Pine

Dulce W

I don't write many reviews, and I have NEVER given anyone a one star review, or even thought about giving a one star review so this is a first for me. Came to town for a day trip and was staying that the hotel. Saw the 3.5 star review on Yelp and kind of wanted to change the reservation but went to google and saw a 4+ star rating and thought we would keep the reservation...big regret. Got there early to have a drink at the bar and it was pretty empty so we spotted a nice table and asked if we could sit there. They said they would see what they could do.. which was kind of odd seeing as it was dead inside and they didn't say that anyone else had requested that table. So we get cocktails and we have one person in our party ask if we could sit early since it seemed slow. She said that we would be seated in 5 minutes. Meanwhile, the hostesses weren't doing much and we waited closer to 10 minutes and got the table that we wanted that had been sitting empty the whole time we were there, yay! Bread service at the beginning--bread wasn't fresh, was stale. We order some food from the bar menu, nothing too impressive and super tiny portions. Deviled egg trio was good, nice and whipped, good flavor. Service was scarce...water glasses needed refilling and one person in the party ordered a second glass of wine to go with their entree that never arrived. Main courses-- The ribeye was the best out of all the rest BUT the asparagus was inedible, overcooked and couldn't even cut it. One got the $37 "paella" which is an embarrassment to the dish. Not served in the traditional paella pot, the smallest portion, the size of a closed fist. The dish is described as "Octopus, Squid, and Shrimp on the Plancha, Saffron and Chorizo Socarrat Cake, Fried Shishito, Pea Tendrils." Flavor was lacking and...there was ketchup...yes KETCHUP, straight of out of the bottle, which wasn't even on the menu description. EEEKKK. Halibut dish, looked good but flavor was lacking and it was over cooked. I can count on less than one hand how many times I've seen my family members used the salt and pepper at a restaurant. I was actually shocked at how many times we used salt and pepper and it still didn't really help. The "milk and kumquat braised loin Puree of Jerusalem Artichoke, Bacon and Brown Bread Panzanella"...oh boy. I'm picturing a stunning, falling apart, melt in your mouth BRAISED pork loin and it was everything but. First off... 100000% not braised. It was a grilled or sautéed pork chop loin, like the thick ones you can buy at the grocery store. Was tough and the artichoke purée was cold..not even a little bit warm. The panzanella and everything else on the plate was so sweet. I was wanting some salt and more savory flavors but none to be found. Desserts were the only redeeming thing for the evening. We ordered all 3 and a scoop of ice cream and all were good. Got the bill before the table was cleared and the bill was picked up before the table was cleared. We flagged down our waitress to ask for more wine glasses since we had a lot left and managed to get them pretty quickly, PRAISE! I understand this is a super small town, but with prices like this and the menu that looked amazing... it was very underwhelming. Our group was visiting from Texas and even though we are a family of restaurateurs and are spoiled with the Houston food scene, the place missed the mark on every level-- service & hospitality and food & flavor. Definitely would not recommend this place. You're better off trying some college kid food places. Also-- would've told our server these issues, but she did not ask once if we were enjoying our meals or anything in that regard. Just said that she hoped we enjoyed everything after she picked up the bill. Doesn't seem like they really care if we truly enjoyed or not. 2/4 of our entrees were barely touched. Also, no idea if there is a manager here because we never saw them walking around and they definitely didn't visit our table. Oh well.

Kang-Chun Cheng

really not what it used to be, super disappointing. Could used to always count on PINE for an exciting and satisfying meal, but this new menu (and chef?) is not doing it for. Got a ‘big plate’ that is not even the size of an appetizer…. slightly burnt on the edges, over vinegary side. Not sure who they’re trying to please with food like this.

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Had a wonderful evening sipping scotch at the bar! Friendly and helpful staff all around, the manager and kitchen assisted with an ingredient sensitivity in a super respectful, responsive, and considerate way. Great job all around! Delicious food! Loved the mushroom toast!

Stephen Fuller

We really wanted to like this place. The food was absolutely excellent. That aside, the loss of stars occurred from certain expectations: for a table of four where three people ordered the same entree, remembering who got what should be easy. Drink delivery times were very slow and we had to grab some of our silverware from another table. The waitress didn’t know the menu and even with making a reservation, instead of simply being nicely told that the table wasn’t yet ready and shown somewhere like the bar, we were told that the hostess couldn’t possibly predict when guests will leave their table and to just go wait in the lobby. Obvious about wait times but the absolute worst way to approach such a situation. Also, when you make a reservation and are up front that you have vegetarian guests, you should be told how the menu of a very few select items can or cannot be made to fit your needs. Again, food was good but the experience was made fun by our friends, not the restaurant. Two stars only for the food quality.