Corktree Cellars, Carpinteria CA — Restaurant in Carpinteria

I struggled to come up with a rating. Part of me wanted 5... part of me wanted 2. I'll explain my thinking to why I settled on 3... but let me say this... you should definitely try it and just keep in mind what I learned from my experience and act accordingly. I think my next visit will pop up the rating a bit.

First off, the sign they had outside sold me... it was one of those chalkboard signs that read something like, "All you need is love. And wine. We have both... and lobster mac and cheese". That is a chalkboard from my own heart I'll tell you that. So my family and I visited. The staff was very nice right away. Very accommodating.

I was SO psyched to order a flight. And impressed by their flight options... they had 6 flights to choose from (3 white and 3 red)! I explained what I liked and they suggested "The Other Red Flight". The first wine was okay. Not great, not bad. But the other two were TERRIBLE! Like... awful. Two different varietals of wet dog. I asked to switch out those two with two from the Cab flight. They did so and it was like night and day! In fact, I'm definitely going to be purchasing a few bottles of the Robert Hall Cabernet Sauvignon! It was unreal. They're bottle prices weren't bad either (for take out), but this meal wasn't cheap so I couldn't swing it on this particular day. Lesson 1: Stay away from "The Other Red Flight" and go with the cabs!

My wife and son both enjoyed their meals. My wife's tacos she said were delicious, but I think they were overpriced for what she got. She seemed satisfied, but if it were me I would have been let down. As for me... I broke one of my personal rules: Never order lobster in California. I am from new England, and LOVE lobster. This seemed like a really legit place and I'm a sucker for lobster bisque wherever I am. So I ordered the lobster bisque and the lobster roll. The lobster bisque was DELICIOUS!!! It was that California orange instead of the traditional pink and it didn't have any lobster in it... so it was really like lobster flavored soup, but still... it was tasty! The roll wasn't a traditional lobster roll at all. I can't remember well enough to describe the differences. They were clearly trying to do a new take on it. However it was very tasty and a decent size. One of my complaints with many lobster rolls is that they are expensive and you get a glorified slider. However the size on this was great for the value. If it ended here... I would have given this place a 4 or higher. However... I'll spare you the details... but what it did to me that night... well... it brought it down quite a bit.

But who's fault was that for ordering lobster in CA? Lesson 2: Don't EVER order lobster in CA. So if you avoid both rules, I think you could have a wonderful time here with friends. It is pricey, but it has nice ambience and at least some...

I was in Carpinteria for a business trip with a Friday night stay over and was planning on having dinner at this restaurant. I try to always drink local wines when I am travelling and thought this would be a good choice for me for dinner. Well, I never got the chance to try their food or their wine because the hostess refused to seat one person at one of their tables for dinner on a Friday night. I looked around the restaurant and there were at least 5 empty tables (2 of which were 2 person tables) and there was no one else waiting to be seated. She told me that the only place she could seat me was at this group table out on the back patio that didn't even have a dinner height table (just a coffee table height table). This space was clearly meant for groups of people who are just having a bottle of wine and maybe appetizers, but certainly not dinner. I asked her if I could wait for a spot at the bar instead of eating in such an awkward location and she told me that it would be at least 20 minutes. Again, I reiterate that there were at least 5 open tables and no one waiting to be seated. At this point, I decided to leave and eat at one of their competitor restaurants. I chose Zooker's and had an excellent meal, fantastic service, and most of all, an actual table where I could eat dinner.

So, not only did this restaurant miss out on my service on Friday night, but I also had to stay in town on Saturday and most likely would have gone back to have at least a glass or two of wine. In total, that would have been well over $100 for this one person that they...

My wife and I arrived to see if we could get a table around 3:30 on this past Saturday afternoon just as a party of about 25 who, we were told, also arrived that afternoon without reservations. The small restaurant’s resources appeared to be somewhat depleted ~ even though I worked in the industry while going through college, I have never seen any establishment run completely out of silverware! Despite being ill-prepared to provide us the service that we were hoping to receive, the workers who greeted us, Christian, Jamie, and Gio all met us with a smile and demonstrated eagerness to provide friendly, professional service in as fast a manner as possible. There were occasions when we had to be patient such as when the silverware was being washed, but their efforts to rise above the circumstances was obvious and overpowered our frustration. The food was wonderful! The lobster bisque was rich, fantastically flavorful, and was actually served hot enough for my taste, which is a rarity. The salads were large and had a terrific variety of ingredients. I had the balsamic dressing while my wife had bleu cheese; they were equally delicious. The coup-de-gras, though, was the baked artichoke dip. That was the best. To sum it up, the food was extremely good, well worth the trip from Ojai. The food would not have been enough for us to enjoy our meal had it not been for the professional, friendly demeanor of those three wonderful teammates who made our...