4 Saints — Restaurant in Palm Springs

Wow, this place really failed hard last weekend. There’s many good reviews online, most praising the food, so I took a chance on it. My god, it was so awful it deserves to be studied. Let’s break it down...

I took a date to dinner, had reservations for 8pm. When we arrived, the host told us the table would be ready in 10 minutes or so, so we sat at the bar and had a drink. Bartender made an excellent martini, though he was a bit odd.

Fortunately for me, my date was absolutely captivating, and so it wasn’t bad sitting there for over an hour. Neither of us really minded, as we were having fun on our own, but after a while I checked in with the host. Just for fun. You know, because we were there for a table. Now mind you, we were about 25 feet away from the host stand and within sight the entire time... but she said there must have been an error as she thought she’d already sat us. Weird.

Finally we get a table. We’re not super hungry, so we just order the tuna crostini and split a pasta dish. And here’s where the evening really took a nosedive. The tuna arrived, and it was just the worst cut. It’s raw, so should be buttery and tender. This had a ribbon of gristle running through it- just a bad, cheap cut- and required heavy chewing just to take a bite. And it tasted fishy; it wasn’t fresh at all. Tasted a few days old, on top of the bad cut... so that’s no fun. This is not what tuna crostini should be. Inedible.

Then our pasta arrived... absolutely cold and congealed. It had obviously been sitting for a long time- which was odd, as it didn’t take particularly long to get to the table. Feels like it might have been another order sitting around that was split- who knows. We each took a bite, looked at each other, and just had to laugh at how absolutely dreadful this place was.

And the server was just... odd about it. No apologies, no offers to try to make it right. She awkwardly and halfheartedly asked if we wanted a replacement, which given how things were going, we decided to cut our losses and declined. But she was just so weird, quietly took everything away, and then avoided eye contact and didn’t engage with us at all afterward. She just put the check on the table (minus the pasta) and walked away. Don’t make it weirder than it needs to be, girl.

Here’s the thing; this place wants to be a fancy, upscale destination restaurant. It’s got a great space, fantastic view. The decor is too ‘slick’ and cold for my tastes, but whatever. I was primarily looking forward to good food. This place was just a disaster on all levels from the first minute; bad service, horrible food, weirdly inattentive. No amount of view can make up for that. So go here at your own risk. Stay for the tuna-salmonella crostini. Marvel at the socially awkward staff.

Date wasn’t quite ruined, as she was just such a lovely creature, but we definitely looked around for a taco truck or something on the street. None was found. Went to sleep hungry.

1/10, as the...

I just finished dining here and, unfortunately, had a truly disappointing experience. I’ve eaten here before and had a nice meal, which is why I decided to return on a whim tonight. The restaurant wasn’t particularly busy.

I asked the waiter about a specific appetizer, told him I’d like to order that, and then asked which entrée he recommended. I ordered both. Apparently, he misunderstood and brought out only the entrée—a fish dish—without the appetizer. When the fish arrived, I politely mentioned that I had expected my appetizer first. Rather than simply acknowledging the mix-up and offering to remedy the situation, the waiter argued with me, insisting I hadn’t ordered the appetizer.

I made it clear that it was fine if they brought the appetizer now, but the fish would need to be remade fresh afterward—I wasn’t interested in eating a piece of fish that had been sitting while I finished my starter. He assured me that’s exactly what they would do: bring the appetizer now and make a fresh fish entrée to follow.

The appetizer came, and it was quite good. However, about 10 minutes after I finished it, they brought back the same piece of fish that had now been sitting for over 35 minutes. I pointed this out, and the waiter claimed he had asked the kitchen to remake it and said they must not have done so. He took the plate back and returned with another piece of fish shortly afterward. This time, I checked, and the fish was literally cold inside—nothing more off-putting than cold fish.

Finally, they brought out a freshly prepared fish entrée, which was quite good. I thanked the waiter but also expressed how surprised and disappointed I was by how the situation was handled. I then asked to speak with the manager. When he came over, he immediately began arguing with me about whether the fish had been freshly made, showing that he was clearly unaware of the full situation. I told him to walk away because I didn’t want to continue arguing while I was trying to finish my meal. He then accused me of being rude for saying that.

All in all, it was a horrible dining experience—poor service and combative attitudes, despite the food itself being decent (though in my opinion, not worthy of Michelin...

As a local resident, this was my first dining experience at Four Saints. I chose to bring a friend here to celebrate a special birthday. The restaurant itself is beautiful and the view while dining is worth the experience alone. Service was good. The menu and wine list pricey, but I anticipated that. I appreciate innovative cuisine, but I don't understand when ordering something such as $49 lamb chops ( as we did ), it came to us as two chops and a pounded lamb shoulder. The average diner would expect ALL lamb chops. Perhaps the executive chef should better describe on the menu what is actually being prepared. It was presented as one chop thin and cooked medium ( no pink ), one chop thick and undercooked ( leaning towards raw ) and a thin piece of lamb shoulder looking like shoe leather. This was a true culinary disappointment . The thick chop was sent back and while waiting for that to be properly cooked , a cut into the lamb shoulder meant this was also to be sent back to be properly cooked, not killed. Essentially, the entree was eaten in three phases though the lamb shoulder returned to us was undercooked and thus not eaten. Our salads were delicious, my fish entree was excellent, but sadly, the birthday girl had chosen an entree that should not be on the menu. This apparantly is a difficult dish for the kitchen to execute , but for $49 it should be perfection! The manager never came to the table and the server presented the bill with a dropped charge for the $10 bread. As it was a special occasion and two of the chops were eaten albeit in stages, I did not make a fuss as not to dampen the evening further. In retrospect, I should have approached the manager so now I'm left with writing a review of a mediocre dining experience. I recommend asking about how your dishes are prepared before making your selection. Also, management needs to improve customer...