Perch + Plow — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

Updated: May 1, 2018

My First Impression. I love this location, always have over the years. I checked in a short while before they did their soft opening and loved the look and idea of the place and enjoyed the managers I chatted with. I visited during the soft opening a short while ago and was happy with everything about it. The decor is lovely with great wall/door murals from a favorite local artists, Bud Snow, who has some wonderful pieces all over town include "graffiti" on the old grain elevator in Roseland! The design in well thought out and the only non positive for me (and some other folks) is the huge TV on the East wall by the main bar. This is not a horrible thing, but we have plenty of "bars" with TVs and electronic screens are well, something it is nice to escape more often than not. These folks practice actual Hospitality from the front entrance to your departure. Now, let's hope this is a continued practice and not just during the early establishing year, or so! One of the thing I valued about the former Flavor (just bellow) was their actual hospitality, It soothed my frustration with the all too often loud atmosphere and hit and miss food. This is vital to a "lounge" where you can unwind and relax after work, or just because! I only sampled three menu items which were good and fairly priced. There was nothing unique about the menu, typical "California Bar/Lounge" style choices, but they were well executed. Why you should check this space out though, is the view. 2nd Floor looking West over Old Courthouse Square is under appreciated and unequaled anywhere in Santa Rosa. These new folks also put in opening Windows which this space has never had and there is a bar in front of the windows aching for your company. It is delightful and a reason itself to go. I will be checking back regularly to see how this place evolves and am excited with hope that it has the right idea.

5/1/18 I am soooo pleased with these folks and this space! It is rare in this day and age as well as here in this amazing place I call home to find a "new restaurant/space" that not only has a good solid plan, but executes it and doesn't rush, or try to be too trendy. Trends are important to watch, but not necessarily follow. Perch & Plow is now my Favorite Lounge, or stop to unwind place in Downtown SR and almost anywhere in SoCo.

Happy Hour(s) are now in full use, M-F 3-6pm. The drinks menu is wonderful and well executed as is the food. I am now a regular for a Pimms Cup and Fish Tacos, with some Mac-n-Cheese when I need a bit more. The service is spot on and consistent and this if often "the first thing to go" as the newness wears away and the habits become established. Thankfully these folks have created good ones!

I am what many would inappropriately call "A Tough Customer" and how that phrase is often used is pretty much the antithesis of who I am. I am a super easy customer actually. All I need is a friendly feeling place, a smile and good food/drink, period No special drink, dish, action... just comfort and respect. Now, I am also an educated & experienced customer as well as Hospitality Professional and thus I know what is good and what it just okay, or simply not good at all. I understand hospitality and that it is an attitude more than actions ;~

More good things to...

Ok, so I had been curious about this place for a long time because I walk past it almost every day, and I've never been quite sure what goes on there. One of my coworkers wanted to go dancing and heard this was one of a few "night clubs" in the area with good music to dance to. We went Saturday night and called ahead to confirm what time they opened. The hours on Google are listed as 5 pm to 1:30 am, but it sounds like they close for an hour or 2 during that time to transition from being a restaurant to a club? Anyway, we were told they'd open for dancing at 10 and arrived around 9:50.

When we got there, a bunch of employees were chilling outside eating and didn't acknowledge us until 10:20. At that point, we were debating whether to just hang out at the bar next door where we could still hear the music and avoid paying a cover. Eventually, the Perch+Plow security team decided to start letting people in, though they seemed kind of pissed off about it? We paid the cover, which was $20 per person.

A note: if you pay with a card, they have their default tip amount set to 25% (even when you are just paying the cover charge at the door). Another note: there was no live music or special event happening, and this place wasn't really crowded, so the $20 cover seemed egregious.

I've probably already told you everything you need to know about this place. But if you're wondering whether this review gets worse--reader, it does!

At this point, my coworkers and I (5 people) go upstairs and order drinks. The bartenders also seemed pissed at us (?) even though I think we were all behaving like normal folks at a bar. Most of us ordered different drinks, but nothing crazy or complicated (margs, Moscow mules, etc.). We tried each others’ drinks, and each one tasted like it contained a single drop of booze. Despite costing around $16… ok.

After finishing the worst cocktail ever, I switched to beer and danced for a bit. The one highlight of this experience was the DJ. I hope every cent of our cover charge went to supporting that DJ!!!!

We decided to leave a little before midnight, and this is where things got real dicey. On our way out, one of the security guards was escorting a supposedly unruly patron out of the club. I'd talked to the same dude earlier at the bar, and sure, he was creepy. He also stopped bothering me once I told him to leave me alone. I was directly behind them on the stairs when the security guard, seemingly unprovoked, put his hands on this man and shoved him. I literally gasped because the dude was cooperating and ALREADY ON HIS WAY OUT. Why would you SHOVE HIM??

Outside, the security guard shouted profanities and insults at this man, who once again, was already LEAVING. This was an incredibly weird, unsettling, and (needless to say) unprofessional display of toxic masculinity and extraordinarily bad customer service.

TLDR: DJ was excellent but everything other aspect of this place ranged from disappointing to alarming. Just go to the...

We had our first experience here the other night, and I’m really unsure about how to rate this restaurant … everything about our meal ran either really well, or really poorly. There was no in-between. I wasn’t sure whether to give two stars or five. So I went with four for now, because overall, it was more great than poor.

But that’s how the visit went - everything we had (both food and drink) was either five-star awesome, or two-star unpleasant.

The decor and design is fantastic. The service we got - sitting at the bar since we didn’t have a reservation - was also fantastic: fast, friendly, and very attentive and helpful. The negative situations we did have were dealt with promptly and professionally.

The stuff that went poorly: • we ordered fish tacos to share, and when they arrived, they smelled so awful that we sent them back so quickly I didn’t even get a picture of them. I’ve been eating seafood for my entire life, and this was definitely the bad fishy aroma you definitely want to avoid. • the cal fire relief drink was too spicy for either of us to consume. In addition to the spicy ingredients and spicy salt rim, the garnish was half of a raw jalapeño, sliced in half long ways, plus a raw jalapeño ring. The acidity and dry spicy bite the garnish added put the drink over the top. We couldn’t finish it. • similar problem with the Irish mule. Even after adding a second shot of Jameson and more ice to try to mellow out the severe tartness of the drink - the bartender added WAY too much lime juice - even with the extra whisky and ice, it was still too tart and bitter to finish.

All of that being said, everything else was absolutely fantastic.

• The other three drinks on the sampler flight were freaking delicious, and my wife and I fought a little over who got to drink them! • They carry Flor de Caña 12 year rum from Costa Rica - among many other specialty liquors I noticed - which is awesome. • My wife also got a vodka lemonade drink after our meal that was excellent. • The roasted Brussels sprouts and cheeseburger (get it with garlic fries instead of regular!) were both absolutely delicious.

We’ll definitely be coming back again to see which evaluation is the more accurate one; I personally have a feeling it’s gonna bump up to the five stars, but I’m not...