Norma's — Restaurant in Palm Springs

My group recently dined at Normas, located in The Parker - A Leading Hotel of the World, if you didn’t know that about this establishment.

Normas’s is billed as some sort of elevated diner or at least a casual hotel restaurant with a variety of breakfast and lunch items. As New Yorkers, we had some reasonable hopes for this place, since its sister in New York was reliable in the past. Also, this is located in one of Palm Springs’ iconic resorts - a Leading Hotel of the World, in case you were not aware. Such a designation connotes a level of class that most mortals can apparently neither achieve nor appreciate.

Let me start with what was good. The cocktails were excellent. The small smoothie shooters that came out right away started things out right. Our waiter was friendly. The flat crabcake was respectable, and the tuna Cobb salad was refreshing, albeit lacking in some flavor. Unfortunately, that was about it.

Our party’s entrees came out in about three or four waves, so some people were well into their meals, while others watched on. The cheeseburger was very dry, which was not what we would expect for a $28 cheeseburger, nor was it how we ordered it prepared (I have never thought to ask for it to be juicy, or at least not dry). A few other guests had entrees that did not particularly match the description on the menu, which ought to be noted by the serve when the order is placed. All in all, I expect food at a restaurant in such an esteemed establishment to be much higher caliber and quality. Certainly, I do not think it is asking too much for a not-busy restaurant to serve the food all at the same time. Countless other establishments - both much nicer and much more common than this particular place seem to have no problem accomplishing this feat. Surely, a Leading Hotel of the World ought to have the best possible service, which did not come through, but as noted, our server was a friendly guy.

What was perplexing to us - and perhaps we just weren’t the right type of people for this lauded place - is that there seemed to be a pecking order for who got seated where. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Palm Springs, and where did we get seated? In the dark dining room. For the duration of our experience, over half of the outside tables remained empty. The hostess told some other wayward guests that there was no availability outside and then tried to seat them at a dark corner table inside, even though there were many open tables inside that at least were close to the windows. Perhaps, like the grounds of this place, the outside tables are not for the commoners from the outside. We certainly felt our place in the pecking order when some snooty guests indicated one of our guests was in her way as we tried to leave the dining room. The guest had an air about her that suggested “I am better than you, please step aside.” Perhaps that type of attitude is what gets you a seat outside.

Now, since I read other reviews of this place and the associated hotel, I understand that there are some curious responses, but I will say this - getting meal service out consistently is the basic thing any restaurant should do. Making a good burger should be basic. Not screwing up the other orders (eg some strange chocolate “French toast”) seems pretty fundamental. At this price point, it really ought not happen. Lying to guests about table availability is pretty elitist. Just be honest and say “those seats aren’t for you, we prefer to keep them empty.”

I’d like to give our nice waiter more stars, since I’m not sure if it was his fault the orders didn’t come out together. But as for the hostess who wouldn’t seat some people in the beautiful garden or the person who told our party that outdoor reservations weren’t available, I feel somewhat generous in offering two stars. You can have a more welcoming, higher quality experience elsewhere and you may even save a...

My son's nanny, my son, and I popped in after her flight got in as it is close to the resort we are staying at. Keep in mind we are Seattle natives visiting Palm Springs for the first time. With that, it is possible I'm holding Norma's to a standard that just isn't in line with what is accessible in the area. That caveat aside, here is my review...

Menu: It struck me as incredibly odd that an establishment that puts so much effort into presenting itself as upscale has no dinner menu whatsoever. This was probably the most disappointing aspect of our visit. If I'm paying for the experience (valet, per bottle charges for flat water, higher item prices, etc.), I reasonably expect that experience to include not having to piggyback off the lunch and breakfast menu. This is an area where Norma's completely falls short of building the upscale experience.

Food: Honestly, I'm a bit surprised by how many rave reviews there are about the food. It isn't bad per se, but I definitely wouldn't characterize it as "the best" of anything. I ordered the steak frites off menu. It was cooked decently, but again, not as I'd expect from an upscale establishment. The seasoning was done well, but it was overly charred, which, if you know fine dining, provides for an off-putting mouth feel. Beyond that, steak frites is typically served sliced after the steak properly rests so the juices of the steak can be used as a dipping sauce for the fries -- what I was served was essentially a piece of steak and french fries with an off-putting housemade steak sauce. Again, Norma's is making a decent effort to present itself as upscale, but the food is another area where it misses the mark.

Service: The wait staff were very friendly and on top of everything. The service itself was very much in line with what I expect at an upscale dining establishment. Unfortunately, because Norma's falls short in building the upscale experience in other ways (e.g. the menu and food), for diners experienced with truly upscale dining, it comes across as trying too hard. This is not a reflection of the service of the waitstaff, but rather, Norma's failure to adequately build the upscale experience -- there truly is nothing the waitstaff could have done differently to change this feeling.

Overall Norma's is okay. They have some work to do in building the upscale experience. I wouldn't recommend them unless they enacted some changes to create a consistently upscale dining experience or they lowered their expectations on the type of establishment they present...

Firstly in the interests of balance it’s important to note the service here was excellent. The server Benji helpfully provided gluten free menu guidance and substitutions. The coffee was good, the free juice sample delicious. Overall our party enjoyed their food. Special mention to the lobster Mac n cheese which looked great. I, however ordered the lobster and asparagus omelette. In my limited experience there are two types of omelette: one filled with melted cheese or a French omelette which is served baveuse filled with a runny egg interior. This sadly was neither. Although the omelette itself did not appear to be overcooked it was not seasoned at all and quite dry and rubbery. Much salt, pepper and hot sauce was needed to make it something approaching interesting. The interior of the omelette consisted of slightly overdone, under seasoned asparagus and pieces of lobster which again didn’t really have much flavour. No cheese or no light fluffy egg in sight. This was served with some perfectly respectable potatoes (which could have done with a creamy sauce or salsa verde), jelly, butter and two slices of gluten free toast. Considering this was one of the highest ticket items on the menu it was honestly not worth a fraction of the price. I’ve had better omelettes off the griddle of a greasy spoon or even in my own kitchen. I stayed at the Parker in New York some years back and the Norma’s there was the standout highlight of my trip. Personally from a food perspective this was a bit of a...