Pamplemousse Grille — Restaurant in Solana Beach

So... I just got back from eating dinner at Pamplemousse Grill and I can honestly say, "I feel like I was swindled out of my hard earned pay check!" We decided to try this place out based on it's reviews from the internet. Well... "what a mistake that was". First off the atmosphere was poor with a capital "P"! I called for reservations early in the afternoon for a party of six and for some reason they decided to sit us in the way back next to a door that was a fire exit. Not only that but directly to our left we had a direct view into the kitchen. The actual location of this place is set off in a business park, it looked like someone took over a bunch of office space and decided to put a restaurant in just because of it's proximity to the Del Mar Race Track. Rest a sure if they were located anywhere else they would be out of business, but since the typical Californian has no clue what good food is I guess they survive off there location. The food was your typical mediocre OVER PRICED, San Diego garbage. I ordered the salmon, at the waiters suggestion and it was just BAD!!!! The fish was very fishy tasting and the sauces on top were overbearing masking the not so fresh fish. "I really should have sent it back considering it was priced at $40 dollars". The menu was riddled with overpriced crap. In fact, the others in our party had a similar experience with their food as I. The only thing that looked good was a $57 ribeye steak that my friend had. Yes you read it correctly, I said $57 dollars! For $57 dollars I could think of several places I would rather eat a steak at besides Pamplemousse Grill! To sum it up... I could have had a better piece of fish from the Del Mar Fish House next door for half the price! Don't waste your time at this place unless you like paying for overpriced mediocre food with so so service. I will not be going back anytime soon! If you want good food go to the Marine Room in La Jolla Shores, this place is not only cheeper but blows the doors off the Pamplemousse Grill with service, atmosphere and food quality! Sincerely, The...

Disappointing experience. I had literally been wanting to go to this restaurant for ten years because i had heard so many good things about it. A very successful wine merchant had told ne about it and he was a person who loved fine dining. So, I was ready to have my socks knocked off. When I made the reservation I included that it was my birthday. So, I expected just a little bit of special treatment. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are so many things that bugged me. Lets start with no parking and no valet parking. Next we were seated in he most awkward place. A table in the walkway between the real tables. My chair was knocked into a minimum of ten ties by servers passing by. Was really distracting and very upsetting. I couldn't relax. It was a special day for me....but that really sucked. We asked for a refill of bread. It never came. I sat for 20 mins and never got a refill on my coke. I ordered lobster bisque to start. My absolute fav soup. It was terrible. I ate it anyway because I didn't want to make a fuss. My 16 year old daughter whispers to me "is this supposed to be healthy? I think its better at Texas De Brasil ( a corporate restaurant not fine dining) I ended up talking to the table next to me. She sent it back it was so terrible. I ordered the short ribs. They were "ok" Not terrible. But honestly no better than many restaurants in San Diego. I was expecting amazing They were pretty bland. My kids got the burger. with truffle fries. Barely seasoned and the meat was overcooked. we were anxious to get home. They never wished me a happy Bday, at the front when we arrived, during the meal or at the end. No bday dessert came out for me. All in the all the worst bday experience in a restaurant I've had. I would...

Upscale dining by Chef Jeffrey Strauss. We came for restaurant week ($70 + $45). The menu being offered is slightly different than the daily regular menu offering beef, pork, fish, duck and vegetarian.

We ordered:

Complimentary assorted bread basket came out first with mini corn muffins, baguette and a seeded bread that was my favorite.

Lobster ravioli (also on regular menu) - 1 giant lobster filled ravioli with small mushrooms and scallops in a ginger soy mushroom sauce

Skipped the second appetizer and Supplemented for the Angel hair pasta with shaved truffles for $45. You can add on as a third dish for $65. This was buttery rich goodness.

Korean marinated flat iron steak - sliced in 7 pieces over fried rice. Although rice was good, sadly, we compared it to Trader Joe tv dinner.

Pork schnitzel - I have to say, this was better than the ones I had in Germany and Austria because it was thinner, wasn’t dry and had flavor (meaning salt). The potatoes balanced out the salty flavors.

Warm chocolate caramel cake (also on regular menu) - served with berries and vanilla gelato. Found this to be same as other places.

Seasonal fig tart - puff pastry with mascarpone filling, honey and few slices of fig.

Restaurant week has gotten more pricy over the years with Pampalmousse on the higher end of $70, I expected more. I would have loved to see more of their regular menu items featured on the RW menu and more French inspired.

Overall, plenty of parking, indoor and outdoor seating. We had a wonderful experience. Food was well prepared. Truffle pasta was our favorite. Our drinks were strong. I got the Sippin’ on Lychee with gin, lychee liquor and...