The Bungalow Kitchen - Tiburon — Restaurant in Tiburon

We live within a 4 minute drive to The Bungalow Kitchen Tiburon. We’ve been there, probably 10-15 times since they opened. Of course the food is delicious. What do you expect from a Michael Mina restaurant. So that gets 5 stars right off the bat. It’s delicious and constantly so.

One of the other amazing things about this place is the ambience. They play the absolutely best music of any restaurant I’ve ever been in. The couches are amazing and the view can’t be beat. At its best this restaurant is terrific. We’ve gotten to know some of the staff; mainly the front door and waitstaff because we’ve been there so often. When it’s all working it can feel like your sitting in gorgeous restaurant or your friends living room over looking the Bay watching the setting sun reflecting off The buildings in The City eating amazing food with great friends.

The service, that’s another thing altogether. The problem comes when they get busy. Twice now we’ve had to walk out on a meal after sitting for over 90 minutes and still not receiving our entrees.

The first time this happened to us was about 9 months when, after sitting for almost 2 hours waiting for our main course to arrive, and having asked several times about where our food was and still nothing, we decided to leave. That time we did stop at the front desk to offer to pay before we walked out. Correctly, they “ comped” the meal and we took it with us because somehow they scrambled and miraculously got the food finished before we left. That time the waiter was very sympathetic but the management were nowhere to be found. It felt almost like they were hiding from us.

The last time when the exact same thing happened, which was last night, we just walked out. This time the order was screwed up too. The waiter brought the amuse-bouche not at the start of the meal but after our starters… weird, but ok. Then we waited. And waited. And waited until, after asking the waiter and a manager twice what was going on with our food and both of them deciding go “ say hi” to another table before even pretending to go to the kitchen to check, we just left. We were told “ it will come out when it comes out…” not very sympathetic. We felt like they didn’t give a rats “ you know what” about us or our experience in their restaurant.

Unfortunately, in my earlier life, I spent several years working in fine dining restaurants ( Wolfgang Puck, Jeremiah Tower) so I know how it should be done and it was not like that. We go to Bungalow Kitchen for a meal on a fairly regular basis and for many others it’s a special occasion which means they don’t mind waiting and drinking and waiting some more. Not so when it’s two people and it’s just our Saturday night dinner out.

The other problem is inconsistent staff . New people all the time so chances are your waiter will be new and still “ figuring things out” which means s/he’s afraid of the line cooks and the chef so too timid to go do whatever it takes to get the food out . When you frequent a restaurant often, it’s nice when the staff recognize you and at least say hi….. you don’t want to feel like your money or the fact that you’re choosing to go back over and over again means nothing to them.

In the early days of BK the meal would go very well, food service etc, but then once the dessert order was taken we’d never see our waiter again. That’s fixed, thankfully, and when they’re not super busy it is a great place to enjoy a night out. Sadly, they still haven’t figured out the service piece well enough to offer the same consistent service when they’re busy.

So I say absolutely go and enjoy The Bungalow Kitchen when it’s not so busy . Mid-week or Sunday or even a Friday night. But if it’s busy or they’ve got large tables of guests (tables of 6,8,10 or 12) stay away because as a smaller table of two, chances are very good that you’ll just get lost in the shuffle. And that doesn’t feel...

Bungalow Kitchen might be the best restaurant in Marin right now.

The wife and I had an EXCEPTIONAL dinner here last night. The food, wine, and service were outstanding. And of course the view!

GM Brian greeted us at the door. (He’s a Mina Veteran and it shows.) He was engaging and welcoming, and seated us at a perfect 2-top right on the edge of the downstairs deck. A gorgeous view of Raccoon Straits, Angel Island, and the San Francisco skyline.

The place has a cool, classic rock vibe, with menus based on famous album covers. I got The Rolling Stones “Let it Bleed.” Wife got Neil Young’s eponymous. The cocktail menu was Bob Marley’s “Uprising.” Classic rock playing as well. Loved it.

Our server was Peter. Warm, knowledgeable and helpful, with out being overbearing.

With his advice, we opted for the Chef’s Tasting menu with wine pairings.

We were then introduced to Eric, the Sommelier. VERY knowledgeable, witty, and totally professional.

The food was refined and creative, and the wines perfectly paired and were an absolute integral part of every course’s complete enjoyment.

