Clay at Wildflower Farms — Restaurant in Town of Gardiner

I’ve rated the experience 2 stars because the food at Clay Restaurant was well prepared & flavorful but otherwise unremarkable & disappointing. First, the reservation & restaurant staff knew it was a birthday celebration in advance & there was no mention during or after our meal even though I was told they would make sure it would be memorable. Second, I called in advance to change the guest count for lunch from 3 to 5 and was told they could not make the accommodation bc they reserve seating for in-house guests and they were at full capacity. Understandable, right?…so I had to disinvite the two other guests. When we arrived they seated us in a corner banquette that could have easily fit two more chairs - and the restaurant was literally almost empty. Clay is a cavernous space that can seat 100 people. Yet there were only 2 groups of what looked like tour bus groups and a scattering of 2-tops. That’s it’s. The food was delicious. We wanted to try 3 appetizers to share but the server thought 2 were adequate so we ordered the beets, prepared 3 ways in one dish; the charred baby carrots (some of which were burnt), and the portions were small enough that we could have tried a 3rd; as entrees, spinach and avocado salad with a lovely vinaigrette dressing, turkey sandwich that came with salad & fries, & the cavatelli pasta dish. The presentation was simple, the service polite but nothing notable. I looked forward to visiting this property for over a year and overall, it was extremely disappointing. When I expressed dismay to the restaurant manager (Amy) she simply responded with a blank stare to ask for her the “next time”. She could clearly care less. I’ve stayed at Auberge du Soleil & Solage Calistoga in Napa Valley and the experience was excellent, service impeccable and overall, delightful. I’ve worked for Rosewood properties in the Caribbean, served as director of catering at Caneel Bay Resort & lived at Little Dix Bay & The Mansion on Turtle Creek during renovations, all of which exemplify hospitality industry standards of excellence. Wildflowers Resort & Clay do not live up to the Auberge name and do not...

Overall, Clay was alright. None of the food was prepared poorly and none of it I'd categorize as bad. We had multiple cocktails, starters, entrees, and desserts, but I'd say they all ranged from just okay to excellent. The real issue is the price point.

All ingredients were clearly very fresh, so that's a huge plus. It seemed like they try to take some big swings at flavor combinations but they don't always work out.

The lemon and chocolate dessert was probably our least favorite, but the Raspberry chocolate ice cream had a very bold, but not too sweet flavor that was very good.

The cocktails were mixed and balanced well, but again, weren't anything to write home about in terms of flavor.

The gnocchi starter was really very good and fresh, albeit a little expensive for the small portion size. The Bread was the true standout here. The butter it came with was a great addition, but not even needed. If I ever go back, I'll be getting 1 or possibly even 2 loaves of this Bread for myself.

I ordered the Bavette for an entrée that came with potatoes and while I usually find most potatoes boring, gritty, and flavorless, these did a good job at trying to stay out of that category. The steak was fine. It was well cooked, tasted like steak, and was tender enough. Again, nothing to write home about.

Service was a touch slow, but nothing that would keep from coming back. Everyone was friendly and attentive.

I'm not sure if I'll return to Clay, but that's mostly because of the price point. It's quality food and it's made very well, but unless I can find an entrée on the menu that's a bit less expensive that also wows me, I'm not sure I'll recommend the...

Hello everyone in google,you are here reading this review because your attention was brought to clay at wild fire,this establishment is amazing it's warm,cozy,clean, friendly and on point the fire pit in the main lobby is breathtaking,once you're brought inside you're greeted with a friendly staff amazing classy decore and masterpiece of a luxury interior design,I took my date here to celebrate once seated we were introduced to ms.emma what a wonderful person great service patience personality attentive not once did she leave us stranded she would check up once every so often very pleasant (shout out to Emma this is Leo) the food was on point my steak (medium rare just right) with the churrasco the salted potatoes just so juicy and savory my dates cod was delicious creamy sauce mixed just perfect our appetizers were farm egg (the cheesy flavor will take you in!! ) we also had another appetizer (sorry can't remember the name )we both had a couple of drinks she had tequila mixes I had vodka these both were so subtle but yet right not overpowered in any way not to much not to dry just right our dessert was a chocolate ginger parfait ladies gents this is a must to end your night at clay at wild fire over awesome experience will be coming back for sure shout out to all the servers they did great explaining what was in each dish down to the ingredients! Well gals and gents don't miss out this is a perfect gem...