if you can afford it!

Our experience with another couple was less than what we expected. First , when you enter the restaurant, you immediately notice that the bar area occupies a third of the entire square room from the mid to right side. The dining area is flanked center left. In the back you see a waiter area and kitchen. Although everything was decorated very nicely, the bar area and bar crowd was noisy enough to dominate and disctract from the entire dining area. But of more importance is the food. We have dined at the best steak houses and restaurants across the country. It is clear that they use the standard USDA Prime beef but it comes up short from steakhouses like Ruths Chris and Donovan's and others when it comes to cooking techinque and FLAVOR. We even tried some of their accompanied sauces, but they too were not special. For the high price, we expected much better. We could tell the chef and cooks did not come from top notch steakhouses. Our group also tasted some seafood appetizers that we admit had very nice presentations. We felt that they were sprinkled with too much of this and too much of that ,where it was too confusing for our tastebuds. For example, the crab cakes is masked with too many flavors that hide the true sweetness of the lump crabmeat. There were several other things we didn't like. As stated before, the room is one simple square. It was dark, had no windows and no view. Also, the staff and managers were staring at us too much which didn't give us much privacy. But what really turned us off was when we were greeted by an elderly gentleman, I guess a Manager or Owner, I don't know. But when our discussion turned to a nearby competitor and his comments were slightly negative in that they did not use USDA Prime beef, we felt this negativity or jealousy was not the tone to have when you are new to our community. Our recommendation: go to Donovans, Flemings or Ruths Chris locally or better yet drive up to Mastro's in Costa Mesa for a true dining experience.

WEST was recommended to us by our Four Seasons-Aviara Concierge . Every aspect of WEST was better than superb. Our server made our dining experience very enjoyable as well. You can "sense" great pride from every employee. They took "personal ownership" in catering to everyone who dined with them at WEST. Top notch food and service!

While the cost is a bit pricey, the food quality is excellent and the ambience is a pleasant surprise. The first time my husband and I walked in, we were expecting a roadhouse type meat and potatoes kind of place. After all, it was next to the freeway and situated right next to a gas station. We certainly didn't expect an upscale eatery with a first class menu. The place was packed and we couldn't get in without a reservation. We made a reservation for our anniversary and were very satisfied with our meals. The portions are generous so you could easily each order a small salad or share an appetizer and even split an entree. Save room for dessert; they're worth the splurge in calories. Hope the new, more casual Bistro West (in the same complex) will be as good!