Red Tavern — Restaurant in Chico

My partner and I passed through Chico on Sunday night, and at the advice of a friend, decided to dine at this establishment. We were not disappointed!

On Sundays, Red Tavern is open for supper service from 5-8. We arrived about 20 minutes early, having no other errands to run, and sat in anticipation, watching several more cars pull in awaiting the opening of the doors. We did not have reservations, and I would highly recommend making them, as the place filled up quickly.

The ambiance is lovely-- darker earthy tones on the walls, highlighting beautiful art. The lighting is indirect in most of the building, creating soft illumination, bright enough to read the menu, but muted enough to create intimate atmosphere. Soft jazz music wafted through the restaurant, as an unobtrusive backdrop to the many tables of people holding various meals and celebrations.

The service was exceptional. Our server was Connor, who was friendly, knowledgeable of the menu, and more than willing to answer questions on everything from preparation of menu items to wine pairings and more. Our glasses were never empty, and any time we looked like we even thought about having a question, someone would lowkey come make eye contact and ensure our needs were met. Staff has clearly been trained to work as a team-- ensuring everyone in the restaurant has full glasses, clean silverware between courses, and more.

The food... oh Lord, the food. As is our custom, my partner and I cruised the menu and set our plan, finding the food that hooked our eager palates, and pairing it with a wine which would compliment the meal.

We perused the European-inspired menu, contemplating a number of dishes which caught our eye-- duck confit ravioli, a filet mignon with an authentic Bordelaise sauce, gnocchi, and other rich fare. For starters, we settled on the Alsatian Tarte Flambe, a house-made, flaky, buttery savory pastry, topped with fromage blanc, bacon, honey, figs, charred shallot, and arugala, finished with a cherry vinaigrette. The pastry was utterly decadent, melting in the mouth beneath the fusion of tastes and flavors on top.

For our main course, we chose the sea bass-- a tender cut of fish served over a creamy celery root puree, and topped with a savory sauce. The bass was flaky, warm all the way through (something that can be challenging with such a cut of fish), and supported the creative flavors paired within the dish.

The meal was also served with an artisan, ciabatta-type bread, soft, warm, and paired with a compound garlic butter. The garlic was chopped small, but not fine, accompanied with shallot and parsley, in a way which created an earthy texture to each bite of baked goodness.

For dessert, we ventured out with a spice cake, plated with scratch-made butterscotch and a scoop of vanilla gelato. The cake was delightfully dense without being heavy, and the gelato was a bright and lively counter-balance to the confection.

We paired all of this with a 2021 Dry Creek Vineyard (Sonoma County) Old Vine Zinfandel-- a wine durable to the whole meal, its mocha and pepper nuances counterbalancing both its own berry overtones, as well as the fusion of flavors throughout the meal.

Near the end of our meal, Connor asked us, "Thoughts on the sea bass?" to which I responded, "I think we'll be back very soon for more!"

Kudos to the owners and team of food wizards who have created such a culinary delight as Red Tavern. We will also be trying their Italian sister restaurant, Rione, the next time we are in Chico....

Went there for a birthday celebration. Service from our waiter was really slow, but if you want fast food, go to Burger King. If you have a younger child that can't sit still a few hours, I recommend somewhere else like Basque Norte. I feel like overall we were taken care of because their wait staff worked as a team to get our food out and keep our water glasses filled. The waiter was super friendly but not around as often as we liked. You could tell he was overwhelmed and dying to have a glass of wine and some sorbet as soon as he got off work.

The ambiance was super nice outside. Candles were lit. Tables were far enough apart so you didn't have to yell when talking to the person next to you.

I ordered the Portuguese seafood stew. It's basically a bouillabaisse or cioppino with linguica sausage added. I'd recommend and order that again. It came out scorching hot. I was impressed that the scallops weren't overcooked. The mussels and shrimp were also delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Even the toasted bread that came with it was perfection. It was a large bowl, so bring an appetite if you order the stew. 5 stars.

Three people ordered the Wagyu beef steak. One was ordered rare and the other two were ordered medium-rare. Unfortunately, they turned out overcooked. The rare ended up medium-rare and the medium-rare ended up medium. So if you do order the steak, keep that in mind. They weren't true to order at least on this night. It could be that they were baseball-cut, so they were thick and round.

Prices were about right for fancy restaurants. They didn't force an 18% tip for tables of 6 more like some places do, so they did have to earn their tip. My experience was personally about 4.5 stars. The others in my party had about a 3 star experience based on the food and slow inattentive service from the waiter. So I give them a 4...

It was hot enough in the dining room to make me sweat, and I was in shorts. The white table cloths were covered in big sheets of white paper folded over twice to make a billowy, uneven, and slightly unstable surface over the tabletop.

The cocktails were pretty good, but when the bread came out with cold, congealed, rock-hard butter that couldn't be spread, I knew we were in for a bad time.

The Caesar salad we split looked fresh enough, and the anochovies were a good cut and brine, but the dressing was unfortunately flavorless. It was like thick water on lettuce with parm shavings.

My Prime New York steak was cooked to medium rare as ordered, but the perfectly rectangle shape, nonexistent intramuscular fat, suspiciously defined and neatly-shaped grill marks on the exterior, watery juices, and tough texture were strongly reminiscent of the prepackaged steaks they 'heat up' at cheap diners. There was no doubt about the 'frites' served with it though, they were smartly seasoned frozen french fries. The green beans were the best thing on the plate, but were underseasoned.

The pasta entree was 1-star bland. I wish they'd have cooked the mushrooms some more to give the sauce some flavor, and it needed salt so badly. Salt shakers were nowhere to be found and it was hot enough that we opted to box up the food and leave rather than ask for one.

The waitress was great, attentive, answered questions happily, and was nice all around. She made it a 2-star instead of a 1-star, and made the bill acceptable. She was nice enough to make it feel like it would be uncomfortable telling her just how bad all the food was, so instead we just tipped happily and left. I'd say it was worth 1/3 of the price paid. I don't think...