Quail State — Restaurant in Fresno

Update from 5 stars to 2 based on tonight's experience: I booked a reservation for my partner and his visiting brother based on our outstanding visit last year (see below). Unfortunately, they came home disappointed with everything except the conversation, the mixologist, and the person expediting the drinks. I booked an indoor reservation, and there was zero indoor seating set up. The staff seemed as if they were late setting up when they arrived. The server had an attitude as if she was annoyed or inconvenienced by having to serve my partner and brother. They were sat right up against the building, and the window at their table was opened, robbing them of privacy and comfort. They asked to be seated elsewhere and were told no, yet there were open tables throughout their visit. Food was "meh," but drinks, bartender, and person bringing drinks were great. Sad to say, this place seems to have changed, and we will not be back, nor would we recommend it.

Last year: Wow! Quail State was an experience! We moved to Fresno this year and decided to try something new last night. We chose Quail State not having any clue as to the quality we were in for and showed up without a reservation. We decided to wait 30 minutes with the door man (really nice guy) downstairs to try our luck and ended up getting two seats at the bar right in front of one of a bar tender (James). Side note: Walk-ins are welcome when seating is available at the bar, but I highly recommend a reservation because I think it's very unlikely that anyone gets as lucky as we did around dinner time. We saw many couples and a few groups arrive as we waited, so it's a very popular spot. They offer indoor and second-story rooftop seating. I shared a photo of the reservation phone number you can call, but you can also make reservations through their website. Reservations are live 30 days out.

The door man set us up with the appropriate elevator. We got upstairs, and when we walked into the restaurant, it was like a whole different world. The ambiance and the music spoke to our souls, and we were instantly happy we waited for this. Sat at the bar, we pretty quickly introduced ourselves to the bartender, James, and started chatting him up. He is a master of his craft and made my partner some delicious cocktails. He was happy to get creative with his knowledge of mixology and what my partner typically enjoyed, and he knocked it out of the park. He was also kind enough to throw together some mocktails for me and the baby I'm growing, which I appreciated. I thought it was neat that he and the other bartender were working on crafting new cocktail creations on top of the already great drink menu they have. I find this type of establishment so much more enjoyable than your average dive bar. These drinks are an artform.

On to the food. We ordered the squash dish and the mixed greens salad for appetizers. They were both delicious. For our main course, we shared the wagyu burger and the lamb chops. Boy, was I glad we shared, because I started with the burger and was very pleased. (The spicy ketchup made in house is yummy!) Then I tasted the lamb and it was an flavor explosion in my mouth- the kind that makes you want to close your eyes and allow your other senses to indulge (which I very much did). My partner made sure he got every bit of meat from that dish and enjoyed every bite with gratitude. We didn't have room for desert, but there's no doubt in my mind it would have been awesome too. Expect healthy portion sizes, not to be gluttonous and over stuffed like we Americans typically do. We left feeling so satisfied, but not like we overindulged. I thought the food and drinks were very reasonably priced considering the quality they deliver.

All in all, we were blown away by the whole experience of dining at Quail State. The staff were great, and the manager, Ashley, was wonderful as well.

We didn't capture photos of the beautifully presented food and beverages, but I guess you'll just have to go see for yourself. You...

I visited Quail due to the reviews and to check out the fairly new spot. I was surprised being greeted by a gentleman as we entered who demanded seeing our ID’s I’m guessing because it’s considered a bar and not so much a restaurant. The gentleman lead us to an elevator that landed us on the 2nd floor to the entry of the “bar”. It was cute but very small. I noticed the rooftop area which was really nice. We would have sat out there but there were no outside heaters and the current temperature was 47 degrees and slightly windy. I thought how odd to not have outdoor heaters. We walked to the bar where a young lady was sitting I’m assuming the hostess who asked if we had a reservation which I said yes, and provided my name. She literally pointed to a table for us to sit at. My friend and I looked at each other like ok. We sat down and a gentleman from behind the bar who apparently was the bartender and our waiter took care of us. He was really nice and helpful. After being there for about 20 minutes my friend and I realized we were freezing. We asked the waiter why was it so cold in there and he stated the heat has been broken for 6 months and the owner refuses to fix it. My jaw dropped. That’s when I realized that’s probably why there were only 6 freezing patrons in the place. He stated I hope it’s fixed by the summer. I’m thinking this place won’t make it if several things aren’t fixed or addressed in the present. We ordered our food took a few bites and requested to go boxes, it was literally too cold to even enjoy our meal. As we were leaving We noticed a group of four come in and get seated. As we were leaving the parking lot we noticed the group leaving. It could have been due to the somber atmosphere but I’m guessing it’s because it was colder than Alaska in there. I really hope the owner takes in consideration the comfort of patrons in her establishment. If not, this place will end up...

Let’s see where do I even start…we went on a Friday evening before the comedy show at Soroyan Theater and had made reservations. We were seated on the patio which was a very nice ambiance and the breeze was also very nice so that was a positive.

There was one waitress who was running the show and one would think with the amount of holes in her pants she would be aerodynamic and would be quick, but that was not the case here as they did the opposite and created a lot of drag!

We waited for our order to be taken for what seemed forever and after placing the order we also ordered some drinks. Every drink I tried to order they were “out of” so I finally got irritated and asked for water.

The food came and I must say the burger was very good. My wife and I both ordered a side salad only to have no napkins or forks to eat it with. The table next to us also did not have utensils or napkins. My wife has to go inside and ask for utensils and napkins and was gracious enough to get the table next to us a set, however they only had two sets left in the entire restaurant at the time so we shared a napkin and fork.

Not once did the waitress ever come and refill water, never asked how things were, only asked if we were ready for the check and then proceeded to stand there while I paid waiting for a tip. Well her tip was as big around and the largest hole in her pants cuz she got nothing.

Food was good, drinks were mediocre at best and service was absolute trash. In conclusion I won’t go back here, I’ll cross the street to Chicken Shack, at least I can watch tweakers skateboard and occasionally...