10/28/08

A Very Disappointing Dining Experience

by lfranck

I hosted a dinner for 40 guests mid week in October at the Napa Valley Grille and the experience was exceeding disappointing and quite honestly I feel cheated by the almost $5,000.00 we spent at the restaurant.

The service was incredibly slow and here are a couple of highlights:

About 90% of our group arrived at 6:30. We did have a couple of stragglers. We received our first round of drinks in a timely manner and our order was taken promptly too.

At 7:50 p.m. we still had not received our first course! I asked the female server what the delay was and she something to the extent that people were ordering drinks so she did not get the order in right away. Eighty minutes is far too long to wait for anything other than bread on the table. Nothing got better.

At 8:50 p.m. we still had not received our entrees. When the main course was finally served two and half hours after we sat down, people literally clapped their hands.

Two of my guests were so disgusted that they got up and went to do some shopping in between the salad and main course. They had time to do their shopping and come back with their parcels before their dinner arrived.

Two of my guests were pregnant and were too tired to stay for dessert.

I paid the bill and left the restaurant about 9:40-over 3 hours after we sat down.

Patty, everyone in the restaurant knew we were coming and we had limited all menu choices because of the size of the group. This particular group attends a dinner like this every quarter and their feedback to me is the same as I have relayed to you in this email. Of the over 30 quarterly dinners this group has had together this meal goes down as the worst in terms of service.

I did write to the Director of Operations to express my dissatisfaction and never received a response which illustrates another example of poor service at this restaurant.

05/02/08

Bland and pricey. Good service.

by wyeth

My girlfriend and I stopped by to grab some appetizers and drinks before a movie. Our martinis were weak as they come so we ordered Glenlivet which they managed not to water down.The ahi appetizer tasted solely of vinegar which defeated the purpose of ordering the ahi in the first place.The lamb kabob was bland and dry and the hummus which came with it (more the other way around judging by the portions served), was chunky and flavorless. We ended up grabbing some sushi just across the way to get the bad taste out of our mouths. The atmospehere and service was nice but the prices, food, and drinks ruined the experience. Stick with Twin Cities grill downstairs if you're looking for that type of food and good drinks.

• Pros: service and atmosphere
• Cons: food, drinks, and prices

02/27/08

Pretty to look at, bad to taste

by confusedperson

We went to this restaurant for my sister's birthday on a Tuesday evening. I was expecting larger prices, impressive presentations, great tasting food, and stellar service...you can guess where this is heading. The first two notions were met, however, filling up everyone's water at the table seemed like a herculean task too difficult for our bus boy to accomplish, we were checked on...scratch that, and the only dish with flavor was the pheasant but it's consistency was too tough. As a matter of fact: all of the food was pretty much a bland human chew toy that was good to look at. I felt like we were eating a photoshoot diarama, and don't get me wrong I have eaten good, well prepared food before.

To wrap it up: I wouldn't go here again, unless I wanted to impress clients with an appetizer and some wine, but then I wouldn't really be trying to impress clients in a mall now would I, even the second biggest mall in America.

• Pros: Good presentation and ambience
• Cons: Service and food going in your mouth

01/31/08

Large Group or Big Date, Perfect

by ArcticLotus

My first experience at the Napa Valley Grille was a client meal after a large website project. We arrived around 2 pm on a week day, and had reservations (a must, especially for a large group, no matter the time of day). We were served promptly and everything was amazing, $12 for a cheese sampler may sound scary for the less wealthy but it was worth it. The food was beautiful and tasted as good as it looked. Excellent Salmon and not overpowered in the BLAST, the chicken was tasty and tender. The wait staff checked on us frequently but politely, not pestering like at some restaurants. We shared a few dessert trays and sat with our wine for a while longer. My second experience was a few months later, with my husband for our anniversary,

and I can easily say that the thing that made me come back above all else was the Goat Cheese Cheesecake.

