Truss Restaurant Bar - CALISTOGA

Beautiful space. I expected the food to be better than it was. Service was decent. We’d go back to have drinks but will skip the food.

Ambiance and service were excellent, our appetizers were great. I had roasted chicken that did not need to be suvied. Traditional roasting would have been perfect. My wife had the branzino and was excellent.

Good meal, but average for the greater Napa valley. If you’re looking for safe then this is a good choice. If you’re looking for a unique experience then look a little longer.

We thought we would give them another try, as the last time, it was not good. They have not learned anything in the meantime, let's say. We were seated and then waited for no less than 2o minutes before being met by a server who was clearly in the weeds. We ordered a bottle of wine and a cocktail and then waited another 15 minutes before the Somm came and told us that they were out of stock on the bottle. It went on like this. He could sense our frustration. The restaurant was not in any way busy. Two cooks were visible in the near glass corner and were visible to the dining room. They chatted, laughed, and sipped from their large sippy cups, apparently without anything to do. There seemed to be a lot of staff, yet no productivity. Just wandering and avoiding guest gaze. There was a server change (the bartender), and he seemed oriented correctly. It still did not go well. The menu is basic gastro-pub fare with Four Seasons prices. The NY Strip was well overcooked, but we could not wait another long expanse of time to correct it. Basically, this is not the Four Seasons that I have come to crave, know as always a sure bet, and been to all over the world. Yes, I am lucky, etc., and privileged, but what it's taught me is that if I am going to pay top dollar to dine, it had better be Cusine. This is not that. I could get this meal anywhere, so why here? They have no guidance, no service orientation, and certainly poor execution.

We are regular four seasons diners around the world and this was by far the worst and only poor experience we have ever had. The waitress seemed to be having some personal issues and would disappear for 20 minutes at a time throughout the meal, neither she nor anyone asked us how any of our courses were, the waitress literally left the restaurant in the middle of service and the manager never came over to acknowledge it or apologize. A nice waitress took over our service after we ordered dessert and did apologize when I said it was a surreal and disappointing experience. She did acknowledge it wasn’t a four seasons experience and comped a dessert but I was stunned the manager didn’t come over or apologize or comp our dinner or buy us a glass of champagne. This was maybe our 75th time dining at a four seasons restaurant and we won’t be back to Truss even though we come to Calistoga a few times a year. I can’t fault the waitress for having some kind of personal problem, but the manager could have made it right or even acknowledge the train wreck that was our service.