Bird & The Bottle — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

I REALLY wanted to like this place, but felt it overpriced and underexplained!

The BAD: Sneaky "corkage" charge for a single glass of wine? NO detailed information on the menu?

NOT suitable for ANYONE with Autism, as there are NO explanations provided in written form on how this restaurant works other than verbal! And no pictures or detailed description of ANY of the menu items,.. you don't know if you are getting 1 oz or 100 oz of food! Not bad enough for me to file an ADA claim, but I was baffled the entire visit. Turns out, food comes out randomly! whenever the kitchen is done, it comes. Waited a LONG time for half the food. Others who came AFTER us and ordered AFTER us got THEIR same dish as what WE ordered BEFORE us. So either they are idiots, they stole our food and gave it to others, or a time warp occurred due to a passing singularity.

The prices are pretty crazy high also.

The confusing: They "claim" it is "small plates" so we ordered a bunch, but then when it comes, we have extra food.

The food was mixed: The 3x fried potatoes were good, as were the chicken wings (about 5?), and spatzel bread. The steak had a good bit of gristle and fat, the Pork ribs were cut in a way that gives little bone shards in some bites, so you have to be careful to NOT SWALLOW a bone. Meat, when not filled with bone shards, was tasty! I would "pass" on the chicken skin crackle, as it was not crisp enough to eat! was super chewy, not cooked hot enough long enough, or by the time WE got it, was rubber.

Service was nice and friendly, but never knew for sure who OUR waiter was, random folks just dropped off food, and other random folks stopped by to ask if we needed anything. The outdoor area is pretty loud, right on 4th.

IF this place were NOT on a busy street, had real explanations on charges, how much food, how the food was made, etc, on menu, maybe worth the $$$, but seemed a reach for what we got. Do not see returning, there are...

We were looking for someplace new and interesting for lunch in Santa Rosa before flying home to San Diego. Bird & the Bottle had plenty of good reviews, so we gave it a try. First - get reservations, or plan to wait a while. We had reservations and were seated shortly after they opened for lunch at 11:30 on Sunday. By the time we left, there were many groups waiting for tables to open up.

Per notes on the menu, the name "Bird & the Bottle" refers to hard-partying folks in NYC pre-WWI, who late in the evening were out looking for a "hot bird" (lady) and a "cold bottle" (preferably Champagne) for a good time. There is an 1889 poem by Eugene Field - "The Bottle and the Bird".

The restaurant, the menu, and the food are an eclectic mixture of rustic (old "SMEG" refrigerator in the dining area holds bottles of water for the tables), saloon (significant focus on drinks in the menus), and new age food (small plates, shared dining).

I started with the Oysters on the Half Shell - WOW - these were perhaps the meatiest oysters I have ever had. Large, thick, and very flavorful, with a nice accompaniment of a horseradish mignonette. I followed up with the "Crispy Duck Confit Tacos". These were two "tacos" - really lettuce wraps inside an outer shell. There was a LOT of duck in each of the tacos - no skimping on the meat in these babies. Very delicious and tender duck meat. My wife had the Cherrywood Smoked Beets salad, which she said was one of the best beet salads she has tried. Our friends went with the B&B Mini Burgers, which were a decent-size pair of burgers - larger than most bar sliders, but around 2/3 the size of a regular burger. They heartily enjoyed the burgers.

Alas - we were too full to try any of the very interesting-sounding desserts. The next time we are in Santa Rosa, this will definitely be on our list to try...

We ate here for lunch and enjoyed our meal outdoors. It was a nice day and liked that they have both indoor and outdoor seating. It has a relaxed feel to it with the inside being slightly more upscale feeling. It's next to a two way road, although didn't hear a lot of traffic, which was nice.

This place has small plates, even for lunch, with the option of some larger plate options. I recently heard someone say that the Stark restaurants were going more and more towards shrinkflation and felt that way with this meal. My husband felt the same way that the portion sizes were smaller for the price you pay. I ordered the heirloom tomato and watermelon salad with persian cucumber, barrel aged feta, pine nuts and herbs, and preserved lemon vinergirette. It was very flavorful and since most of it was watermelon didn't feel that it was the most filling, especially since the portions were small.

The service was excellent and everyone was friendly that worked there. Definitely 5/5 for the service alone. The place is popular so I would recommend booking a reservation in advance.

What I disliked the most is that there is a back of the house service charge on all food of 3%. I only noticed this after the reservation was made while looking on their website. I don't feel it's clearly stated on the menu in a way that you noticed or at least I completely missed it. I personally hate that in California it seems like there is a tax on absolutely everything and dislike even more that if I never went to the website I would have never known. I would rather pay more for something for a meal than know you are trying to slide an extra tax without me looking because it's not a great feeling. I personally dislike places with hidden fees because in reality it's not that much, but it's the principal of it all that I...