12 West Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Farmington

I was in town today on 08/28/2014 visiting family, and I persuaded a few family relatives and myself to give this place a shot. I was here in the past a few years ago, and I remembered a positive experience then and hoped today would be the same.

While dining in the building, I have to say I really appreciated the way it looked. The huge painting that were on the walls were beautiful. Everything came together and made this place seem like a fine-dining restaurant at decent prices.

What I have a problem with here is the quality of the food and the menu changes. This place had some yummy eggrolls you could get in the past with this chipotle dipping sauce. For some reason they were no longer serving this, one of their best appetizers on their menu. Unfortunately I had to get a sampler platter, and the toasted ravioli was not that great. I am not sure what kind of meat they use in it but I do not prefer it at all. They would be way better off using the type of ravioli Imo's Pizza uses, St. Louis style.

When it comes to french fries, I have a keen sense of taste to discern the good ones from the bad ones. I have tried french fries from just about every place you can name. I have to say the crushed black pepper seasoned fries were A+, I would order them again if I went back. They rival the seasoned fries at Tgi Friday's.

Our waitress was very courteous and provided exceptional service. She was very prompt at refills and getting things out in a timely manner. I can't complain about the hospitality at this location.

My guest had a problem with the soup she ordered. They do not serve crackers with their soups. I think that's a practice that needs to be changed because a lot of people like the added texture and taste crackers can give. That's just some food for thought.

All in all I have only ordered a few of their menu items so I can not say this restaurant is horrible based off of a one time visit. Everything was perfect except axing some of the better menu items and having an awful appetizer. They also need more of a variety with their dessert menu, preferably a cobbler with ice cream thrown in. I will probably end up coming back to this location...

12 West was a cool looking place and judging by the menu and prices, it seemed to be a relative rarity in that part of the world. I was excited to try it, but sadly I was very disappointed.

When you're dropping $350-$400 on dinner for 4, there are certain standards that are commonly expected. At 12 West, almost none of them were met. I will give some examples. For one, my sisters Chilean Sea Bass had a strong "fishy" taste (indicating it was not fresh) not to mention the portion size was ridiculously small. When we brought this up to the waitress, she offered to bring my sister some grilled shrimp and yet she never took the bad fish away. Secondly, I ordered a $100 bottle of wine (Jordan Cab). The waitress just opened the bottle up and without showing it to me or pouring me a taste, proceeded to pour almost the ENTIRE contents of the bottle into the 3 glasses present. I was speechless. Thirdly, my bro and I ordered the $100 "Tomahawk" Ribeye to split. While it tasted ok, there was no marbling whatsoever (strange for a Ribeye), and it was overcooked. We ordered it Medium Rare and it was served Medium. As we were finishing, our waitress handed me the check without even asking us if we wanted coffee or dessert. The icing on the cake was that I was charged for the bad Sea Bass.

Maybe I"m asking too much, but when you spend that kind of money on dinner, I expect it to be better. It was like our waitress was hired from Denny's or something and had no experience in finer dining service. I always say that you should give every restaurant a second chance, because even the best may have the occasional off night. Perhaps I caught 12 West on an off night. But after my experience there, I'm afraid to give them a second...

As a long-time patron of this establishment, I can confidently say 12 West is always a wonderful place to eat. My family and I come here regularly for special occasions, or just when we want something a little better than what the other local restaurants offer, and I highly recommend them to friends who are new to the area, and generally to those passing through as a must-visit. Their menu never disappoints, and they are very good about offering substitutes should we try something we didn't quite care for. Over the years, we have had a few interactions with the owner and we've always found him very friendly, hospitable and kind. As a former server myself, as with any other restaurant, I've found the service touch-and-go, having had good service at times and lacking others. Overall, I do feel the wait staff could take a page from the owner when it comes to friendliness and hospitality, and could work on customer service (knowing the difference between deserving a tip and feeling entitled to one automatically based on the amount the customer is spending). Despite that being the only drawback I've ever encountered and one that every restaurant has at some point, I thoroughly enjoy it every time we eat here and will continue to recommend them every chance I get. 12 West holds a special place in my heart as a Farmington native and has earned a place of respect among the community and is a gem the we...