11/06/07

Groups of Five or More Need Not Apply

by onlythefacts66

I made my first trip to Napa Valley Grill on 11/3/07. Probably about noon or 12:30. There were six of us in the group. We waited forever to even get water. When the waiter finally got to us to take our drink order, five ordered soda or tea and one ordered beer. We ordered food at the same time. It took, literally, 15 minutes to get drinks. While we were waiting for drinks, three other tables were seated near us: groups of two, three and five. About the same time we got our drinks, the group of three got their food; then the table of two. The table of five still hadn?t gotten their drinks. We asked a manager what the deal was and she stopped just short of yelling at me telling me that we were a group of six and it depended on what we ordered and she?d check on our order. If she had given me a chance I would have pointed out that the most complicated thing on our order was a salmon sandwich and, oh-by-the-way, everything at the table of three were things we had also ordered. Sure enough, right after she storms off, here comes the food. Believe me, nothing impressive or custom-made about this food. Everything we ordered could have been made at Subway in about two minutes. OK, maybe not the crab cakes but these babies were definitely out of a box and couldn't have been the reason we waited 40 minutes for food. We had two cheeseburgers, both ordered medium well. One came out medium rare and ONE CAME OUT RAW! We asked the waiter to fix it and he did-by having them throw the same burger back on the grill and making it into shoe leather. I should get back to the other ?large? group of five that was seat right after us. They got their food about ten minutes after we did?which makes sense because they were seated about ten minutes after we were. This place is a complete joke. If you?re a group of five or more, have about three hours to waste, love to pay $12 for two crab cakes about the size of a half-dollar and get yelled at by the proprietor, then this is the place for you.

• Pros: Probably OK for couples if you're into mediocre.
• Cons: Service, managment.

09/12/07

Nice food but slow & pretentious

by dehiller

I stopped in to MOA for a late lunch and decided to try NVG. I had the dijon chicken (a little overpowering), mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts (a little over-grilled). The service was slow, both in delivering drinks and bread, and in getting the meal to the table (perhaps bec they have few staff working at 2pm?); the bread was soft, greasy, and cold; and the waiter's English was hard to understand (I'm used to Spanish speakers' English, but his was garbled). The waiter brought my friend the wrong beverage and later had to be asked to bring us salt and pepper. Basically, it felt like a good restaurant awkwardly trying to pass itself off as a great one... Most ridiculous was the $5 iced tea out of a bottle. Nothing 5-star about that. Do you suppose they don't know how to make iced tea in California? Absurd.

• Pros: conveniece, food was not bad
• Cons: pretentious, a little pricey, sub-par service, $5 iced tea

Heartland flair meets the Mall of America at Napa Valley--Grille, that is.

by Contributor

In Short
The manic dining area overflows with the corporate crowd in town on business and regular folks on shopping holidays. But low lights, linen-draped tables and cushy horseshoe-shaped booths also create cozy confidences. Inspired and regional offerings include a smoky pheasant breast and a grilled venison loin, which is served with an intense port sauce. Salads include a fresh Caesar, with a twist of garlic-smoked lake trout dressing, and a spinach and roasted sweet-pepper salad.

01/25/06

A memorable dinner

by bmarie01

My boyfriend and I dined here on a Sunday evening and it was remarkable. He ordered the filet and I decided on the evening special which was a petite filet and shrimp. The presentation of the entrees was exceptional and they tasted magnificent. The service was attentive yet not overbearing. This is an establishment that I would return to on a regular basis.

• Pros: food quality, ambience, romantic

04/24/05

hidden jewel

by hyggie

who would think that at MOA you would find such an oasis of fabulous food, unbelievable wines and great, great professional service? go to Napa and forget your in a mall. in fact you may forget your in minnesota.

• Pros: great food, special wines, spectacular service
• Cons: not open for breakfas

02/04/03

Overhyped??

by imd102

Don't waste your money. Seafood was bland. Tourist trap for those stuck in the Mall.