LOVINA

Classiest restaurant in Calistoga with a great menu and unique cocktails

First time. Now I'll be a regular.

Bummed to write this. I love Calistoga and typically every place we go. Not Lovina. We went for a special occasion and left very disappointed. We were welcomed kindly and escorted to a table on the up stairs patio. We had reservations for 4 people at 5:30 and were basically the first people to come for the Saturday night dinner rush. We came with small children and were not offered a high chair and the table was as not ideal for a family with young children, near steep stairs and on a balcony. I asked for a high chair after appetizer course and was brought one promptly.
The food was okay and the wait staff seemed nice. Overall, we ordered 2 appetizers, 4 cocktails, 2 entrees, and a dessert. A tab well over $250.
During our entree course, the second table on the patio was sat. The patrons asked their server for the heater to be turned on. The heat lamp extended the length of the entire patio, so if the heater is on, both tables have to have the heater on. A staff person, who later on turned out to be the GM, came passed our table to turn it on, without asking our family if we had a preference. During our meal, the heater turned on, and it was extremely hot. The outside temperature in Calistoga this evening was around 65 degrees and a beautiful evening. My 4 year old and 1.5 year old both expressed that they were hot while eating their dinner. I then shut it off.
The male patron from the other table came over to our table and asked for the heater to be turned on and I politely offered him my coat and if he preferred to switch tables. He accepted the offer but then did not follow through since his tables dinner was then served.
At this point, our family had ordered our dessert and were waiting on it. Once our dessert arrived, the other table was brought blankets by the servers and the GM. The GM then turned her back to our table and was clearly apologizing regarding the fact that my table did not want the heater on. It was extremely uncomfortable and unprofessional. She then proceeded to come to our table and started to engage in kind talk with my 4 year old. I was very uncomfortable by this. She had clearly just been negatively talking about our table to the other table, and then tried to come be kind to my 4 year old.
The server brought our dessert and said “no rush” but then brought our check and picked it back up for payment extremely promptly. While she was running out payment, another staff person came to collect payment , even though our server had already taken it. They said “no rush”, but were absolutely rushing us.
We finished our dessert and paid.
As we were leaving, I went to speak to the manager regarding how we were treated. The was a man in a Hawaiian shirt that identified as a manager. I asked him if he knew why i wanted to speak with him, he said no, but then in the course of our conversation he had said he did in fact know why I was upset, clearly admitting to the fact that the servers and managers already brought this conflict to everyone’s attention.
The other female GM jumped in on the convo and admitted to comping the other table a salad, but at this point, still had not offered my family any compensation for mistreatment.
I explained to her that I felt uncomfortable when she had turned her back and was clearly talking about our table, and then came over to make nice and was talking to my daughter. When she told me that she comped the other table a salad, I expressed to her the feeling of inequity. Why did one table get something, the other table didn’t. Who were they and who are we not? She then said she would take 50% off our bill. That was kind and all, but this whole experience ruined our special occasion evening and it really wasn’t about the money.

All of this being said, I hope they fix that heat lamp to not be 100 degrees when on. There was no, low/med/high, and that they break it into two so each table can have whatever they desire.
The staff can use some professional development and unconscious bias training.
Do better.

Everything was lovely. The service was attentive without being overbearing and the food was delicious and balanced. Each component was prepared with care and made sense. They had numerous options for a variety of diets. Their business model is also excellent, they genuinely care for their employees and it shows!

The bolognese (with the “make it dirty” addition) was honestly some of the best pasta I have ever had (including pasta from all over Italy)! Ambience was so lovely and romantic and everyone was very kind. Also love the no tip/living wage and benefits system. My partner and I both loved it here. I never write reviews but had to for this one!