Mendocino Farms — Restaurant in San Ramon

My family & I just had dinner at Mendocino Farms on Fri night. I had to write a review based on my experience. My son is ANA to nuts & seeds. It is usually a stressful experience for me to eat out as we've had to go to ER a couple of times with him after accidental exposure. I explained to the young man (I wish I had gotten his name) who took our order about my son's food allergies. He immediately took out their ingredients binder and checked for possible allergens in the sandwich we were ordering for him. He calmly went through each ingredient and made sure it would be safe for him to eat. Mind you, it's the dinner rush on a Friday night & the phone was ringing off the hook. There was a line behind us. He was not phased, he got a co-worker to answer phones while he continued helping us. Once we placed our entire order, he then flagged his manager to make sure my son's order was made safely. When she came over, I said my usual thing that my son is allergic to nuts/seeds, if they could please alert the kitchen staff to use fresh gloves & utensils with his food prep. She immediately said SHE WOULD MAKE IT herself and went straight to the kitchen and started on the meal. I apologized to the young man taking our order for taking up so much time to order. He said not to worry at all he wanted to make sure he got it right. I wish I had gotten his name. I was floored with their amazing customer service. The manager then brought my son's meal, she made sure it was right. As a mom of a child with ANA food allergies, I cannot tell you what it means it means to me that they took care of us in this way. I wish all restaurants showed us this much compassion and care. I have only experienced this type of amazing service at one other place (Disneyland).If upper management reads these reviews, please give the young man that helped us and the manager Cassie a promotion or raise or something for their outstanding service. This restaurant has customers for life with our family. And, the food was healthy, delicious & seasonal on top of all that! Will be going...

The ambiance of the store is relaxed, casual and clean. Healthy and delicious food!

Customer service was excellent. I was greeted with a smile and enthusiasm as I ordered my meal. They explained the specials and also let me know which Dishes were popular or spicy. While eating, the employees were attentive and consistently came around to ask if there was anything needed or if there were any plates that needed to be removed.

The location of the restaurant is in front of the ideal for anyone w kids. They have a right in front of the lawn area w large legos and a water fountain where people can walk through. They have childrens menus which are coloring books and accompanied with crayons. They also had a chalkboard wall for children to write on and a children's table in the back. They had a foosball table for adults and older kids. It is one of few places that are kid friendly.

I had the Peruvian steak sandwich w avocado and a side of sriracha potato salad. My sandwich was served warm in soft crunchy bread. The steak was tasty and moist. The flavor of the potato salad was unique and delicious.

They had pure cane soda in lime, cream, birch(tastes like rootbeer) dark cherry, cane sugar. They also had passion fruit black tea and lemonade. I loved the passion fruit black tea which was unsweetened but there was sugar available for those w a sweet tooth. They do serve wine and beer which they also have free samples of normally but not at the opening.

Unfortunately this was the opening so no beer or wine and I didn't see any sign of desserts.

The best part about this place was I left full but felt light because the food tasted so fresh...

I was really looking forward to trying Mendocino Farms, but I was very disappointed with my experience. My panini was cold and the fire alarm went off in the middle of my meal.

I ordered the Sonoma Chicken Panini, which is supposed to be made with grilled chicken, avocado, cheddar cheese, and pesto on sourdough bread. When I got my sandwich, it was cold and the cheese was not melted. I asked the waiter to bring me a new one, and he said he would. But when he came back, he said that the kitchen was closed and they couldn't make me a new sandwich.

I was really disappointed, but I decided to stay and finish my meal. Then, about halfway through my meal, the fire alarm went off. Everyone in the restaurant had to evacuate. It was a really scary experience.

After the fire alarm went off, I decided to just leave. I didn't want to eat anything else from Mendocino Farms. I'm really disappointed with my experience there. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Here are some tips for Mendocino Farms:

Make sure your food is hot when you serve it. Have a backup plan in case your kitchen closes. Don't let the fire alarm go off in the middle of people's meals. I hope Mendocino Farms takes these tips to heart and improves their service...