John Bentley's - Redwood City, Redwood City

They have an extensive list of cocktails and appetizers, and it's also great for a company luncheon. Great, friendly staff, they'll make you not want to leave the sophisticated atmosphere that's already so close to home.

Dine at John Bentley's and you'll be happily surprised that its somewhat random location lends you to a quiet, romantic evening with attentive staff and delicious details in the dishes. I loved all my options as a vegetarian and I recommend this restaurant to anyone who eats meat. No gloppy sauces, just the right amounts of dressing. I look forward to having an excuse to eat out in style there again!

If John Bentley's was half as expensive, I would say it was okay. But given the high prices, it was awuful. The ambiance is plain weird: a combination of bizzare, gothic, and homey. Two tables are only a couple of feet from the door, which means you sit a couple feet away from the draft and people waiting to be seated. And those people might stare at you for a while as they wait for a seat, because the hostess takes her sweet time to seat you. And what about the food? Thoroughtly forgetable. Stale bread to start, so so foie gras, and low-grade scalops in a disgusting cream sauce. Plates came to the table very hot, which means the food was sitting in a warmer--okay for TGI Friday's, but not a place that bills itself as fine dining in Woodside. If you are a foodie avoid this place at all costs and go next door to Village Pub. Other good options are Bistro Elan in Palto Alto and Marche in Menlo Park.

This was not fine dining. It was the food you'd get in a dining room of a second-rate hotel pretending to more than it is. Avoid at all costs.