Finally! A & I have been wanting to try The Village Pub for the longest time but also ended up getting side tracked by another option, so when I got a job and we needed a place to celebrate – I made reservations before we got enticed by another place.
We went on a Sunday evening so it was not packed but still bustling. The restaurant was easy to miss because the location (it cannot be seen from the main road) and was actually part of a fancy looking “plaza”. The interior was very old school but comforting.
Menu is also on their website and actually quite up to date.
We had:
Amuse Bouche
Amazing little crispy crunchy morsels with a creamy centre that had intense mushroom flavours.
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Complimentary Bread
The bread selection consisted of Potato, Honeywheat & Sourdough. Not were all that impressive and served cold.
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Dungeness Crab Salad $17
The crab salad special of the day was the top appetizer of the evening. I was expecting a bed of greens with some crabs but this was literally CRAB salad with some crunchy radish and light fresh vinaigrette. The crab was sweet and very tender – it was shelled well so it was still in big lumps and very satisfying!
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Monterey Abalone $19
w Cauliflower Mousseline, Soft poached egg & Truffle cream
The abalone kind of got lost in all the creaminess around it. The abalone was tender but a little tiny and definitely not the star. The rest of the ingredients when mixed together just taste like a rich luxurious cauliflower soup. The truffle was barely detectable and the flavours that stood out was the cauliflower and chives.
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Black Truffle Tagliatelle $30
w Mascarpone Cream
I loved how the dish was presented but was a tad disappointed. I am not sure where the truffles were from but we got about 3 grams on the plate and it was still too subtle. The main flavours were rich salty butter with a hint of mascarpone. I really appreciated the in house made pasta that was cooked to a nice al dente.
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2 orders of Fillet of Branzino $34
w Citrus Beurre Blance, Maine Sweet Shrimp & Smoked Pomme Puree
Pretty good overall but nothing too exciting. The fish was cooked very well with nice crispy skin. I didn’t care much for the maine sweet shrimp because of the texture – it reminded me too much of raw shrimp. Once I got over the texture, the shrimp itself was really sweet with a hint of brininess. The potato puree was nice with the crispy well seasoned fish.
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2 orders Grilled New York Steak $39
w Foraged Mushrooms, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes & Crispy Bacon
We ordered this dish because we were not too keen about the other options. It was pretty boring but not unexpected. The steak was cooked to the requested temperature and seasoned well. The beef was of really good quality. The crispy bacon doesn’t add much to the dish and the fingerling potatoes were simply roasted.
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Fries $6
We ordered the fries based on our server’s suggestion and I was glad we did. Really crispy on the outside with soft centre – I think it might have been double fried.
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Chocolate Souffle $14
w Earl Grey Creme Anglaise
Look at how high the souffle risen! It was soft and airy in the centre and the creme anglaise just brought it up another level. It was intensely flavoured with earl grey and lightly sweetened.
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Coffee Creme Brulee $12
w Candied Pecans and Milk Chocolate Stout Ice Cream
I was a tad disappointed with this dessert. I loved the actual coffee creme brulee but the actual “creme brulee” part was less than 1/4 of the whole dessert. The creme brulee was so smooth and creamy with intense coffee flavours. The bottom crust was like a brownie/cake that was a tad on the dry side but the ice cream helped a little. The ice cream was delicious as well!!!
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Extras:
Riesling Kabinett $11
Kerner $13
Brazilian Coffee $7
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Total Damage: $355 (including tax & tip)
Personal Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Very Good)
The food were delicious albeit a tad un-inspirational for a Michelin starred restaurant. It is debatable whether the prices were worth the experience, but I think if we had not ordered the truffle special – the price is pretty good for what we were served (quality and quantity) and for the quality of service.
Service was top notch; we were greeted the moment we arrived and then throughout our meal, servers and bussers was consistently around to make sure all our needs were met.
Our whole meal was quite enjoyable – nothing really stood out or blew our minds and we thought the entrees were a little on the more “boring” side BUT the appetisers and service were definitely Michelin standards.
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2967 Woodside Road
Woodside, CA 94062
(650) 851 9888
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