Rustic Root — Restaurant in Solana Beach

Hi. This place was one of my worst dinning experiences. It was really disappointing at all levels , Bad foods, bad service and poor quality ingredients. I checked their menu online and decided to take my mom for lunch at this restaurant on sat. This restaurant was very busy and very noisy like being in a turkey farm! , but I wouldn’t write a bad review if I had a great meal even in a turkey farm. There were 4 hostesses at the front telling everyone about one hour waiting time. So, we decided to order for take-out since we were very hungry. I ordered few things from what I remembered from their online menu and the waiter/bartender wasn’t familiar with any of my orders and every time she left me for more than few minutes to check with other bartenders and also making some more drinks for other costumers!, and every time she came back telling me they don’t have the item on their menu any more!, No crab cake, no chicken pot pie and not the same hamburger !!! (I’m very sure I checked the right website.) finally, I ordered their smash burger and came back 15 min later for pick up as I was told it would be ready but bartender didn’t have time to check for my order. I looked around while waiting and noticed there was 4 tables available! And also noticed one of bar tender was pushing her long nails into strawberry instead of using a knife for creating a cut for placing it on top of a cocktail glass! (Not sanitary.) Finally after long 30 min waiting and after serving many other costumers. she took a break and came back with my order. The burger was very cold and had a strong rotten meat odor and the bun was breaking into pieces- crumbled, like the frozen buns people buy for kids BBQ party at schools and the fries was cold, dried and was covered with overwhelming large chunks of salt. My mom didn’t even wanted to try any of them and asked me to open the widows to get red of the bad smell, but I took a bits and couldn’t let myself swallow that single bite, I then put it back in the bag and got red of it at the dog beach trash. Even my hands had a strong odor from holding the burger for few seconds till I washed with soap. I usually get my hamburger from bushfire kitchen and Nick’s in Del Mar and honestly never had a bad burger. As I always say to restaurants with no regards for costumers “It’s always a better choice to lose a few ponds of old/rotten meat a day than losing costumers who could bring you more costumers and write a...

Rustic Root is a new casual dining restaurant that, while showing promise in some areas, needs to address some significant issues with menu accuracy and customer service. The atmosphere was lively, bordering on loud, but overall a pleasant enough environment. I ordered the Chicken Pot Pie, which the menu stated came with a salad. The pot pie itself was decent. The crust was hot and flaky, and the filling was creamy and comforting. However, when I asked our server about the included salad, she informed me that it had been substituted for the mashed potatoes, which I had ordered and paid an extra $4 for. This was not stated anywhere on the menu. When I pointed out the menu discrepancy, the server checked with Chef, who refused to provide the salad as advertised. This was incredibly disappointing. It felt disrespectful and as though Chef was trying to get away with not honoring their menu. It's especially frustrating since I had already paid extra for the mashed potatoes. It's understandable that new restaurants experience growing pains, but refusing to provide what's advertised on the menu is unacceptable. The chicken pot pie cost $22, and with the additional $4 for the mashed potatoes, the total price felt a bit steep considering the missing salad and the chef's dismissive attitude. This is clearly not about price, but chef's inability to take care of a friendly, supportive neighbor. While the food itself was generally good, the way Chef handled a simple issue significantly impacted my dining experience. I would be hesitant to recommend Rustic Root until they address the menu inaccuracies and improve their customer service. It's a shame, because the potential is there, but Chef needs to prioritize honesty and customer satisfaction. I would consider returning in the future to see if they've improved, but for now, I can only give them a generous 3 out of 5 stars, mostly because wait staff was friendly and...

🌟🌟 Rustic Root (Solana Beach) – Chill Vibes, but Odd Service Choices and Inconsistent Food

We stopped by the Rustic Root in Solana Beach hoping for a solid early dinner. The atmosphere was relaxed, the space is inviting, and the staff was friendly—but the experience overall was a bit frustrating.

We were seated and handed full dinner menus, but when we tried to order, we were told entrées couldn’t be placed until 5 PM. No one mentioned this when we arrived, and there was no sign or note indicating the restriction. It was pretty odd—especially for a business to literally turn down money from ready-to-order customers. We weren’t early enough for lunch, and couldn’t order dinner—it left us in an awkward in-between with limited options.

Once 5 PM rolled around, we placed our order:

Lobster pappardelle was tasty, but the random corn mixed in felt totally out of place.

The happy hour meatballs tasted like they’d been microwaved—dry and unimpressive.

The meatloaf was completely overwhelmed by way too much basil, which dominated the dish.

On the plus side, cocktails were solid and the service was polite, even if the policies weren’t customer-friendly. If I return, it’ll be for a smash burger and fries—something simple and reliable.

Update- the following day: We made a reservation that required an $80 deposit, which we expected to be applied toward our bill (as is standard at many restaurants). It wasn’t. No one mentioned it, and it never showed up on the final check. We were charged separately for our meal, and the deposit seemed to vanish. That alone makes me hesitant to return—it felt misleading and left a bad taste. I now have to go through the hassle of calling the restaurant to have them refund or 80$ deposit.

Bottom line: Great location and drinks, but unless you’re showing up exactly at dinner time, be prepared to wait—or stick to...