MacCallum House — Restaurant in Fort Bragg

TLDR: if you want a fine dining experience, go elsewhere ... overall poor dining experience does not outweigh the quality of food to patron this business.

The details: Review reflects dinner experience on 5/8/2021 ... Let me start that the review does not entirely reflect the quality of food.  If you do not have any dietary restrictions (allergies or vegetarian), the food presented was well executed and enjoyable.

However, dining outside of my own home is not only about the quality of food consumed.  It is an overall experience from the moment we step foot on property to signing the check.  The MacCallum House Restaurant fell well short from what I would expect for a tasting & pairing menu experience.  To begin, the expectation upon making the reservation was all tasting reservations were "indoor" and once we arrived, their definition of "indoor" was a tent with heaters.  Small detail, but worth noting when you are embarking on a multi-hour dining experience in a coastal town as members of our party did not dress to be outside until 10 PM.

Once we were seated at our table and presented with the menus, our waitress welcomed us, asked if there were any dietary restrictions, and explained the alcohol pairing options.  Being 7.5 months pregnant, I unfortunately was not participating in the pairings, but was never asked (at any point during the meal) if there was something else besides water I might enjoy - nit picky, but an observation.  Once I did ask for something besides table water to drink, it took two meal courses for it to arrive at the table.

As we began our meal, food courses and the pairings were presented inconsistently (e.g. wine/whiskey brought out 10 minutes before the food course), finished plates sat on our table for nearly 20-30 minutes after completion, and water carafes were not replaced, even after asking 2-3 times.  Again, small details, but definitely of note when paying $135/pp.  It wasn't until we voiced concern over a particular dish that things really went sideways. Our waitress immediately dismissed our comments and abruptly walked away, without acknowledgement or wanting to "make it right."  From that point onward, she was nearly nonexistent to service our table and ultimately having a busser present the check - no resolution to issues we raised to our waitress earlier in the meal.  On top of the lack of resolution, the bill included an overcharge of gratuity that is systematically incorrect in their computer.  Upon asking for the correction, the staff appeared inconvenienced to correct it versus apologetic for the mistake.  Finally, when asked who our waitress was and to speak to a manager, other members of the staff indicated they do not give out servers names due to previous issues (despite asking for "server name" on their own feedback form).

It wasn't until we were getting up from the table, did the chef come out to speak with us.  He was argumentative and abrasive, when the root of the issue was not the food presented.  I challenged him to speak to the General Manager on duty as it was not entirely a food issue, but more a service experience and he ultimately indicated the buck stops with him.  There is no management and per his "leadership" style, I can understand why the front of house ran poorly.  I hope this bit of feedback is internalized as there is potential for diners to have a lovely time here, but after 4 hours and nearly $1.5K later spent from our party of 8, The MacCallum House Restaurant does not make you feel like a valued patron and I would spend my hard earned...

It was the last night of our honeymoon and we were looking for a great meal on the north coast. This restaurant came highly recommended from several friends. The food was fantastic, but the service and the way they are handling Covid is kind of absurd.

Counter service and finding a table hunger games style when you're paying $30+ a plate for dinner, $15 for a glass of wine, $15+ for an appetizer, etc, is fairly outrageous. I get seating people outside and trying to minimize contact with servers. But the servers had trouble finding people with the number placards and no assigned tables or sections, wait times for meals varied all over the place due to this and made ordering more beyond the initial window interaction next to impossible. If you're going to do something like this, perhaps have someone, or maybe even a sign, informing customers they need to have their entire order ready and scouting a table before you get to the "hostess" window.

Service also varied from table to table. We ordered drinks, didn't get them until after the appetizer was cleared and halfway through our main course. We ordered coffee and it wasn't delivered until after we already left our table after dessert to pay. Yet the table directly next to us has the manager coming and offering them more food and wine every 5 minutes, giving them blankets, offering them discounts.

Again, food was fantastic! But I suggest you only go right now if you'll never have the opportunity again. If you live in the area or will visit Mendocino again post Covid, I...

Came here for the five course meal with wine pairing. The food was excellent from ingredients to preparation and presentation. The wine (most local) paired very well and the overall progression of the courses was on point. I had the standard meal and my wife had the vegetarian.

The wait staff was all very friendly and accommodating. We were sat quickly and spent about 3 hours there in total.

The setup is clearly one of transition and necessity with the pandemic. There is a big tent on the front lawn with string lights and patio heaters. I think this is the only place where they fell short of my expectations. We didn't have any older members of our party but if we did I would be concerned about trip hazards with the uneven grass. My biggest gripe is the tables and chairs. Every table and chair rocked. I think they were aiming for a "shabby chic" but the result is more "highschool shop class". I would understand this under initial circumstances. But they have been hosting people outside for a while. If you're planning to be there for three hours, bring something with you to stick under the table legs. To take some...