Restaurant 917 — Restaurant in Carson

Me and my husband were so excited to come here, after driving 20 hours from Canada but the overall experience was unsettling and a huge let down. We didn’t have high expectations for the food as we were here for the experience / atmosphere. The food was okay, nothing remarkable. We both ordered the 917 burger with duck fat fries and an added egg - the duck fries were good initially but after a few fries it was overwhelmingly heavy and greasy, same goes for the burger itself. The biggest disappointment was their service: it started out not bad- our waiter promptly took our order and even another server asked to refill our bread sticks. It was half way through that it took a negative turn- we asked politely if we could be moved to the window seat to see the track better as there was several openings. The waiter proceeded to tell us we had to go up front ourselves to ask the hostess if that was okay. (Which is absurd because it makes more sense for them to communicate to the hostess and not make the customer walk back upfront to do it? ) We proceeded to ask another server that has serviced us if we could move and she said she would check for us if there was any pre-arranged reservations if not she would move us , but she never came back to let us know. We watched two other tables that were seated after us ask to be moved and they were moved right away to the window seats. I understand if the window seats were pre-reserved but to let other customers take the seat while we asked first was upsetting and the restaurant was not busy either. Additionally after being served our food, our waiters never came back to check up on us—our water container was empty for the longest time and was only refilled when we asked for the bill and for it to be replenished. Not to mention when we asked for our food to be packed- they just dropped off a box and bag to our table, but we watched all the other tables have their food packed and bagged for them. It felt like we were the only table that was subjected to such poor service: almost to the point where we felt discriminated against. We will definitely not be returning here or even recommending it to our friends and family unless they’re also willing to be subjected to such poor servicing...

Good food and good views!

To kill two birds with one stone, I had made a reservation here for after my girlfriend’s demo lap for her birthday. The restaurant isn’t hard to find, there’s a “917” sign in the hallway around the corner from the restrooms. You’ll see it down the hallway to the left of the cafe if you’re coming from the gift shop.

We checked in with the host a few minutes prior to our reservation and got seated shortly after. There are big windows where you get a nice view of the track below. There’s also a small area where you can go outside and have a good view (and hear the cars).

There aren’t many items on the menu so it made it easier for us to choose. I ordered the 917 Old Fashion, my girlfriend ordered the Pineapple Pisco Sour, and we both ordered the 917 Burger. While waiting, we received water (you get a few options for water) and pretzel bread.

The verdict?

917 Old Fashion: Fat-washed woodinville bourbon and angostura butters. I’m a whiskey guy and loved it. Basic and to the point, my kind of drink. Alcohol forward 8).

Pineapple Pisco Sour: Pisco, pineapple juice, lemon cordial, egg white, and tajin. I only took a small sip, it was sweet but good. My girlfriend enjoyed it (all of it).

917 Burger: 8oz American wagyu beef, caramelized onions, raclette cheese, smoked bacon, garlic aioli, and fries. By default it is cooked medium rare, but when it came out more medium. It was a big, juicy burger and it was a little bit messy. The garlic aioli definitely helped enhance the flavor, it was good. The fries were good.

Pretzel Bread: I had to absolutely mention these. They were decent sized and I loved them. The included butter were molded little Porsches and the flakes of salt were good. Complimentary. We liked them so much that we went through 2 baskets of them.

Service was good. The woman who sat us was extremely friendly, like too friendly. Our server was nice as well and checked up on us every so often.

A good place for a date, especially if combo’d with a driving experience or demo...

We had high hopes for Cafe 917, and to be fair -- most of the experience was fantastic. The burrata with stone fruit and crostini was bright and flavorful, though pretty stingy on both the burrata itself and the crostini. The octopus was perfectly succulent -- absolutely spot on. I ordered the duck fat fries (incredible), and my son had the tuna entrée, which was nothing short of delectable. We also enjoyed four beautifully made cocktails, all served by a lovely young lady who worked seamlessly with an excellent team.

Everything was running perfectly -- we were relaxed, enjoying great food, watching our 16-year-old daughter experience the Young Drivers Porsche program -- until about 90 minutes in, when a manager with white-tipped, wannabe-Eminem hair stormed over to our table and asked if we were ordering more food. I replied, "Probably -- we're ordering as we go."

His response? A loud, condescending announcement that there's a two-hour limit and "people are waiting for your table." There were at least seven open four-tops around us and no one waiting in the lobby. It completely killed the vibe.

Between the driving experience and our meal, we spent over $1,500 here today. We could've easily spent another couple hundred on cocktails and appetizers, but that manager's attitude flipped the switch for us.

It's unfortunate -- everything else about Cafe 917 was wonderful, but this one guy's unnecessary rudeness turned an exceptional experience into a disappointing one. When you're serving guests spending that kind of money, hospitality matters.

Our reservation was for 10:30 and Mr. Frosty-tip-the-blow-it-man changed the vibe...