The Village Pub — Restaurant in Woodside

A couple things impressed me- the fine china, and how hard some people were trying. But maybe they weren't trying that hard, that's just how they roll down in Woodsiiiide! Rolled up with my bud for a random bite because it was close, and sounded chill with that name, Village Pub!

Well the place was full, but we got the only seat open, the two top by the door by the bar, aka the people watching perch..

Opted for the 'pub' menu, since the set menu seemed a lil boring, grandmother type food, albeit a decent value I guess at only 89/head with 3 courses.

Buddy doesn't drink, so we opted to support the bar revenue by ordering some tsa travel sized coke with limes, and here's the first strike- specifically asked for a generous squeeze of fresh lime to added to the coke. With a full cocktail menu, you wouldn't think that too hard a request.. but in fact the first miniature quaff arrived sans lime, and had to be sent back. And I had to squeeze my own, because apparently we dont do that here. In the village. Pub.

Anyhoo, ordered tartare, mussels, and salad to start. Pub burger and some beignets to finish.

Our server was very personable and pleasant, but totally running around like crazy.

Tartare was ok, pretty bland, but the Bernardaud plate it came on- worth it!

Mussels also pretty bland, not much flavor, despite the slivers of garlic strewn throughout, it must be reduced flavor garlic. And maybe overcooked mussels loose a bit of their flavor and texture.

Bread service found us randomly,was expecting more considering they have their own bakery across the road, it was ok. Nothing to write home about.

Crispy chicken salad was very elegant, I enjoyed the plating, and the crisp on the chicken, but it lacked flavor.

Pub burger was a good burger. Liked the home made English muffin bun. The only knock was the two huge chunky slices of pale roma tomato looked and felt out of places with the elegantly mandolined pickles and the baby lettuce. It was going soo well... then idk, whoops the slicer broke, so heres a couple 7mm thick discs, that don't even match the size or shape of the patty.. what a complainer i am. But when you do everything else just so, these thing just jump out at me.

I cant remember if we ordered another dessert, but if we did it clearly wasnt memorable. I had originally thought we would have a cheese plate for postre but things were taking longer than expected, so we opted to cancel that and try the fried dough balls. Which were quite delicious and amazing.

If only they weren't so busy as to make for awkward lulls in the pacing, and forgot to remove the canceled course from the bill at the end. Overall, it was an interesting experience. Especially when we realized we had just eaten at a 1 star establishment. Its cool to people dressing up for a meal, even if its average to middling cuisine for the bay area.

If you go to a three star in the city you'll usually find half the people look like they just rolled out of bed, but really I'm ok with that. If you're paying three star prices you should dress how you want to I just like seeing older ladies getting dressed up to roll out in their Bentleys to hit the local pub for a really inventive duck breast meal with their mans.

I recommend this...

