstairs we were told. We ordered oysters, sparkling wine and sourdough to start. Food was well presented and tasty. Oysters especially so. Condiments arrived in tiny manufacture bottles upon a plate much like room service-sort of gave the presentation a cheap feel but worked nonetheless. After filling our bellies with oysters and bread we turned to a smash burger with craft made pickles American cheese and onions. I would’ve preferred an In n Out burger honestly. The truffles fries were super salty and if you like truffle potatoes-try Torres Black Truffle potato chips-better and a lot less $. The rest of the menu included a few salads, a few pizza and a few dinner items-fish, chicken Wagyu AU Beef. Overall the menu was limited. A crowd of folks arrived during dinner-a group of about 15 people and the room became very noisy. Difficult to hear a table conversation. Staff were attentive altho as it got busier attention to service declined and we had to request a couple condiments twice. The hostess helped keep our water glasses topped off. Restrooms were outside near the picturisque and quite lovely roof top area. With so many delicious dining experiences nearby we were overall meh on our dining experience at Truss. Pricing wasn’t god awful but I was distracted by the Four Season property name only to receive 3 star...