Erna's Elderberry House

User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The food would have been "average" at $10 to $20. It was a very poor value at the price we paid.

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User Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Lived in Oakhurst for over four years, but never went to Erna's until last summer for a special anniversary dinner. First off, I'm more of a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal who does not dine at elegant restaurants but once or twice a decade...but I love a reason to get dressed up. Okay, as for the experience...nutshell: great experience. Loved all the courses, the service, the ambiance, the wine, the company, the grounds. Mystery over. Do it again? Nope. This is a once in a lifetime thing for me. If I'm asked I'll go, but I could have a lovelier evening on a slightly lesser scale of a dinner house and feel like I got more bang for my buck. It's not even about the money for me...I just don't see the point. I'm just innately too casual.

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User Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My husband and I love elegant dining and excellent cuisine. We’ve visited first-class restaurants not only in the States but also in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Turkey. When we discovered Erna’s Elderberry house several years ago, we thought we had found a place that measured up to the best in the world. We had one of their five-course fixed price dinners, and it was excellent, though the service wasn’t up to the ambiance or the food. We also had two fine Sunday brunches there.

This weekend, we made a special trip from the San Francisco Bay area to Oakhurst just so we could eat dinner at Erna’s again. What a disappointment! After we were seated, it was 10-15 minutes before a waiter approached us so we could order a kir royale. We were given a personally typed menu with our names at the top describing the five-course dinner, but no one asked if we wanted the fixed-price meal or if we wanted to order a la carte.

Eventually, we were served an amuse bouche, which was tasty but nothing exceptional. And that set the tone for the dinner, tasty but not exceptional. We weren’t impressed with any of the courses they brought us. The first course was okay, but the strong fishy flavor and odor overpowered the other ingredients. The soup (cauliflower) was very watery. I think they forgot to include the cauliflower, though I liked the little bits of blue cheese floating in it and the tiny broccoli profiteroles, but they went quickly and were the only interesting part.

The service was slow and not coordinated. The bus girl forgot to replace our cutlery after the amuse bouche. We were served one piece of bland-looking bread, but no one offered us butter or olive oil. The whole experience was clumsy and silly given that we were paying $100 per person plus $40 each for three glasses of wine that were paired with the meal. At those prices, everything needs to be exceptional.

The main course was duck, and after I got rid of the thick, fatty skin, it was dull, as were the accompaniments, couscous, asparagus, and something like sauerkraut. The salad course was totally unexceptional, just a few mixed greens (such as I would pick up at the market) accompanied by a tiny smoked salmon rolled sandwich. When I dine out, I expect a chef to wow me with dishes that I could not prepare myself. I can put a few greens on a plate with a nice dressing.

The dessert was probably the best part though it was incredibly rich: a chocolate wedge, two small dollops of apricot ice cream, and a kind of jelly roll with a thick creamy filling. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what we would choose ourselves for dessert if we were ordering a la carte, and there was no option offered. In fact, there was no conversation at all with these robotic female waitpersons. All they did was serve the courses and announce what they contained. The male sommelier complimented my husband on his tie, and attempted to be personable, but that was it.

It’s unfortunate that the service and food don’t match the dignity and style of Erna’s lovely Chateau. Nor do they match the prices she’s charging. At most, the meal was worth $60 at any good restaurant. We paid far too much for indifferent service and mediocre food.

We were just grateful that we hadn’t brought friends with us to enjoy this culinary adventure. What an embarrassment that would have been!

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