Yes, it's 3-stars. I'd preface my review by saying that it probably was the best meal I've had. Though I have not been to a Michelin starred restaurant before. The reason for 3 stars vs. higher was simply that it really wasn't much better than a few different meals I've had that were well under 1/2 the price. We started with the tomato and burrata salad and the lobster bisque. For the salad, the tomatoes were good, but not great. Frankly, ours were better. The balsamic and olive oil were so sparse you couldn't really taste them. Burrata good. But for a dish at the top of the menu and you paid a "supplement" for, it really underwhelmed. Yes, I grow my own tomatoes, and I do make this caprese salad, but again, I simply expected more for this type of restaurant, and I have been to a place that wowed me with this before. And I couldn't even figure it out and reproduce it at home. Next, lobster bisque. It was very non-lobstery. Had quite a nutty type of flavor, and not fishy at all. The leak flan was excellent, though. Nice touch, unique, tasty. Well done, but a lobster bisque should taste like lobster. Just didn't. My partners main dish was the striped bass. It really was excellent. Probably the second best thing to hit the table. Simple, fishy, well done. It was remarkably small though. Maybe a 4in. square section. Maybe. The melon/cucumber salads around the plate were also quite good. I had the duck. The duck itself was nice. The sauce was quite nice, but again, sauce so sparse that it didn't help much. Then there was this stuffing thing that was really good. Not sure what it was called, had some french name probably, but it was quite good. Also, the sourdough bread they brought around for dinner was quite nice. They brought a course of some sort of dulce de leche cheesecake or something. It was good, but very, very dense. But it grew on me. Dessert. Clearly the best thing was my partner's dark chocolate entrements. Some chocolate and pistachio thing that I couldn't figure out exactly how it was made. The sort of thing you say, yep, that's a Michelin starred dish. If a just one or maybe two other things that hit the table were like this, 4 or 5 stars for sure. But this was it. I had the chocolate souffle. To be fair, the waiter didn't push this. He fairly described this as voluminous, chocolatey and so rich it's hard to finish. I was hungry, like chocolate, and nothing else caught my eye, so I did it. I took like 2 bites and literally had it boxed up for my kids. This thing was a chocolate bomb that could have been served at TGIF. Fine chocolate flavor, but so ridiculously rich I don't know how someone could eat it. They rounded out the meal with some madeleines, which we couldn't figure out, because we think ours are better. I wasn't exactly full either. It's not bad, but you can see why they average 4.6 stars and other Michelin-starred places are higher. Just not, top to bottom, excellent food. It's good. Service good. But for the price, I'd try elsewhere because the percentage of dishes that wowed was...

What brings me here today is a new chef. I think he is the best they have had in a very long time. A young man, Steven Pelas, now Chef de Cuisine.

The Village Pub is one of our favorites. Sue has been coming here with her family since she was a small child, when they lived in Woodside. It is a drive from Saratoga, but worth it to us.

I have written many reviews, all applause. What brings me here today is a new chef. I think he is the best they have had in a very long time. A young man, Steven Pelas, now Chef de Cuisine.

I like to have the Market Menu, almost all the time. Here was a Roast and Marinated Baby Red Beets, Labnah/Persimmons/Walnut vinaigrette, with tiny ground up hazelnut and chocolate. Out of this world.

10/12/2019 Have given previous ratings. We try to go here for lunch every Friday from Saratoga where we live. Tom is our favorite waiter. Marisa greets us when we come in. It has become to us "Where Everyone Knows Your Name." Great service, water, bread rolls, wine, love the salads and lunch specials. Great wine, surprised how many Wine Spectator stars they have, Love the music. The manager has told us the most popular lunch dish is the Village Pub Hamburger and French Fries. Hard to believe as all the meal, including desserts are great. Love the cheese! We see business meetings, families with children, and couples of all ages enjoying the experience here.

Very similar to the Baby Red Beet Salad I have often---but look at the presentation with the thinly cut tomatoes.

The main course for lunch was the Hazelnut Crusted Squab, Golden Potato Risotto/Sauce Salmis (which was superb).

The squab was cooked perfectly. I picked up the bone pieces afterward and ate the meat using my hands. Sue encouraged it was polite to do so. She had what she likes the most, Crispy Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing and Blue Cheese. The chicken is pounded and eaten with the salad. She also loves the pork schnitzel.

There are some great desserts. I try to save room as I don't eat desserts anywhere else but here. I must admit I really like the simple vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate syrup.

Looking forward to this Friday and this week's Market Menu: Cauliflower Ravioli / Brown Butter / Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Guinea Hen Thigh Confit / Roasted Brussels Sprouts / Guanciale Jus. I bet Chef Pelas is going to do a beautiful presentation, and as important, the creativity he brings to the food itself.

11/22/19 Red Brick Chicken at lunch today was outstanding. Sue said best chicken she has ever had!Wonderful sauce and preparedness by Chef de Cuisine Steven Pelas. I shared some of it. I had Alaska Halibut, fresh, very tasty, with great presentation. Chocolate Turtle was also delicious. Service always excellent. Place was packed for lunch. We always get reservations; my advice. Waiter Tom Pavicig served some excellent wine, too. What a pleasure. Hope Brick Chicken becomes a regular...