Ad Hoc
Reviews
Let’s be realistic: every food aficionado who goes to a Thomas Keller’s restaurant can hardly wait for the day of the reservation to come. Ad-hoc is a friendly, easy-going spot that lives up to its owner’s reputation. For $34 we had a pre-fixed menu that left us all happy and satisfied. Most of the dishes are served family style. The sweet Gem Lettuce salad opened the dances with its jaconeem’s figs, some perfectly crisp green grapes, salty and crunchy pistachios and vinaigrette that paired beautifully with all the flavors on the plate. You don’t like dressing? Fear not! The dressing comes on the side. The main course was a beef brisket ash, buttermilk biscuit, hen egg, russet potatoes and chanterelle mushrooms. While the side ingredients complemented the dish well the true heroes of this delicious dish was the perfectly smoked brisket diced in cubes that melted in my mouth and a very dense and slightly salty but tasteful biscuit. So I cut the biscuit in half, put the egg on top of one half, added the brisket and a few mushrooms and dug into it… We could not NOT add the chocolate chip pancakes… After all we had driven from SF (that was our excuse)! The 3 small, gourmet-style, pancakes came with delicious vanilla butter and crown maple syrup on the side. I don’t usually add anything to my pancakes but, in this case, these additions were worth it. My friend had the gluten free version of the pancakes and commented that it was her first time she liked pancakes since being diagnosed. The blueberry buckle was the best way to end an already excellent and fulfilling meal. The coffee cake came with o’henry peach compote and whipped Chantilly cream, a beautiful combination of flavors and colors. My gluten-free friend had a homemade chocolate chip ice-cream sandwich. Delicious home made vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips cookies that were a tad too sweet. Extras? Great bloody Mary and fresh squeezed orange juice. The décor of the place is simple yet classy, the service is great and it is good value for the money. The staff is very knowledge about the food and it’s a pleasure to hear why certain pairings were made and how the meal was prepared. Will I drive to Yountville again to visit Ad Hoc? You bet I will.
Best dinner in Napa for the money. Great food, great atmosphere, great service. Breakfast is worth trying, too.
Mildly disappointing. None of the food was bad, and the haricot salad was very good, but none of it was exceptional either, unless you value quantity over quality. Not recommended at this price point.
Nice casual place for a Thomas Keller restaurant. The 4 course prefix menu changes daily. We had lamb shanks which were tasty. All in all, good food and good wine paring with the food. I wish we showed up on the night they cook fried chicken; I hear its divine.
My wife and I used a reservation at ad hoc as a "consolation prize" for failing to procure a reservation at the (much more expensive) French Laundry... and we were NOT disappointed. The food was fantastic. The beet salad (bacon dressing!), the flank steak, the crab cakes, the cheese course and the sundae dessert were all stunning. The fixed menu made for stress-free ordering; you get the best thing on the menu, every time!