Saddle Peak Lodge — Restaurant in Malibu

Although we were seated quickly at a window table we requested, we were completely ignored for at least 20 minutes while other tables seated after us were served. It wasn't even busy with only a total of four tables seated by 5:15pm. Finally a waitress dropped off drink menus as stated our waitress will be with us shortly, which turned into another 15-20 minute wait. During that time we didn't even receive water! Our waitress Yerica was friendly but would disappear for 10-15 minutes every time we asked her a question that she couldn't answer. The restaurant forced service charge of 20% obviously left no incentive for the wait staff to serve customers. Yerica certainly did not deserve anything close to that. The wines we chose were adequate, and the NYE Cristal Flight was excellent (the Cristal and L'Emitage by Roederer Estate) except for the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut. Caesar salad was full size and also excellent, while the beet salad was also shareable but way too sweet for an appetizer; it would be better as a desert or dinner side which is how I chose to eat it. Yerica warned me the water buffalo would be flavorful but tough, which was true; she did not warn me that there would be only six tiny slices. Husband's rib-eye was huge but barely edible with zero flavor, grizzly, and tough. We noticed all other diners were served a pre-dinner small cup of soup prior. When we asked Yerica about it after our entree, she again was completely clueless stating she didn't know they were serving that since it was so busy. We asked for it as a concluding course. The server stated it was potato and celery, and it was excellent. We were not tempted by the limited desert options. At least Harry the manager stopped by to say hello after we received the Champagne Flight. And Hargun was able to answer some of our questions. We were relieved to learn that the currently covered patio would be removed when it warms up again as we usually dine outside under the oaks, but it was too chilly NYE. Yerica told us she's only been there two months; she obviously needs much more training in customer service. One final note is why does Saddlepeak Lodge use the online reservation system of RESY instead of OpenTable like many other...

It is always such a treat to go to this magical place, unfortunately the food and management can be quite a disappointment. 6 of us went for 7:15PM dinner Saturday night and everything was lovely initially; cocktail, salads, and appetizers and a complimentary demitasse of mushroom bisque. But then it was a painfully long 30 minute wait for our entrees. We were perplexed with how much time had passed, and as it is not a very late night place, the restaurant was clearing out, and we still had not been served. We had to flag down our waiter, who had not previously approached our table to acknowledge the long delay or to update us. Dining out has a pace to it, and this pace was that it was time for dessert, or after dinner coffee, or just time to pay the bill, except we hadn’t had our entrees yet. Finally the entrees arrived, 5 of them, but not the birthday celebrant’s. A long several minutes later, the manager brought over the 6 entree, trout with a perfunctory acknowledgment of the delay. Mixed reviews of the food. The salmon diner was happy, my $72 16 oz. ribeye was tasty but lukewarm. My wife’s chicken and everything on her plate she found to be inedible. There was no followup to the table from the manager, though now the restaurant had just a few remaining diners besides us. I stepped away from the table to speak privately to our waiter about the “spoiling” of this special evening, and the failure of the waiter or management to communicate with us proactively about the problem the kitchen was having, or to offer us any consolation, remedy, or compensation. The waiter was fully aware of our disappointing experience, and seemed sincerely apologetic and embarrassed by our experience. Still no offer of any remedy until I proposed they might offer us complimentary coffees for the table. Apparently the waiter took this up with the manager and they comped us the coffee and our 1 round of cocktails. The manager never came to the table, which is really kind of pathetic. This is such a special place, yet it seems to continue to fail to serve food as special as the setting, or to manage the...

Originally founded in 1900 and set up in the Malibu mountains Saddle Peak truly is a special experience and an LA staple. I go out to eat at least once a week to a new place, every week, and can honestly say this is one of the better places that I’ve been to in a few months, and I usually go to places of the same price scale. Our server Steven was fantastic and did a wonderful job as well as the rest of the staff that we encountered. The inside is designed like an old hunting lodge, which, at one point it actually used to be, complete with an inside that looks like a log cabin with taxidermy and chandeliers all over the place. Extremely unique for the Los Angeles area. They have valet only for $10 and the attendant on duty tonight was also very polite.

Some of the items on the menu are a bit overpriced, but not by a lot only about a $10-$15 raise compared to other places down closer to the water. However, every dish we had was fantastic and the atmosphere really added to that as well. I started off with the French Onion Soup, which was a bit expensive for $24 but it was truly great. The flavors were rich and deep and it’s a dish I order all over town and can say this is one of the better ones that I have had. Next came the Bronzino which was fantastic. The skin was extremely crispy and the black rice with it was a great combination. It was also about $10-$15 more than usual being that they asked for $54 for this dish but still it was a good sized portion and truly delicious. Finally for dessert I had the famous toffee bread pudding which was not overpriced and came in at the standard $15. It was an absolute wonderful end to the meal.

I understand how this place could be a bit expensive for some, but I honestly didn’t mind the slight increase in price just because of the trade-off of the location and experience. I would happily come here again, and plan to in the future. This would definitely fall into the special occasion dinner, even though it was just a regular Saturday dinner for us. I would highly recommend it to anyone for any occasion, especially a...