The Lodge Pasadena — Restaurant in Pasadena

I’m writing this based on my only experience visiting this restaurant, which was for Mother’s Day brunch. I do plan to come back on a regular day to give it another try, but wanted to share this for anyone considering celebrating mothers day next year.

We had a 1:30 PM reservation for their Mother’s Day brunch buffet. Brunch ends at 3 PM, and we had no issue being seated or served during that window. The final bill came out to about $78 per person—that included the buffet, tax, an automatic 18% gratuity, and a fee for using a credit card. No one in our party drank alcohol. For that price, I’d say the food and overall experience was just okay.

The desserts were definitely the highlight—very good! And our server, Sabrina, was kind and pretty attentive.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere from some of the staff made the experience feel a bit rushed and uncomfortable. At around 2:30 PM, while waiting in line at the omelet station, the male chef made multiple comments about being slammed and it almost being over. Staff conversations about closing down and the end of their shift were not just audible—they were loud, at 2:45pm it was yelled from the kitchen that breakdown was at 3pm (we could hear this from the dining room it was that loud). I understand it was a long day for the team, but it did affect the mood in the dining room. I was standing by the desserts when we heard it from the kitchen and an older gentleman made a sarcastic comment to his wife "I guess we better hurry up then".

We also had a mixed experience with the hosts. The younger blonde host was lovely—warm, friendly, and made guests feel welcome...she would tell people to get "comfy" or just overall had a great connection with the people she was seating. However, the younger brunette host came off a bit pushy. As we were leaving, instead of letting us finish getting out of our chairs and through the narrow walkway, she pushed through (while seating someone else) instead of letting my 71-year-old father-in-law finish walking through the narrow space. It felt unnecessary and a little rude.

That said, I do plan to return on a non-holiday and give the regular menu a try. In fact, the dinner plates I saw being served at 3 PM looked great. Maybe a different day—or even an earlier brunch seating—would offer a...

I took the wife to dinner for her birthday. I had high hopes and thought it would be guaranteed worth it, sadly, no. First, I love what they did with redesign and very much look forward to the opening of the new enclosed patio area with a bar. (looks great for happy hour). The food was pretty good but disappointed they don't have a ribeye (so had prime rib).

The problem really came from the drinks and service. I understand the staff is new, but they are young and obviously inexperienced. If I am paying $300 for a dinner (2 people) I expect an elevated service experience. The drinks?? THIS is why I had to take stars off for the food. We started off with trying both house-special Old Fashions. WTF, was that I just drank. I immediately could tell the ratio was off and taste was too syrupy. The ice ball was too large and the pour was short. It was EASY to tell these couldn't possibly have been freshly made. They were NOT. They make them in "batches". Again, WTF, you want to charge $16/$18 for BATCH DRINKS. We immediately didn't want any more from the bar. Any seasoned drinker could tell the difference, and it was insulting to get something pre-made, especially at these prices.

I then decided to switch to a beer since they don't make that. However, WOW, ANOTHER bad choice. For a business trying to make this all about Farm to Table MARYLAND and local sourced, the first 10 beers listed are garbage national brands. If you want to put out an image, it should go for the drinks as well. There are 100's of local breweries to choose from, and they couldn't be bothered.

You can't charge 200-300 for a meal and take shortcuts. I hope all of this gets fixed soon, because we would like to return and even try happy hour, but NOT with what they are making...

The ambiance is amazing. The look is refreshing and brings hope to upscaling Pasadena. Rustic, sophisticated, serious hunter log cabin vibes with comical notes of dapper animals in stoic mural paintings. Our Waitress (Stephanie) was terrific, and we were told she was also the Bartender, so to have the great service we did is commendable. With no reservations, we walked in feeling underdressed at first, but we're quickly made at ease with others in the back dressed the same way; maybe that's why we were seated back there. Haha, thank you! I would suggest anyone going, to be dressed upscale casual up to business, and then, of course for special events, go all out! So now you may be wondering why the 4 stars opposed to 5... The food is always my heaviest weighted category. As you see in the pictures, the food is beautifully presented and portioned. The price is slightly high, but I'm only talking about a couple of dollars for the non-Happy Hour drinks and main dishes, nothing to break the bank though. However, everyone's food came out piping hot except my dish. Being one of the more expensive items on the menu (Bone-in braised lamb), I would have expected it to be the same as the others, if not somehow better. The taste was great, but the temperature was like it had been sitting on the pass for a while. The inside was warm, but the surface was slightly cool. Please don't let that last part sway you from going, this place has real potential and I bet something happened outside of the norm to cause my dish to be cool. To end on a high note, that drink was absolutely amazing; one or two more cherries would be nice. Added the Kid's menu, post decorations from our...