The Owl Tavern — Restaurant in Grass Valley

I've lived in Grass Valley for 21 years and tried the Owl Tavern for the first time tonight. My boyfriend is visiting from out of town so we decided to try it. The owners husband was working and seated us in the bar at a lovely table. We decided to have the dinner for two at $125.00. It included a 32oz porter. We ordered medium, with two sides and soup or salad to start. We decided on the wedge to start and ordered the mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables as sides. I ordered a coffee with cream. The coffee came, and I added the cream before realizing that it wasn't cream. It was creme fraiche. I asked a busser for a new cup with cream. When the busser returned, she told us that the server had entered our salad as a stand alone appetizer (an additional charge) and had not given us two salads, only one, which we had already shared. The server also didn't give us each an option for sides when we should have been given two sides each. When dinner came, the steak was charred and rare in the middle. The busser, who at this point was performing the role of a server and was wonderful, came to ask how our food was, so we showed her the steak. She apologized and acknowledged that our experience at the restaurant had been consistently bad from the start. She said that she would "tell the owner." We were hungry and waited a long time, and no one came back, so we ate the steak. We never saw the busser again. Some time later, our actual server returned and asked how dinner was. I showed her the steak. She asked if we wanted her to have it cooked more. By that time, we had been there for almost an hour. We declined. She apologized and said she would discount our check. We never saw her again. We waited another 15 minutes for our check, but it never came. Finally, the owners husband asked how our meal was. We asked for our check and asked him to please check in with our server about our experience. He returned and rudely told us, "I took care of it, you can leave." We were kind and appropriate throughout the whole night and didn't ask for a free meal, so it didn't make sense to us why he would speak to us the way he did. Still, I took the tip we wanted to leave and looked for the sweet gal who had been our busser. The owners husband approached me and told me I didn't need to tip her. I remained despite his treatment and found the busser and tipped and thanked her. She was wonderful. As a local, I won't be returning to the restaurant, nor will I be recommending it. If it had just been the service, that would have been nothing. If it had just been the food, that would have been nothing. If it had just been the coffee, that would have been nothing. If it had just been the rude treatment by the owners husband, that would have been nothing. But for all these things to have made for the whole experience, that's something. I'd be careful choosing this restaurant. There are so many others in the area that offer great food, great service, and wonderful...

For such a beautiful, historical establishment, one would really expect the service and food to be outstanding as well to create an incredible experience. I think the new Owl Tavern has some kinks to work out.

We arrived without a reservation, and the hostess greeted us immediately and let us know we could sit at the bar. Great! Except she handed us menus and basically asked us to seat ourselves. That would have been fine, except the 2 roles napkins with silverware and plates remained at the table the whole time ( it was a 4 top and it was just us 2 ), despite a busser and our server touching the table multiple times.

Our server was super kind, and efficient, other than not checking on us once our food was delivered. My hubby’s burger was overcooked (not a dealbreaker), but the expo who brought our food to the table couldn’t have seemed less interested in her job, plopped the food in the table and didn’t even ask if he ensted ketchup! He went without ketchup the whole meal and no one ever asked. Nor could he find someone easily to flag down without walking to either end of the dining room.

The food came out fast but I believe attention to detail may be missed in the process. Their cocktail menu sounds amazing and we shared a Sazerac— but it tastes like an aperol spritz without the spritz. All filler snd sugar and citrus and no rye. When one orders a classic cocktail at a gold rush era bar, they want to be transported. When someone orders a whiskey forward cocktail, they want to taste the whiskey. This drink was a huge portion (won’t complain there!) and it was good, albeit watered down— just not what you would expect.

I want this is place to succeed. Maybe we saw them on an off night. I’ll absolutely return to try a truly original craft cocktail on the menu and perhaps other items, but tonight was not it. Much room to do better. I hope they do, because it’s a lovely location and I can see the vision. With how expensive it is to eat out these days, all steps of service should be of priority - ambiance, service and food. It makes me sad how hard it is to come by all 3 at...

I loved the original Owl of 10+ years ago and was happy a new rendition was opening after a couple other concepts tried and failed in the same space. I followed along on socials during the new owner’s menu development and opening. I was excited by the menu options and looked forward to trying it out. We finally had enough foresight to make reservations and get our chance last Friday night. The place was packed - both the bar side and the restaurant side. I love seeing our local places busy! We were greeted and seated quickly. The two tops are set up along the wall opposite the open kitchen. I normally don’t love that arrangement and will make sure to request a table or booth next time we make reservations. All in all, the seating arrangement ended up being fine. Now, onto the good stuff! We were greeted by our server very quickly and drinks arrived fast. We ordered appetizers and they arrived quickly. We had the Billy Bleu Bread and Texas Twinkies. Oh my! These two dishes are NOT to be missed!!! I fasted all day to be able to eat this meal because I heard how great the food was. I didn’t want to get too full, but couldn’t resist eating all of the appetizers. Just prior to appetizers arriving our dinner order was taken. Just as we were finishing the appetizers, our entrees arrived. I had the Flat Iron Steak with chimichurri sauce and my husband had the French Dip special. Both - DELICIOUS. Since we had already gone “all in” we both ordered desserts. My hub ordered the Baked Alaska special and I ordered the Butterscotch Banana. We both LOVED the Baked Alaska!! The Butterscotch Banana was also good, but I’d go back just for the Baked Alaska. All-in-all, this was the best meal I’ve had in months. The atmosphere and menu feel special but not stuffy. This will be on our rotation and I can’t wait for our next visit! PS - I was so excited to eat when our appetizers arrived that I forgot to take pictures. Believe me, you HAVE to order the Billy Bleu Bread AND the...