Ignacio Zuzulich is a chef who worked at Mugaritz in San Sebastián before leading acclaimed kitchens in the U.S.
5
This review is for the restaurant. Had an exceptional meal here. The team were easily able to cater the extensive tasting menu to my vegetarian dietary requirements with some really outstanding cooking. Service was really warm and attentive. And the venue itself is really beautiful. Overall, had a wonderful experience here - easily better than some Michelin star restaurants I’ve been to.
We had dinner at the bar at the Lodge at Dawn Ranch. You can only make reservations and sit in the dinning room if you're entire party is having the tasting menu. Since we have 2 kids, I wasn't going to spend $150/child on a tasting menu for them.
The seating arrangement at the bar was ok. Plush lounge chairs that made it awkward to dine at a low coffee like table. My husband and I opted for the $75 tasting menu and our kids each had a $30 kids' dinner (marina pasta was one dish and the other was steak and fries).
The tasting menu was nothing spectacular. Expensive for what it was. I love oysters and how they prepared it was one of my least favorite experiences. They were better off leaving off the seasoning as it completely ruined it. My husband had the black cod and it had no flavor. I opted for the river snake (I believe thats what it was called) and it was cooked well. Overall, we were still hungry after the tasting menu and had to order more. We spent over $300 for our dinner and would say it is probably the reason why we rated our overall stay at Dawn Ranch as just ok. For the price, I wouldn't dine here again. Its attempt to be a farm to table or fine dining misses the mark.
My kids however did like their meal as well, but we're still hungry after they finished their plates.
We celebrated my wife’s birthday here with a dinner (tasting menu) and it was fabulous. Service was top notch and they went above and beyond. Food was great as well. It was an experience to remember.
Breakfast was the only downside here. Food was very slow to arrive and took 2 reminders. The place was not staffed well in the morning
Breakfast is delicious! Orange juice is super fresh! Toast is tasty.
Also had the fancy dinner tasting menu. Most of the courses were too salty for me, so a little disappointed.
The cabins are surrounded by flowers and trees - wonderful environments! However, the walls are very thin and old, with very poor sound insulation.
RESTAURANT review… You should know I am not the type of person who returns to higher end restaurants, mostly because I figure if I’m going to spend that kind of money, I want to try new places… but, I’ve now been to The Lodge 4 times, yes, count ‘em, 4 times because the food is that good. Every dish resonates with flavor, service is impeccable, and they always manage to surprise. I wouldn’t doubt a Michelin star is in their future.
