Chow
| Address: | 53 Lafayette Cir, Lafayette, CA 94549, USA |
| Phone: | +1 925-962-2469 |
| Site: | chowfoodbar.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–10PM 8AM–10PM 8AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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A Private User
We dined at Chow today 3/8/09. Service was upbeat and excellent for most of the meal. However, when my wifes entree (a pasta dish) arrived it was cold and had to be sent back. Our waiter was responsive, apologized for the inconvenience and took the food to have a new entree prepared. The second entree arrived with an oddly shaped item in the center of the bowl. Upon closer examination it was identified as a raw piece of chopped sausage. One side had been browned but the other was raw pink. We brought this to the waiters attention but this time there was no effort to redo the meal. At this point my wife was rather put off by the experience and no longer had any appetite. We thought that someone from the management would visit our table and express concern or offer an apology. The restaurant was not busy and the manager was standing near our table but never moved over to offer any regrets. Our bill arrived and we had been charged for the entree which my wife had only tasted the first time and was completely repulsed by the second time. We complained to the waiter that we thought that my wifes entree would not be on the bill. Certainly it had not met the expectation that it be safe for human consumption. He reported he would check with the manager who was standing near our table. After a long deliberation he returned with a new bill on which the restaurant had refunded our two ice teas but was still charging us for the inedible dish. Exasperated but unwilling to devote any more time to the process we paid the bill and left. I find it appalling that Chow staff did not immediately remove a raw pork entree from our table - also, it’s bad manners that the management did not offer any apology or reassurance that this was an unacceptable event. And finally, it bad faith that they charged us for a dish which if we consumed it would make us sick. I will be contacting the health department regarding this situation. No one seemed to care about food safety or delivery a quality dining experience. I say diner beware.
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Jim Antoniou
Interesting concept - large open dining room coupled with a small fresh foods market and bakery. Id call it casual American food mostly. Nothing pretentious on the menu: Salads, sandwiches, burgers, steak. My wife had the chicken enchiladas with verde sauce, rice, and black beans which was really fantastic. Super flavor on all ingredients. I had the flank steak with frittes (i.e., french fries). The steak was cooked properly and the only accouterments were salt and pepper. Certainly not worth the nearly $20, a price premium no doubt (Im assuming) because the steak was organic. The fries didnt blow my mind though they were passable. End of the day I should have ordered what my wife ordered. Drinks are super-pricey, again because most of the juices are organic. Most are $5+. If you can believe it a can of coke is $2.75! A CAN. They are building a ton of overhead into the cost of every item on the menu, drinks included. Overall a good experience though for the money I wish they had put something more meaningful on the flank steak. If the fries had been super-awesome - like maybe big steak fries with a really yummy seasoning, for example - I would be more likely to recommend it. It definitely needs some oomph added to it. Next time Id probably ask the server what their recommendations are.
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Michael Carson
This place had a great vibe and atmosphere, but the food was pretty awful and made my fiancé, and myself, both mildly sick the next day. We both ordered pizzas, me the combo and my fiancé the pepperoni. We had never been here, but the wood fired pizzas sounded good. When the pizzas arrived, the combo pizza had a pool of white liquid (2-3 tablespoons) on top of it that drained under the pizza as we sliced it, and the pepperoni had a smaller pool of liquid as well. This made the pizza incredibly soggy and wet. I even tried to soak some of it up in my napkin, but there was just too much. I was very disappointed, as my fiancé had specifically asked if the pizza had a crunchy crust. Our waitress said yes, but it was anything but. As I took my last bite, my fiancé pulled a 2" long black hair out of my crust that had been baked into it. I looked at the kitchen and half the kitchen staff had no head coverings. I figured wed never come back anyway, but this morning we both had the pleasure of several trips to the restroom to remind us both, NEVER to come back. Its a shame, as this place has a lot of potential. Too bad.
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Florian Grossu
Im over it, Years ago when I started patronizing this place the cost vs. value was on the cusp of being worth it. As I sit here today, Chow has officially crossed the line of not being worth it. I just paid seven dollars for two fried rice balls, thats just ridiculous. Portions and options have been shrinking over the years, no refills on Arnold palmers ($5) management is making it work from a financial standpoint, at my expense, literally! Food is good for informal dining, ingredients used are above average, greens and veggies seem to be better than most places in this area. Other than that I never really bought into the hype surrounding the restaurant. Later chow, Ill stop by in six months to see if management decides to actually feed the customers lol
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Diana Sky
I really enjoy going to Chow for a weekday mid-morning brunch. We always sit indoors, in the airy and bright dining room. My most favorite selections that I motivate me to come back for more are: Marions Pancakes made of Ricotta Cheese and topped with Raspberry, and Lemon Steak Quesadilla Eggs Benedict For dinnertime, their outside patio is perfect. The stand-out dish was: Ginger Cake with Pumpkin Ice Cream and Whipped Cream Their House Red Wine, Capestrano, Montepulciano dAbruzzo 2008, is a nice, drinkable table wine that paired well with our pork and ahi tuna dishes. Overall, a really good brunch option, or a casual dinner spot.
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A Private User
Ive been going to this place for nearly 7 years and Im always impressed. If you like energetic (read: loud) bustling restaurants, youll love Chow! Nice appetizers, great salads (Cobb is my favorite) an amazing burger and some surprisingly good Asian-inspired dishes prove that there is something for everyone. I highly recommend eating outside on warm summer nights for a somewhat costal/European feel. Ive even brought some family from Italy to this place and they felt reminded of Parmas street cafes. Oh and the market is good (but quite expensive). Check it out next time your in town!
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Kim Greene
Really disappointing. My husband and I drove by the place, there were lots of people eating outside and the place looked busy. I decided to go back and try it at a later date. I ordered a veggie burger and my brother got the potstickers. The veggie burger was the worst I have ever eaten - and Ive eaten many... They must have run out of the regular toppings that they listed on the menu so put random stuff on instead. My brothers potstickers were soggy and floating in a soy sauce soup. I would not recommend this place.
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Roberto Roque
Only been here once and I sat outside. The food was great and came out in a timely manner. The service was OK. To be honest I am not sure who our waiter really was. The fist one came out after a bit of a long wait to take our order. Then I had a different person ask how everything was. Then a different person brought us our check. I hope they are splitting tips. We went very early to avoid the usually long wait. Overall it was OK but not sure how often I will go back.