1st course: Parker House rolls with a ricotta-honey butter, Mina’ famous Ahi Tartar, a Hamachi Crudo, and confit/flash-fried duck wings. Wine was a wonderful 2010 Grand Cru Champagne.

2nd course: Black Truffle Cavatelli Cacio e Pepe. The balance of black truffle and other flavors was just right. Wine was a Valtellina Superiore. Dark, a little dry, and a perfect counterpoint to the rich, buttery magic of the pasta.

3rd course: Wife had a Phyllo-encrusted Petrale Sole with horseradish potato purée green beans and a Meyer lemon-caviar sauce. Wife ate every bite. I don’t think she left a single caviar egg on the plate. I had the Oak-grilled American Wagyu New York Steak. I ordered it medium but it came looking quite rare. Was concerned I would need to send it back, as the texture of too rare steak is off-putting to me. But it ate like an exceptionally flavorful Wagyu cooked to my ideal medium. (Sous vide prior to the grill, perhaps?) A gorgeous steak.

The wines on this course were quite interesting. Wife had a French blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc. I had a Red blend from Lebanon, vinted in the Bordeaux style. (Thank you again Eric for the stories behind each wine and reasons for the pairings.) Both spectacular and thoughtfully paired.

Dessert: A Chocolate mousse with toasted coconut, caramel and fresh whipped cream. Peter explained it was a take on Girl Scout Samoa cookies. A nice portion, with the coconut providing subtle undertones. The wine for this was 20 year vintage Ruby port, aged to the point of having Tawny highlights.

And again the service. They say really good service can make up for missteps and other issues. HAD there been any, the service would have more than made up for them. It was that good. And the pace was just right, allowing time to linger over and enjoy ever bite and sip, with just enough time between courses.

At the end of the dinner, the wife and I were totally satisfied and felt VERY treated.

Thank you again to Brian, Peter, Eric, and the rest of the staff for everything.

Bungalow Kitchen, we will be...

This is going to be long, so if you want the TL:DR - a bit pricey but worth every penny, vegetarian friendly, on the loud and dark side, excited to see the menu change with the seasons, well worth at least one visit (you can decide if you want to go back).

Pros - *There are a good amount of vegetarian options. All of the sides were vegetarian. Hand-Rolled Burrata Agnolotti is simply a bowl of perfection. All of the flavors worked together but still stood out on their own. Little flavor pockets. The San Francisco Garlic Noodles, another bowl of deliciousness. Roasted Brussels Sprouts and White Yams - decent portion sizes, cooked to perfection, and clean flavors. The crinkle cut fries (with three sauces) were the weak point of the meal. Were they fresh out of the frier and seasoned to perfection - yep. The sauces were a 3/5, with pickle ketchup bringing them up a point. The other two sauces were just - ehh. I was expecting something a little more unique and flavorful given the price of the starter ($11). The burger was exactly as the menu describes, nothing stands out about it but there were also nothing negative.

*Bravo to the bartenders for their drinks. The Last Free Ride - um, yes please and I think I've found a new favorite drink. The margarita was a classic margarita.

*The server (Leah, amazing, 5/5 for her service, professionalism, and being able to deal with my 90yo grandmother) asked if there were any allergies. BRAVO. If you aren't allergic to anything, you won't understand how much that simple question means. We were never bothered or felt rushed. We were there at what would have been the first seating of the table of the evening, but we never felt like they just wanted to get us out of there to turn over the table.

Cons - *It is loud in there. The music in the bar area was about 15% too loud and with no sound dampening elements in the restaurant, it carries all over. We happened to be sitting next to a section with bottles. The bottles were not loud at all, however the two managers that were there were rather loud. Like, we could clearly hear their conversations (markup, reps from companies coming in, when to open another bottle), this was a bit off putting.

*It is also dark inside the dining room. It adds a certain element to the atmosphere, but again, its about 10% too dark. Almost every other table had to get out their phone for some extra light to read the menus.

*The other patrons. I know this is something no in control of the restaurant, therefore this did alter my rating at all. The affectatious mid Atlantic faux accent a couple clicks too loud so everyone knows just how important they view themselves while they walk through the dinning room and stop to talk to everyone they even slightly know. It's distracting and rude. Since the restaurant is still on the newer side and a Mina spot, a lot of people are more concerned about being seen and looking popular while there than they are with being a decent human and courteous to...