Brambles

We stayed at the Cambria Pines Lodge and passed Brambles on our way up the hill, it had been around for over 40 yrs so how bad could it be? Well first off no one told us that the original owners had lost their lease in Mar of 2008, and now it is owned by ...well it's owned by someone else
We had fair prime rib that tasted like it was basted with liquid smoke NOT oak smoked as advertised. The big problems started with dessert. First it took a long time for our waitress to ask us if we wanted dessert (now mind you there were only about 7 or eight tables busy in the whole restaurant, and that should have been a red flag also), then almost another 40 min to deliver it to our table. My creme brulee was amateurish at best and my husbands apple crisp arrived cold. We picked at dessert and again waited for our waitress...finally we got up and walked to the reception area to ask for a manager, our waitress showed up and we told her we were unhappy with our desserts and the time it took to receive them. She then offered to comp them, and walked away to get a managers ok. She was back in less than a min saying the manger refused to comp the desserts. I said i would like to speak to him or her. They both returned with the hostess in tow...the "manager" was a young, rude gentleman named Mason who identified himself as the "owners son". I told him that I thought that his attitude toward an unhappy diner was in very poor taste and since i had just spent $130.00 for dinner he should be more responsive. His response was to SMIRK at me and thank me for the money but he didn't care what my impression was of him or the restaurant. I told him i would be calling his mother, the owner, to tell her how impressed i was with her restaurant AND her son. At that point the hostess interjected her opinion about my being upset over a dessert...I told her that the dessert was just the tip of it...the rudeness and attitude was absolutely inexcusable and we turned to leave the three of them had a good laugh (yes, it was loud enough to be heard). I hope this review saves someone from an experience in dining that that has to be experienced to be believed!

Comments (1)

amom - 08/17/09
So sorry that you had a disappointing experience at Brambles. My daughter and I ate there about 3 years ago and, though expensive, (it was our "spurge" meal) it was delicious and the staff were wonderful. We actually had the same desserts (creme brulee and apple crisp) and were quite pleased. It's a shame that it's gone downhill. Try Lombardi's next time - terrific.

this page is wrong the phone number is 927 1857