Almond Wood - Patterson

We always dine here during our autocross weekends, usually with a group of 4 to 12 people. The staff is always friendly and ensures we're having a wonderful time. The food is usually excellent, although we do miss the large menu they used to offer. As former restaurant owners ourselves, we understand the need to streamline at times. I hope I spelled the names correctly, but Chelsea, Melissa, and Hermanio always come over to say hello, even if they're on the other side of the restaurant. The owners have a fantastic team working for them.

I spent $19 on a salad that I ended up sending back. Everything felt stale; it was as if the fruits and vegetables had just been thawed. The chicken was tough and had an odd texture. My husband ordered a side of potato salad and promptly returned it—something he never does! What's astonishing is that we visited this place just a month ago, and the food quality was significantly better than what we experienced on Friday night. The menu has changed entirely (as many others have pointed out). The service was just average. It was busy, but most of the young servers appeared to be a bit overwhelmed. We definitely won't be returning anytime soon.

The food here is great, but the takeout ordering process is overly complicated. If you don’t have a computer handy when you want to place an order, you're out of luck since they don’t accept phone orders. Additionally, the online ordering system isn’t very reliable—I found myself stuck in a loop for almost 15 minutes. When I called back, I was basically told, "Oh well..." which was pretty disappointing. Not very cool at all.

We always eat at this restaurant during our autocross weekends, usually with a group of 4 to 12 people. The staff is consistently friendly and makes sure we have a great time. The food is generally excellent, although we do miss the old, more extensive menu. As former restaurant owners, we understand the need for simplification at times. I hope I’ve spelled the names right, but Chelsea, Melissa, and Hermanio always make it a point to come over and say hello, even if they're busy on the other side of the restaurant. The owners have assembled a fantastic team.

Every restaurant has two aspects: the kitchen and the front of house. In this place, the kitchen staff is clearly talented and deserves a 5-star rating for their excellent food, which is the main reason we keep coming back. However, it seems that the management has some biases that may be unfairly perceived as racist. Aside from two genuinely friendly and attentive busboys (one of whom is a wonderful older man), the wait staff consists of disinterested young white women who seem disengaged. The busboys should be waiting tables and serving food, while the waitresses might be better suited to taking drink orders and clearing tables.