We stayed here when it first opened. We had a gorgeous place, I think it was the El Molina ocean view room that was a work of art. We hardly left the property, it was heavenly. The Sierra Mar restaurant has magnificent views and the...food and service was excellent.
Through the years we have returned for drinks and dinners at Sierra Mar. The room prices have gotten out of our range. I feel compelled to write this review because for some, there are better choices for special occasion dinners.
I've been remiss in getting this warning posted in a timely manner, so in fairness to current employees and management, this experience is from a birthday/anniversary in July of 2022.
Firstly, why spend over $400 for dinner for two when, once night falls, all you see is black out the windows. We had drinks on the patio first. It took a while for service. When the bartender came out I asked if he had blue cheese stuffed olives for a martini? He said no, but insisted that he would make some, no matter how much I said it was fine without. It took forever for the drinks to finally make it to the table, and there were not blue cheese stuffed olives. He'd completely forgotten.
We got moved into the dining room, to our table, and he came over and asked us to pay the bar tab. I asked if it could be added to our dinner bill. No, I had to pay him separately. It was odd.
Then night fell and there was no view, which we've done before without a problem. They used to have a guy with an incredible telescope on the deck and between courses you could go out and look at distant cosmic phenomena. They didn't have that. The menu wasn't inspiring. The portions were miniature. When the main course came, and the dome was lifted off, it was actually comical, how diminutive it was. I think mine was some kind of chicken; in thin slivers that constituted about four or five bites.
Even though the waitress knew it was a birthday/anniversary, there was no special anything, and the actual desert was quarter sized. As the evening wore on, we saw our waitress less and less. We could see into the area where the wait staff was and they were all chatting and doing closing work. It took forever to get the bill. Once we got it and put the card down, we waited even longer. I'd say there was a good 30 minutes or more just waiting to pay the bill and leave.
It wasn't just the bartender and the waiters and the food. While we were out on the deck pre-meal, there were other tables speaking with a guy whom appeared to be the manager and "sommelier." He seemed really nice. However, I noticed with two tables, after he'd left, they both made disparaging comments about him, as if he'd given them bad information. We just had cocktails so I can't speak to it personally.
Overall, with food and bar hitting the $500 mark, I would never return here. For lunch maybe, but I'm not sure you can go to lunch without staying there. If you do go in the evening, know that there is no view unless you're sitting next to the glass and can see through the reflection of the lights inside. Then, what you're paying for, in my opinion, isn't at all worth it.
This place has suffered terribly. Perhaps it's the lack of staffing and management labor that can live or commute to Big Sur. Did ownership change? Don't be disappointed here. There are better options.More