Had a very, very, disappointing experience at Sonoma last night...
Parents were in town for the weekend, and I wanted to take them to a nice place, known for good wine and good food, for a casual Sunday dinner. I narrowed it down to Sonoma, where the menu posted online looked slightly more appealing to me than it's sister restaurant.
When we arrived at the reserved time last night, the outdoor tables were all full (we'd specifically requested to sit outside). When I mentioned to the hostess that we had expected to be seated outside, she snapped "I can see that on the screen." So not a great start. We were, in fact, seated outside not long after that.... but then waited...and waited...and waited... at least fifteen minutes before our server even came to the table to bring water. No sign of her at all before that. By this time we'd already decided what food and wine we wanted to order. We placed our drink and appetizer orders. And again, waited, waited, waited. Another ten minutes at least before the wine came out. Now, we'd ordered this wine specifically to complement the meals we'd picked out (um, duh). So imagine our shock when the server returned to take orders for the main course -- and only then did she inform us that there were no fish left. Now, in a restaurant with a larger menu, this might not have been a problem. But Sonoma only offers about 7 entrees, and four of them are fish. All of us were planning on ordering fish. We'd ordered a wine to go with fish. And none of us were in the mood for steak, ribs, or burger - the only other options on the menu. I was absolutely furious. Furious that she hadn't told us before we'd spent all this time looking over the menu that half the items weren't available, especially after we'd already ordered and been served the wine. And then it almost happened again with desserts. After having to ask the server to see the dessert menu, she informed us that she would have to check with the kitchen, they might not still be serving desserts this late (10 p.m., and with over 20 other people still eating there!). Luckily they were - but it was another reminder that this restaurant did not seem to have it all together.
As for the food, it was very good - we ended up ordering lots of the small dishes -- the octopus, the goat cheese and stinging nettle ravioli, the linguine, the porcini risotto, the venison carpaccio... Dessert was more hit or miss - the goat cheese cake for dessert was decadently rich and flavorful, but the buttermilk shortcake with fresh fruits tasted like it could have been made from Bisquick.
But the service (and food availability) issues really marred the evening. I didn't make a big deal about it at the restaurant, since it was my parents' last night in town and everyone wanted to at least pretend that the dinner wasn't a disappointment, but I will not be returning, and would not recommend it as a destination if you're trying to impress. Or at least, never go there on a Sunday night