Saddle Peak Lodge

02/16/09

mest game meat in town!

by anne429 at Citysearch

I'm a big meat fan and this is one of my fav places in L.A. The elk is wonderful, the atmosphere is romantic (i'm from Montana so dead animal heads on the wall don't bother me- in a sick way i'ts comforting being in that lodge- reminds me of home :)- ) My meals have always been fantastic there. Sometimes I just wish it was a little closer! I can't wait to go back!!!

01/06/09

Disappointment

by Charlottey at Citysearch

One big disappoinment! I have been wanting to come here for years now, I thought my husband's birthday would be the perfect occasion to visit. Anyway, I made a reservation and requested a nice table and let them know it was his birthday. I guess that part didn't register. We were sat next to door to patio. Cold air was blowing eventhough the door was closed! We tried to let the table situation go. I ordered lamb chops and I asked them to make it Medium well but they were too fatty and uncooked so I left hungry. The appetizers are over priced and too small. I will say my husband liked his elk. I called today to tell the manager about my experience because it was bothering me so much. (I didn't want to say anything that night because I really couldn't have wanted to leave more.) Anyway, I really think this restaurant is overrated.

• Pros: Too over rated

01/02/09

Disappointing for its reputation and price point

by aglehming at Citysearch

Our visit was New Years Eve.

The Saddlepeak Lodge offered a special tasting menu. I was not overly impressed with the menu, but decided to trust in the chef. I was also intrigued by the wine pairings, and the wine pairings were absolutely fantastic.

Unfortunately the menu lived mostly up to my expectations = 2 disappointments, 2 good dishes, 1 wow dish. For a special menu at this price point, there should be no disappointments.

The dinner started with an amuse bouche of tomato soup - good, straight forward but no twists.

The 1st course was caviar...nice but nothing innovative.

The 2nd course was a lobster risotto. I love risotto. This was not risotto. It was watery lobster bisque with mushy rice.

The 3rd course was the STAR of the menu. Quail on a bed of couscous with cooked cherries. The quail was perfect with a spicy crispy skin. The couscous was fantastic. I am normally not a fan of couscous. This couscous was better that the couscous I had in Morroco. The sweet taste of the cherries was the perfect counter point to the spicy quail. And the wine stood up to the spicy quail and supported the cherries.

The 4th course was venison. We ordered medium rare. We got somewhere between medium and well done and ended up sending it back. The second try was medium rare. It was good, but nothing in the dish made it stand out over other venison dishes I have had before.

The 5th course was dessert and was another of my concerns. It was a trio of strawberries ? shortcake, sorbet and consomme. It made me think that the dessert chef was on vacation. After tasting this, I know he was on vacation. The shortcake was a 5 day old roll that was brick hard, slathered with some defrosted/microwaved strawberry preserve. The sorbet was your basic grocery store sorbet. The consomme was melted sorbet. The only saving grace to the dessert was the Muscat dessert wine pairing.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Inconsistant Quality Food