Food outshines service at Cetrella
Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, October 15, 2008
What is it about empty restaurants that cultivates poor service? It seems like every time I go into a dining room with a sea of open tables, service is erratic.
That was the case on a recent visit to Cetrella in Half Moon Bay when the waiter scurried back to chat with colleagues around the open kitchen counter after quickly giving us the menu. In a restaurant that seats 225, only four tables were filled and the two massive stone fireplaces in the center of the room were unlit, even though the fog had rolled in and a blast of warmth would have been welcome.
We asked about a wine on the high-priced list, but it was clear from the hesitant response that the waiter was shooting in the dark.
"I don't know why it's so quiet tonight, because it was really busy last night," the server commented while taking our order. We asked about the fireplace and were told someone would be glad to light it up, which they did after we inquired a second time.
I thought to myself, "With service like this and such expensive wine prices, I understand why the restaurant's empty."
Maybe I'm overreacting to the suffering economy, but when prices are as high as at Cetrella - most main courses are $25 to $40 - every element needs to be in order. Bad service only exaggerates the prices.
The kitchen has also undergone several changes recently. A new chef took over in August - prompting our visit - but when we called to check our facts we were told he had gone on leave last week and that the chef de cuisine, Blair Warsham, would be filling in for an undetermined amount of time.
The menu has changed quite a bit since a visit earlier this year, although it still has a strong Mediterranean bent, using local flavors that celebrate the agrarian roots of the area. It seems appropriate because this imposing structure, which has several dining areas, private rooms and a bar, are in a building that once housed the Half Moon Bay Growers Association, where for 50 years farmers brought their produce.
There's just about always something with the locally famous artichokes on the menu, most recently in a fritto misto ($12) that includes baby globes, string beans, mushrooms and toy box squash. Of course, Half Moon Bay is also known for pumpkins - the pumpkin festival is this weekend - so it makes sense to offer a four-course pumpkin menu for $45.
Pumpkin is also well represented on the a la carte menu: It's blended with butternut squash and smoked paprika to produce a thick, glossy soup ($8). Winter squashes also show up in a butternut squash gratin that accompanies the brown sugar-brined pork loin chop ($28) and in the wood oven-roasted fall vegetable plate ($20) with couscous, Romano beans, house-made flatbread and spiced pumpkin seeds.
Warsham riffs on a Lyonnaise salad ($14) with a poached egg that was hard enough it didn't run over frisee and mache, with lardons of bacon and fried oysters on top - a clever reinvention of a classic dish.
The eight main courses include pan-roasted local halibut ($28), seared to produce a bronzed cap that contrasts with the thick pool of parsnip puree underneath. The plate is completed with sauteed chanterelles, corn and thyme jus.
The rabbit ($30) has a stylish, almost nouvelle look - the browned loin is sliced on the diagonal and curved under the confit leg, looking kind of like an Egyptian necklace - and is accompanied by orange-scented wild rice, spinach and natural juices. In addition the menu features several side dishes including tiny wood oven-roasted Brussels sprouts ($6) halved, tossed in brown butter and topped with fried shallots, walnuts and bits of speck.
Pumpkin also stars as the main ingredient in an upside-down cake ($8) that resembles a sticky bun, with walnuts and caramel on top. It's served with a unpleasantly gritty brown butter ice cream. The nicely textured panna cotta ($8) wasn't improved by Red Flame grapes scattered all over the plate.
Still, it was a very good meal that speaks of its locale. But when we walked out the door without anyone saying goodbye, it further highlighted fundamental problem with the service. With such a beautiful setting and solid food, it's too bad the service can't match it.
845 Main St. (at Monte Vista), Half Moon Bay; (650) 726-4090 or cetrella.com
Dinner 5:30-9:30 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; brunch 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Free parking lot.
|Overall||Rating: TWO AND A HALF STARS|
|Food||Rating: TWO AND A HALF STARS|
|Service||Rating: ONE STAR|
|Atmosphere||Rating: THREE STARS|
|Noise Rating||Noise Rating: FOUR BELLS|
FOUR STARS = Extraordinary; THREE STARS = Excellent; TWO STARS = Good; ONE STAR = Fair; NO STARS = Poor
$ = Inexpensive: entrees $10 and under; $$ = Moderate: $11-$17; $$$ = Expensive: $18-$24; $$$$ = Very Expensive: more than $25
ONE BELL = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); TWO BELLS = Can talk easily (65-70); THREE BELLS = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); FOUR BELLS = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
Prices are based on main courses. When entrees fall between these categories, the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings. Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous. All meals are paid for by The Chronicle. Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit.