Trader Vic's

Doesn't Recommend

tbfrancis

Joined 7 years ago

Down the Hill and More!. It saddens me to have to write this review but buyer beware! Trader Vic's used to be the center for culinary cutting edge and taste. The menu now is overpriced, underportioned and as exciting as a root canal before the Holidays.Must dishes come with the same sides and this sides are horrendous. A crumply rice cake that tasted like cardboard if cardboard could be so insulted. The food presentation is thrown in the plate with the sauce all over the place. Two of my guests had the same dish and they looked different from each other. The other dishes looked and tasted different from the same food we had on our last business trip. Consistency? When we complained to the server we were told the management and the culinary staff had both changed in the past month.Obviously not for the better. We asked to speak to the GM and were told again he was new and never came to the table. Strangely so since there seem to be about five people wearing suits walking around. Again,buyer beware!!

Doesn't Recommend

pplsmith

Joined 8 years ago

inedible. The food was horrible. The lobster bisque was too salty and too buttery. My chicken was raw. The food came out slowly. You are better off going to one of those fast-food Hawaiian places.

Recommends

tomfrancis

Joined 8 years ago

Memorable Experience. I must admit I was aprehensive about going to the Trader Vic's after reading some of the reviews but was in town for business and decided to go for it with the rest of my colleages. The gentleman at the door was perhaps the most professional I have ever met in a restaurant. He was calm and friendly even though I could see the level of business in the restaurant was high.I was quoted a wait and was sat before the said time. The waiter was very helpful and friendly. The price was up there for the NY steak but the prime beef made a difference and the BBQ oven really came through in flavor. I had the featured wine and it was on the mark. Every time I come down to the Peninsula now I know where I will go for dinner for business or with my family.

Doesn't Recommend

s_c_s

Joined 8 years ago

ABYSMAL. To start the evening, the bartender spilled a mai-tai in my friends lap. She received a new drink, and we ordered a spring roll appetizer. The dish was completely uncooked on the inside - even the dough was raw, aside from the outer-most layer. When it came time for us to leave, we found that we were charged for both the spilled drink and a totally uncooked meal. It took great lengths to have any cost removed from our bill. The food was the only refunded item, and my friend and I were both sick the rest of the evening from the uncooked food.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Editorial Review by Laura Reiley. More than just pina coladas and pu-pu platters at the Palo Alto outpost of this tropical-themed chain.

Doesn't Recommend

johninpa

Joined 8 years ago

Unhappy dining. For the prices on the menu, one expects a certain level of ambience. It was noticably absent from Trader Vic's. Anyone within earshot of the bar (the vast majority of their seating) is subject to the loud drunken ramblings of their bar patrons, with no attempt to curb the roar. On selecting what they said was their finest wine, we went through three bottles before we found one that wasn't corked. If you go to this restaurant, DO NOT order wine. They have an open-air basement which they use as a cellar; the temperature swings in this area destroy any wine more than two years old. Overall, a severely disappointing experience and one I will never repeat.

Recommends

Peter_Lawrence

Joined 10 years ago

One of the better restaurants in town. Top notch decor, excellent food, excellent drinks, friendly but sloooow service. Trader Vic's in Palo Alto is a great place to have a leisurely dinner but I would skip it if I had to be somewhere else at a prescribed time after dinner.

The food from appetizers to salads, deserts, and entrées are all top notch and this restaurant is one of the few in the area who know how to properly mix a drink -- not too weak, not too strong - but just the right amount of alcohol to do the drink justice.

Highly recommended restaurant for those who are not in a hurry. Those who need faster service should go elsewhere.

Doesn't Recommend

gfrancisco

Joined 11 years ago

will never go back. The service has really gone downhill. Got there for an early dinner, was told we'd be seated right away. Half an hour later they were seating us outside (winter time) even though there were plenty of tables open inside. Food was so-so. The clientele seems to have changed to an older - 50+ crowd.

Recommends

Mara95050

Joined 11 years ago

Come for the drinks... Trader Vics is great for a party of 4 or more...the larger the better. The drink menu is a huge booklet, my boyfriend had tons of fun choosing drinks with the other guys at the table. Their drinks are stiff too so you get your money's worth.

The food is good, nothing super spectacular, but I haven't had anything BAD. T.V. is great for what it is, a happening place for large groups or people who want to have fun and eat some decent food. The ambiance is great, and its been tons of fun each time! Definitely go if you have not already been.

Doesn't Recommend

rwcfoodie

Joined 11 years ago

Disappointment. Good ambience/decor but was disappointed with dinner. There are much better restaurants out there at that price.