Idyology — Restaurant in Idyllwild-Pine Cove

This review is for a complete and utter flouting of COVID-19 restrictions and the unbelievable unprofessionalism of the host/owner. It's important to note that, as of this review date, Riverside County prohibits indoor dining and permits only outdoor dining. My partner and I attempted to go to Idyology for a drink and an appetizer on Saturday night. I called ahead to ask if there was outdoor dining available and whether I needed a reservation. The answer was "Yes, there is outdoor dining but it is wet and cold." (It had been snowing for the better part of the last 24 hours.) I asked if there were heaters and a covered patio, and the person on the phone assured me that there were heaters and umbrellas for the patio. I was satisfied with that answer, so my partner and I walked the 1/2 mile to the restaurant. When we arrived we were greeted by a hostess, who appears to be the owner/manager of Idyology as her picture is posted all over the restaurant's website, who was visibly intoxicated. We were unsettled to see that there were about 5 to 6 parties of 2-4 people each eating INSIDE the restaurant, despite Riverside County restrictions. We requested to be seated outside. Once outside we were seated at a wet table with minimal effort spared to dry it off. We were not offered a heat lamp and we were placed under an umbrella that was dripping cold water on us. The intoxicated woman asked why we wanted to sit outside (as if there is not a pandemic happening). Eventually a plate of bread and two waters were placed in front of us. After witnessing the intoxicated staff member take her mask off multiple times inside the restaurant, I peeked into the kitchen and saw the chef wearing his mask below his nose and one staff member in the kitchen without a mask at all. At this point, I felt that the restaurant was being very unsafe, so we politely left a tip for the really nice and hard-working busser (Chance) and got the heck out of there. This kind of behavior is unprofessional,...

Awful. It was the only place open on Thanksgiving so it ended up being highly inflated prices for mediocre food. But the real clincher was when my kid accidentally broke a glass and no one picked it up for a while and when they finally did apparently the server cut her hand and came back to the table to make us all feel really bad about her getting her hand cut. Saying “thanks for telling me- now my hand is all Cut up”. We all (mouths open) apologized but were shocked at her brash behavior in making us feel bad for the way she chose to clean up. On top of that they didn’t even properly clean the table- still ice cubes left and everything melting. My kid was crying after the lady harshly approached us about her cut hand which was not even that bad. In the end we were grateful to have a meal but it was not very pleasant at all. We did not get any water refill after this. I left my bag at the place and came back and that same lady attacked me again , i said I left my bag and she said harshly “ well i left my skin on the table” I was in disbelief of the terrible customer service. I hope they fire this lady she’s obviously not happy working there and intent on making everyone miserable. We had a not so great thanksgiving all in all thanks to this. The food is not recomendable. Hopefully they change...

Interesting little mountain establishment. The background music was nice, as was the big fireplace, dark wood paneling, worn leather couches by the fireplace, and big outdoor deck in the shade of the pines. I hoped the food would be as comforting as the “homey” interior, but although I think they try, it wasn’t really very good. We each had a Bloody Mary (half price on Sunday), and while it was served in mason jar stemware (funky and somewhat cool), and heavily garnished (asparagus, olive, pearl onion, jalepeno, and bacon), it was heavily laden with Liquid Smoke, and not at all to my liking. (Even in recipes, Liquid Smoke should only ever be used VERY lightly, in my opinion.) Our food order included Armadillo Eggs, which were described as having all sorts of ingredients, but they were basically fried cheese balls. The Sweet Corn Cake dish topped with tomatillo sauce and eggs was good, but not great. (The corn cakes resembled mushy pancakes, but did have a nice flavor.) We plan to return, but will definitely try different menu items. The place has a chill vibe that we loved, so we would give it four stars if the food quality was better....