Before the brunch, I did a little research and checked out the menu on their website. The 3 course brunch cost $68 and was to include a glass of champagne or bellini. We got there early enough to walk around and visit the swans. It was a beautiful day and the grounds really contribute to the serene atmosphere.
We were seated at a nice long table. The first thing we noticed were these annoying flies! They were present the entire time we dined. The good thing was at least there weren't any birds flying or walking around waiting for scraps. I later looked at yelp and someone did mention the same thing.
Our server was not good. He handed us the menu and that was it. I had to ask about the champagne and bellini which came with the brunch. Four people in our party came 5 minutes later and they too were not told that these were included in the brunch and that we could pick one item from the starters, one from the entrees listed and 1 dessert later.
For starters, I had the Lemon Ricotta Blintzes with strawberry compote. It was good though not outstanding. Alma had the Tortilla Soup with crema fresca, grilled chicken, avocado and Guajillo chilies. I should have ordered that as it was much better than my blintzes. Aimee had the Maryland Blue Crab Cakes with basil pesto aioli and tomato relish. That was very good. My son and Elliot had the Cured Smoked Salmon with herbed creme fraiche, capers, chives served with sesame bagel. They were happy with it.
For our entree; I chose the Mesquite Grilled USDA Prime Black Angus Beef Burger. It had some aged Vermont cheddar, shallot-jalapeno marmalade and garlic aioli. I enjoyed the very good flavor of the beef with the slightly sharp cheddar. Deepa had the H.B.A. Benedict, poached eggs, white cheddar biscuit with maple Hollandaise. That too was delicious.
Next to me, Aimee had something I didn't recall seeing in the menu. It was Cod fish. Funny when I checked the menu, it was not listed on mine but was listed on hers. We called our server and he looked at his menu and it didn't have the cod. Turns out, there were 2 sets of menu. All he said was it was a misprint. Oh well......
At noon, we had a guitarist play a combination of light classical and jazz music. It was a nice touch though the flies continued to hover around our table.
The dessert menu came along; we had a few choices. One was just fresh fruit which someone ordered. The other was a Raspberry Sorbet with hazelnut sauce and the other was a trio of Butterscotch Apple Tatin, Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake and Vanilla Ice Cream. Of course, most of us indulged in the trio which was quite good. I have no comment on the other 2 desserts.
Our server was not at all attentive, we had to flag him down to ask for more bread since they only brought 2 baskets for the 12 of us. We also had to ask for more water and each time we called and asked for something, he answered: "ABSOLUTELY", which normally would be fine but when you hear it EVERY time with his condescending tone, it got to be as annoying as the flies!
Ambiance is not enough to justify the $68 price for the brunch. For $75, you can have a beautiful view of the ocean, have a fantastic buffet of plump fresh shrimps, caviar, great short ribs, salmon, oysters (high ticket items) with unlimited Champagne or Mimosa at Cafe Pacific at the Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes.
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