John Ash — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

Friends of mine from Los Angeles were in town for the 13K marathon Napa to Sonoma. They are both physicians and very international in their tastes and interests. Without reservation I MADE a reservation for dinner this evening. It was a gross disappointment.

John Ash had been inconsistent in times past but for the last few years its reputation was being rewritten one great meal at a time. I am a vegetarian. I will always remember with great fondness a Portobello en croute that was devastatingly good along with other vegetarian offerings as the seasons changed. But with the new menu there was one--ONE--item on the menu that I could have. (Sort of like Henry Ford and the "you can have whatever color you want so long as it's black".) The waitstaff was helpful and suggested that a plate of sides could be done. I also ordered Roasted Cauliflower soup which was much too spicy for me. Ice water was my constant companion.

The serving size of the soup was astonishingly small served in a bowl about 5" in diameter and 1" deep. The soup didn't come anywhere near close to the top. Main course came: one of my dining companions ordered fish and the other ordered a mushroom bread which he said was good--and I also noticed that he only ate about 1/3 of it. The presentation of the fish was second rate. My plate of sides was absolutely minimal in serving size and totally unremarkable in its flavors. For the sides there was a small scoop of rice with a very small carafe of a curry veloute to pour over it, mushrooms--a minimal serving, carrots (there were four pieces each about 2" in length) and a very small serving of 6 quartered golden beets.

Dessert was a total bust. I ordered an affogato. What did I get for $12.50? One small scoop of vanilla gelato placed in a small iced glass cup with a small expresso carafe on the side. The person who brought it to the table poured the warm expresso over the ice cream all at once. I sat there and watched it melt because no spoon had come with the dessert. I requested a replacement and that a spoon come on the plate and then allow me to pour the expresso on as I wanted. The waitstaff seemed somewhat perturbed at such a request but it was done. It was the sorriest excuse for an affogato that I have ever had bar none. It was barely a cut above Denny's. Seriously. By comparison I had affogato there about 6 months ago and it was stellar. STELLAR. And my coffee that I had requested before dessert came at the same time as dessert, it was lukewarm and reminiscent of Bunn-o-matic quality. No, actually, Bunn-o-matic was better.

Over the past couple of years John Ash has been more consistent both in the kitchen and service. Over the past 3-4 years it was a dining experience worth repeating. Something has gone seriously awry with its new invention as John Ash at Vinarosa. What was wrong with Vintner's Inn? As a long time Sonoma County resident I finally adjusted to the name "Vintner's Inn" but Vinarosa has joined the lodging/restaurants that cater to tourists with little concern that maybe we could keep Sonoma County a little more like Sonoma County than another nouveau wine region Napa County knockoff on this side of the hill.

For the price paid and lack of food quality, I'm telling my friends to find another solution. This was a very disappointing meal--which also served as an embarrassment since I had unequivocally recommended John Ash.

With tip--and I had no wine with dinner--my...

I have been dinning at John Ash & Co. for decades. I'm a long time supporter of our local businesses. But.... I have to vent here. I recently celebrated my wife and I's wedding anniversary. We had a lovely dinner.... as usual. The staff was very attentive and made sure our needs/wants were met from beginning to end. The experience was wonderful.

However..... In general.... the cost of living has gone up for everyone. Purse strings are now tighter than usual. Businesses.... (including JA&C) have to make adjustments to meet this rising cost to do business. I completely understand that. I suppose that's why you have been charging for bread now. It used to be complimentary. But let me be very clear here... everyone (family) has had to do the same. Make adjustments!! Cutting back on going out to dinner or entertainment, for example... is a loss to us, the customer.

I, as I said, recently went out to JA&C for dinner. What I didn't realize (aside from see the price jump in menu items) there is a 2% automatic charge added to the bill for the "Kitchen" service. Are you ($#@^#!) kidding me?????? I must have missed that the bill being paid didn't include operations taking place in the kitchen. Unbelievable !!! Next you will be trying to recoup expenses by charging for clearing the table, showing us to our table, placing the order, and having staff members charge on the number of times they visit our table to check in (check in fee) on our experience. I, for one, will not support this. It's hard enough for everyone to have to adjust to the rising cost of food, entertainment ... and that's just what we all deal with at home. Gas is through the roof! Perhaps I should automatically deduct from the "tip" my expenses to drive to your location to keep you in business. Perhaps instead of paying a 15-30% tip (and sometimes even higher) for the staff..... I take in consideration the 2% kitchen fee and deduct that from the tip I would leave. That hurts your staff!!! But.... I can't sit by and just say "oh well".... and say nothing. I will deal with it! I'll leave less on tips and or I won't even visit your establishment again. I won't be happy about either. But.... I'm tired of being taken for granted as a customer. Sorry JA&C, but I'll think twice before I make arrangements to dine with you or recommend your restaurant. My star rating is based on my frustration. Not the service or staff. However, my rating is also based on the management and the ridiculous add on fees charged for supporting your business. Very...

During a recent trip (this past week), I brought friends from out of town to John Ash - the restaurant inside Vintners Inn.

We chose a bottle of wine we wanted to enjoy with dinner and shared the selection with our server.

Sometime had passed, and we thought perhaps they no longer had the bottle in inventory as they were taking a while. When our server returned with the bottle, he shared with us that the Sommelier had pulled him aside as they noticed an "error in the listing price of the bottle" and that he had been sent back to our table to "advise us that an adjustment had already been made to the price".

The bottle we selected, which was listed at $65, had now become $265. The Sommelier had even gone as far to change the listing price on the digital tablet menu BEFORE sending the waiter spoke with us. Super tacky.

We shared that while it was unfortunate to see an error had been made on their side, they advertised the price to us and we felt very strongly that the original price should be honored, period. We past on the bottle and told the waiter we really thought the whole approach was awful. He apologized and we tried to move on.

But, what really rubbed me wrong was that not at one point during the dinner did any manager appear to even offer an apology, or address the error. They sent the waiter to apologize for them. The entire interaction was rather raw - ...'this is the new price he set and shared you can take it or leave it.'

The wine was a Chev Pinot Noir by Michael Browne that sells for $85 from the winery. Through wholesale, the restaurant probably got it even cheaper. Maybe $65?

To be asked to pay $265 for an $85 bottle on the heels of the error was in poor taste, and not in keeping with the reputation of what the restaurant used to be.

After we left the restaurant, I actually sent an email to the hotel manager, and as of this writing, NO ONE FROM JOHN ASH OR VINTNERS has replied.

I am not quite sure if I will ever want to return again, let alone rexommend it. The whole exchange was off-putting. I understand that restaurants have mark ups.... a 400% markup is robbery.

To be honest with the yelp community you are better off driving by John Ash and finding a Starks restaurant, which is a few exits away. Each one of their locations has amazing curated wine lists, and they won't try to rob you over the markup. Don't get me wrong, there will be a markup... but $40 mark up as opposed to $200, seems...