Prelude Kitchen & Bar

Reviews

• CD

  Charley Daly

  Dec 31, 2025
  5.0
  Every New Years Eve I take my wife and mother in law out for dinner and in all the years we've been doing this, this experience has far exceeded any previous dinner we've had. We loved it!
• AE

  Ashley Encalada

  Dec 25, 2025
  5.0
  My work's holiday dinner was held here! The service was great and atmosphere was fun. We ordered back to back hot chocolate 😂 it was very delicious! The tiramisu mousse was to die for 😋
• MM

  Matty

  Dec 20, 2025
  5.0
  Prelude Kitchen & Bar delivers exactly what you want from a modern neighborhood restaurant that takes both food and cocktails seriously. We started with the Bone Marrow, which set the tone immediately. Rich, well balanced, and properly paired with sourdough and bright accompaniments. The Brussels Sprouts were another standout. Crispy, savory, and layered with just enough sweetness and acidity to keep them from feeling heavy. For entrées, the Buttermilk Brined Half Chicken is the star of the menu. Perfectly cooked, juicy, and thoughtfully composed with fingerling potatoes, greens, and a clean pan jus. It is one of those dishes that looks simple on paper but is executed at a very high level. The Pepper & Onion Short Rib was equally impressive. Deeply flavorful, tender, and comforting without being overly rich. Cocktails were excellent across the board. The Piggy Back Old Fashioned was spirit forward and well balanced, and the White Negroni showed real restraint and precision, which is not easy to pull off. Service was polished but relaxed, pacing was spot on, and the room has a warm, inviting energy that works just as well for a date night as it does for a business dinner. Prelude is the kind of place you return to not because it is trendy, but because it is consistently good. Strong kitchen, confident bar, and a menu that knows exactly what it wants to be.
• CH

  C H

  Dec 14, 2025
  2.0
  We dined at Prelude tonight before heading to the ballet and let our server know immediately that we were on a firm timeline. Our reservation was at 5:00pm, with plans to be finished and walking to the theater by 6:30pm. That context matters here. We were seated by the patio door on a 45-degree evening, and every time the door opened, a blast of cold air came through. Not exactly a great start, and confusing given the weather. Our server was very nice, and we communicated our time constraints clearly up front. Drinks were ordered and delivered, but then service became disjointed. At one point, another server walked by and literally took my menu mid-conversation and handed it to another table. A few minutes later, after clearly noticing my confusion, he returned with a replacement and asked if we had ordered yet. We had not. When our server finally returned, we ordered the bone marrow to share for the table of four. When it arrived, it was half a bone with no marrow whatsoever, topped with greens that appeared to be covering that fact. The manager did check in, acknowledged the issue, and offered to replace it. We declined due to time and appreciated that it was removed from the bill. My wife and I ordered a steak and asked the kitchen to split the entrée, which they did beautifully. When the food finally arrived, it was cooked perfectly. Credit where it’s due. Unfortunately, it arrived far too late. Entrees didn’t start coming out until around 6:25pm, and some orders were forgotten, causing further delays while the rest of the table waited. At that point, we were forced to rush through our meal just to make the ballet on time. What was supposed to be a relaxed pre-show dinner turned into a stressful sprint. There were a few saving graces: polite service, a responsive manager, and well-cooked food. But the overall experience, especially given the clearly communicated time constraints, fell short. For a restaurant positioned like Prelude, timing and execution matter. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend it based on this visit.
• SO

  Scott Owens

  Dec 13, 2025
  3.0
  First time dining here in anticipation of their new location in Elk Grove. Food was underwhelming, couldn't eat the Autum Greens salad, and the pork chop was so tough I needed a steak knife (not supplied) to cut and it was just barely warm. Only the man busing our table had the awareness to ask twice if we wanted a box for the food sent back at the end of the meal. Our server not once noticed or commented on how 80% of the plate was sent away uneaten. I thanked the gentleman for his awareness as we left, our server disappeared after she collected payment. Add to that the entertainment of watching rats the size of small cats run back and forth by the front door and I'm not sure how they have such good ratings. Not sure we will be trying the new location anytime soon. The lack of innovative restaurants in the area will certainly be a factor on the success if the food and service is anything like the original location. $450 for 4 people and no dessert is an awful lot of money for average food and moderate service. After reading the comments from the management for other poor reviews it is clear they don't get it.

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