Clementine Yountville — Restaurant in Yountville

We had a really disappointing experience at Clementine.

For appetizers, we ordered the tuna carpaccio and the burrata. The tuna was a miss — it seemed like it was just doused in soy sauce with a few chile peppers thrown on top. It was overly salty, dry, and chewy, with none of the freshness or balance you’d expect. It really needed oil and acid to bring it together. The burrata was slightly better, but still not good. The eggplant served with it was over-fried, rubbery, and tasted like it had been microwaved. The figs didn’t add much, and overall the dish just didn’t make sense.

For mains, we tried the $50 branzino, which was thin, cold, and completely underwhelming — honestly no better than something I could have picked up from Trader Joe’s for a fraction of the price. My friend ordered the puttanesca, and it turned out to be a bowl of mushy vegetables in tomato sauce. It was more like a side dish than a main — it badly needed pasta or bread to make it a complete meal. Oh they also gave us complimentary bread that was hard as a rock and tasted like perfume.

The service was also very inattentive. I kept trying to flag someone down to get the bill, but all the waiters were gathered at the bar chatting instead of checking on tables.

The one redeeming quality was that the atmosphere was very pretty. Unfortunately, that alone wasn’t enough to make up for the poor food and...

5 stars for service, drinks, and ambiance 4 stars for food- branzino was delicious, exceptional French fries, flatbread fantastic - but the strip steak was overcooked (didn’t say anything cause server was so sweet). Honestly a great experience until dessert- clementine tartlet was ice cold and the shortbread crust was so rock hard we had to physically break it with our hands (spoon wouldn’t cut it) and the “warm” apple galette was equally ice cold. The Chantilly cream stayed solid the whole time. Ended up just having them wrap both up with the hopes we can salvage...

So uncomfortable! Tiny table for two. Chairs are small and feel unstable. Nowhere to stash a bag. Buratta appetizer was flavorless and awkward to serve and eat. The artichoke and pesto flatbread looked promising but had an off putting citrusy (?) taste that neither of us appreciated so we basically left hungry and went in search of dessert elsewhere. This was my second visit to Clementine, the first visit just as uncomfortable with the inside noisy and cramped space and several misses with the food. Complements to the servers but I don’t look forward to any...