The Hideout Kitchen — Restaurant in Lafayette

This place was recommended by Google Maps and thought my wife and I would check it out.

The place lives up to the name as Google Maps had a hard time giving accurate direction plus there is no signage from the street or even after you get in the driveway and then you notice a painted sign on the window.

Our wait person, name was RJ and started out personable. I told him the restaurant lived up to the name as we had a hard time finding it and teased him asking if the name also comes from having people in the witness protection program working there. He stoically responded it was by design as they don't advertise and want to keep it word of mouth. I told him the same thing happened to us in Fremont and it was great the first time and then it went downhill from there and then it closed but wished them luck. His bland response reminded me what my wife says and that everyone cannot appreciate a little humor.

We ordered our food and he did what he was supposed to do and up sell by offering an appetizer and when we declined, he offered to split an entree salad which we also declined.

My wife ordered the Honey Fried Chicken and I the Shrimp and Grits. The chicken was crispy and seasoned well as it wasn't salty and the sides showed restraint in the use of salt as well so it was balanced. Personally, I would have liked the chicken to be a little more savory and spicy but it was well done.

The Shrimp and Grits were another story and way out of balance. The grits were extremely salty and all you could taste was the parmesan cheese. The sausage was sliced instead of a small dice which really amped up the salt level and then they topped it off with more parmesan cheese which made it completely inedible. When I told RJ how salty the dish is he proceeded to talk down to me to explain that the cheese added salt (duh!). I told him I knew that but all you could taste was the cheese and that I made them myself (with Parmigiano Reggiano) but the dish was overly salty. I didn't even taste the shrimp. He offered to have the shrimp put over mashed potatoes as the grits were pre-made. I decided to order the lasagna.

When the lasagna came it appeared to have been pre-made as well as the meat around the edges of the square were really hard and the sauce had basically a good flavor but was salty plus they put parmesan cheese on top again. Told RJ and he asked if I wanted something else. I told him I'd think about it and decided if I had some bread and only ate half it may be able to deal with it so I asked RJ for some bread and he said it would come right out. He came back shortly and said it would be coming out soon and it took 10-15 minutes before it came. When I asked the food runner why it took so long and she said it was in the oven. Why didn't RJ let me know? It wasn't worth the wait as my lasagna got cold and the bread, although warm, tasted like a French loaf from Safeway's kitchen. No texture or flavor. Spend a few dollars and get some Acme bread or something, please.

RJ came back and asked if things were better and I told him not really and asked for my wife's food to be boxed and to take away the lasagna and bread and to bring the check.

He briskly took away the food and came back with the check. I noticed my entree was subtracted and that the suggested tip was based on what the subtotal should be. When I started to explain to RJ he calculated the tip based on what the subtotal should have been he became defensive and said he didn't calculate anything. I corrected myself and said the restaurant calculated the tip based on what the subtotal should have been and that's how it should have been calculated and I was impressed by that. No acknowledgement from RJ and he took my card.

RJ came back with my card and the check with a veiled attitude. I rounded up the 18% tip to the next whole dollar anyway even though he became defensive and distant in the end. Won't be back! Side note: server was drinking something at the side station which is a no no. They should drink or eat anything...

A very beautiful restaurant. Some nice 5 star dishes, but service could use a little work. I will start off by saying We really enjoyed some things and others ,well we were a little shocked by

After a short chat with our server we decided on what we would enjoy that is on their seasonal menu. We started off our dining experience with marscoponi toast. The cheese was whipped light and fluffy... drizzled with honey,sprinkled w almond slices. This appetizer which was suggested by the server had us very excited for the rest of the menu. We were a bit surprised that she didn't come back to check to see if we enjoyed the first few bites of this, we really wanted to praise her for her suggestion. On another note, we had already committed to ordering our appetizer, second course, and entree and had requested them staggered as we like to enjoy each course separately... So when the appetizer and Caesar salad came at the same time it was a suprise but not too big of a deal...just kind of sad she didnt listen to our wishes. The salad was only ok. It was topped with pickled red onions and anchovies. The dressing itself was not very flavor forward. Nor the actual anchovies which was different. Normally anchovies are so strong you have to enjoy them in tiny bites....not these. The salad was a bit of a throw away we ate it because we were hungry but had our server checked in with us, we definitely would have said something about it.

While waiting for our entrée to arrive we observed the hostess come into the dining area and drape herself over the top of booth next to us which had people seated directlybelow her...on a first date. She definitely looked bored unenthusiastic and it was super disconcerting to watch a staff member act like this in a fine dining establishment. We had lots of time to observe the restaurant in between courses and thought for being not so busy the staff were very inattentive.

Our mains came and my husband's risotto with scallops was the winner. An amazing tasty risotto with perfectly cooked scallops. I enjoyed a lamb chimichurri with roasted vegetables and a scalloped potato. My potatoes however were a bit hard and crispy difficult to cut. I believe I may have received a corner piece and for lack of a better term they were a bit bland. The lamb was cooked nicely but the chimichurri sauce was not what I expected and have had before at other establishments. The roasted veggies were seasoned well and were very nice.

Our server finally checked back in later only to try and upsell the desert menu. Sadly we were overly ready to leave at this point.

Then the bill came with a nice hospitality fee of 3%. We are not a huge fan of up charges like this. I will say that it is printed on the menu but we did not see it until I looked it up later online. Personally we find it a super sneaky way to make your patrons pay for your employees healthcare or whatever they end up applying it to.

Would we go back, probably not. The toast was...

We, a group of 5 (3 adults and 2 children) got our table for Sunday brunch after an hour long wait. We were truly looking forward to our visit though we experienced a rude server, who spoke to us like he was doing some form of charity by attending to us. Firstly, when we placed our order, he kept talking over and not allowing us to complete our requests for a couple of dietary restrictions. After around 30 minutes our food arrived, which tasted alright, nothing which we haven’t had better elsewhere. We definitely didn’t find it worth it, since it was around $25 a dish on an average. At the end of the meal, when we requested the check to be split (40% by 60%), he impatiently and disgruntedly asked which dish should go on which check. When we explained which item should go on what check, he kept interrupting us to clarify repeatedly what dish goes where. After we repeated ourselves, he got us the split checks, which were incorrectly split. When we let him know, he rudely told us to repeat what goes on which check once again. He came back with the split checks, this time correctly assigned and told us in an athoritative tone that we should have told him in the beginning, when placing our order that the checks have to be split differently than 50%.. It was not a request or a polite appeal that they do not split checks this way. When I asked him how would we have known that he wouldn’t be able to split the check that way, if he had not asked us, he began back answering, in a disrespectful way and tone and kept arguing that he didn’t know that he had to mention this to us. I replied that if you didn’t tell/ask, how would we have known? He stormed away from our table, keeping on repeating that we should have told him and that we must do so when we visit other restaurants.

The final saving grace was the manager of the restaurant who politely explained their restaurant policy and requested us to please let them know in advance, should we need to split the check in the future. The manager said the exact same thing as what our server said, though super respectfully and without accusing us. We are foodies in our family and visit numerous restaurants, a couple of times a week. This isn’t the restaurant I would give my business to again, and there are plenty of great Bay Area restaurants who deserve our patronage and which serve better food. My suggestion to the restaurant is to have trained staff, who know how to interact with customers, when placing them in a customer facing role. Guests pay when purchasing their food ($75 in our case for 3 people, without any beverage) and at least expect to be treated with a little kindness. Extremely disappointing Sunday brunch and unfortunately a restaurant struck off...