Kitchen 1540 - DEL MAR

We were very disappointed in this restaurant. As you have read my previous reviews, I do not talk down to most, but this was terrible. No one in a box of a room, they called the restaurant (no signage). They do not have bar tenders that was dishes, at dinner we ordered a martini, no martini glasses were clean, thus they gave us a martini in a high ball glass. I could have ordered Vodka on the rocks if I would have known. Plus, this was kids camp with very high noise and kids running everywhere.

Sitting outside in a cabana was lovely, but since we were the only ones out there, they kept forgetting about us. The service was really slow. The last time we ate there, the food was terrific. This time, still pricey, but just so-so. Disappointing all around.

Good food, excellent service. Unfortunately the Auberge slipping on upkeep. Fined on patio. Sparse to say the least 3 line tables. The succulents on the table were dying. The toilet in the bathroom needed reseating dirty grout. It looked like an aging dame. Needs some TLC.

We were the only one there, so i told my date i bought out the restaurant for our date!!

It is with disappointment that I write this review. We are local and eat out every night. Over the past 3 years we have gone to this restaurant only one time per year. This is unusual for us as we go to our favorite places weekly and pretty much dine only at high end 5 star options. Last night as we dined I was reminded one of the reasons we don’t dine here very often, and it’s actually because of the huge amount of salt that is used during the preparation of the food. I love salt in my food so for me to state that my food is too salty, says a lot. My salad seasoning was salt and a lot of it. For my main course I ate the ragu. One of my first bites I bit down and chewed on what we assume was a bone and the crunch was very loud and didn’t have much taste. Additionally though the menu options don’t warrant dining here more than once a year, if at all. It’s a shame because this hotel is in a beautiful location. We also observed the kitchen chefs looking bored out of their mind and goofing around with each other. Quite frankly the atmosphere is like watching an Applebee’s restaurant kitchen rather than what is supposed to be a 5 star restaurant. I don’t believe this 5 star rating. This restaurant has a lot of competition with many better dining options surrounding it. This restaurant is supposed to serve the entire hotel room service, the casual restaurant and the fine dining option so if the kitchen staff is bored and goofing around that speaks to the lack of clientele. Our dinner reservation was for 6pm because 5:30pm wasn’t available on Open Table. When we arrived we were one of three other tables. There were so many empty tables available it is uncomfortable. So even though the restaurant opens up at 5:30pm no reservations were available until 6pm on Open Table. This restaurant has to be losing money and it’s shocking that management hasn’t figured out (or doesn’t care) about the lack of reservations.