Salt Creek Grille — Restaurant in Dana Point

Dined on the grand opening night. This review is 5-stars because The Salt Creek Grille’s resurrection story is one that restores faith in humanity and specifically the love and commitment of the Dana Point community. I highly recommend reading the article published yesterday in The Dana Point Times that truly dives into the nitty-gritty of their whirlwind transformation.

Regarding the dining experience, this will contain an honest series of points that are all adjustable. Any new restaurant has a learning curve and these are all within reason.

Service/attentiveness: Everyone was so attentive and willing to help, regardless of what their role was. The 1 mention is that a little more awareness to silverware would be great- we had to ask for silverware after our entrees arrived and to request a separate steak knife for our filets. Also it’s very nice to see a restaurant properly staffed- didn’t look like any servers were struggling to keep up etc.

Ambiance: the remodel is amazing. They did a great job of incorporating modern design trends without it being overwhelmingly “farmhouse/millennial gray.” It has a good balance of modern, resort, and overall eclectic Nouveau California. While it was still early, (4:30-5), they had country music playing very loudly outside in the patio dining area. They switched over to a different much quieter more jazz/refined playlist as it became more peak dinner time. Recommendation: turn down the earlier country music too, makes it very difficult to enjoy/relax when sitting outdoors within proximity of the speaker. The later evening quieter volume music was perfect! Also, be mindful of where you request to sit if making a reservation. The property has 3 very different vibes of dining: indoor and outdoor bar area that’s super lively and bubbling with energy; booth dining room that’s a bit more formal and serious/quiet/less “fun”; and the outdoor area that’s really spacious and nice, but definitely feels separate and a little distant from the fun energy by the bar area. The outdoor feels more cafe rather than a restaurant.

Food: it is important to highlight that the new owners’ mission was to make great improvement in the overall food quality/culinary caliber. Please see the list of items we ordered below, ordered with priority to the dishes that had the most opportunity for improvement:

Heirloom Tomato Salad: this dish had pork belly, basil leaves, balsamic, and avocado mousse. The flavor profiles listed all sound amazing together. However, it was disappointingly underwhelming. Reason being, none of the flavors engaged with each other and there was no cohesion between the different items. They felt like separate ingredients gathered on a plate. The tomato was rather firm and barely ripe. The pork belly was dry/an odd in-between temperature that made me unsure of whether it was supposed to be warm, and whether it was sitting out for a while. The avocado mousse didn’t have enough flavor- missing salt and acidity/herbaceousness. The basil leaves sat separately and could be enjoyed on their own.

The way this salad can fixed is by drizzling a basil-infused oil, and chopping up some of the basil so it releases its flavors into the balsamic. Also, charring the tomatoes a little bit would give the dish some flare. They need the flavors to interact with each other more, rather than sitting in a weird dry textural separation.

Short Rib Beignets: not much to critique here. They were AMAZING. A surprisingly subtle coating of dough makes these a very light delicious treat. Perfect texture and flavor of the beignet itself. The only thing that could be improved is the horse radish sauce. Needs more punch. Right now it’s a little on the tame side bordering a Mayo vibe. Filet Mignon: delicious. Perfection. Great quality meat is apparent. 10/10 recommend. Green beans: perfect 10/10. Great flavor and a gentle little bit of heat Carrot Cake: best carrot...

Edited from five stars to three. Last night I ordered the filet medium rare. I was enjoying my date's company so much I chose to start with my sides. So, it was deep into our bottle of wine before I cut into my steak. It was dry, and cooked medium well.

When I next had an opportunity I expressed my concern to our server. She reached for my plate to take it away but I mentioned I was hungry and I was really enjoying my sides.

The next arrival was not a fresh steak but a woman who was not at all genial. In fact, she was rude. She asked if everything was to our liking so I went along and pretended that she did not know what I had already said to the server a bit earlier. I explained my concerns again and while I can't recall her exact reply I certainly did not feel like an appreciated guest. In fact, the opposite. I felt the need to show her my steak and clearly ask her if she thought it was medium rare. She agreed with me and asked if there was anything else we might want. My date was done with dinner, I could safely assume that a new steak was not coming at this point, and I was looking forward to resuming our connection. We looked at each other, them at our empty bottle of wine and back to each other, swayed our heads side to side and said in unison "another glass". We thanked her and continued our pleasant conversation, but not before remarking about her unpleasant demeanor.

When the glasses arrived we ordered dessert and wrapped up our fine evening out. I'll skip to the end, but kudos to those of you who correctly guessed that I was presented with a bill that included an appetizer, two entrees, a bottle of wine, a dessert and two glasses of wine.

This is a first world problem, and I rarely write negative reviews but I feel it's actually a positive. It gives potential diners some insight in regard to how vociferously they need to express their disappointment in order to get a meal the way they ordered it. And, it will also give the management an opportunity to see things from a disatisfied diner's perspective, one who occasions their establishment several times a year.

In the end, it still wasn't a horrible experience. I had a three star evening. But, if I'm being candid, that's owed in large part to the enchanting nature of my date and not to the service I received at Salt Creek Grille.

I hope this helps you. Oh, and by the way, I still tipped 20% because it's my belief that 25% should be the new normal, and because the hostess, the bus people and the bartenders did their jobs phenomenally and I didn't want to penalize them for an experience that had nothing to do...

Our Salt Creek Grill Experience. My girlfriend and I went in today at about 2:30 pm for a late lunch / early dinner. We were promptly seated and offered drinks. My girlfriend ordered a Peach Bellini and we both ordered Ice Tea’s. The Waitress quickly brought our drinks and then we ordered the Brussel Sprouts appetizer. The waitress brought them out extremely fast. She then took our orders; I had ordered the medium rare Filet Mignon and my girlfriend ordered the Brisket. The crispy Brussel Sprouts were very good. After a few minutes she came back to the table to let us know that the bar tender was new and never added champagne to her bellini and made quick work to correct the issue. My girlfriend knew something was off but had decided not to say anything until the waitress came back.

About 10 minutes later the lady serving us came out with our food. She put down the brisket and the steak and in my strange manner I always try the sides before the meat the carrots, mashed potatoes and green beans were very well cooked and flavorful. I then proceeded to cut into the Filet it was as over cooked and tough as it could have been. My girlfriend’s brisket was extremely dry and tough as well. When the waitress asked, “how was the food?” I said, “definitely medium well to well done.” She apologized and instantly took my plate back to the kitchen. Within 5 minutes of her walking away the Manager came over to apologize and offered to rectify with a free drink or dessert since we had too small problems. I told her everything was fine. She apologized again and then went back to her business.

About 10 minutes went by and another fresh plate of Steak was brought to me I thanked the waitress. I took a cut from the center to check, and it was a little tough to cut but the center looked to be correct. I cut one of the edges and it was still a bit tough but tasted good. After about 2 or 3 small pieces of the steak I just kept fighting to eat it. It was very tough to chew and that’s not expected for such a tender cut of meat. I ate about a quarter of my steak and then gave up on it. My girlfriend ate some of her brisket. Both of us were ready to leave. We asked for the check I paid for a 50-to-55-dollar steak that I could not eat twice and about a quarter pound of dry brisket that she didn’t want to eat. I could have argued the issue but chose not to. I paid and left.

Moral of the story I will not be back. I was not unhappy with the service or wait staff. But for a place that seems to specialize in steaks and smoked meats they dropped the ball so hard it left a dent in...