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This One Iron Bar, CordeValle Review is from our recent site inspection stay at this Northern California luxury resort by the Santa Cruz mountains, previously a Rosewood property.
One Iron Bar Location and Hours
CordeValle Resort is located about a half hour drive from San Jose, or a little over an hour's drive from San Francisco Airport (SFO). One Iron Bar, the resort's main restaurant, is located just off of the lobby. The restaurant is open daily for breakfast from 7-11am, lunch from noon to 3:30pm, and dinner 4:30-9pm.
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TravelSort Clients enjoy complimentary daily breakfast for up to two guests per room at One Iron Bar, as well as a one $100 credit per stay, which could be used towards dinner at One Iron Bar (or the resort's Italian restaurant, Il Vigneto, open exclusively Friday and Saturday evenings for dinner).
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One Iron Bar Menu and Food
We hadn't made an advance reservation for dinner, but after poking our heads in after check-in to look at the menu, staff suggested we pick a time to ensure a table. When we arrived at 6:30pm, a nice table for two by the fireplace was ready for us.
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The dinner menu is eclectic; I was surprised to see Laksa Seafood Soup and Chicken Satay share a menu with Cheese Quesadilla, as well as steaks and pastas.
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We shared a side dish of Brussels Sprouts, which were some of the best I've ever had: addictively crispy.
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My friend ordered a Garden Health Salad with Salmon for her main dish, which she enjoyed, although it was a generous enough portion that she took some of her salmon to go.
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On our server's recommendation, I tried the Braised Short Rib Gnocchi. Italians generally view pastas as a first course, but this was a very generous main course serving, and so filling that I took one third of it to go. The short rib ragu was rich, and the gnocchi light, but as there aren't any vegetables in the dish, I was happy to have ordered the brussels sprouts.
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Needless to say, we were too full to try dessert, plus the dining room was very noisy so we had no desire to linger.
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Breakfast the following day, was, thankfully, far more quiet, as there was only one other table dining at the same time. The breakfast menu is more standard and quite short as far as traditional breakfast favorites go, although interestingly, there are savory appetizers and salads offered as well.
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My friend ordered the Golfer's Breakfast, with two eggs any style, bacon or sausage, side salad, toast, and breakfast potatoes or fruit:
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I had a yogurt parfait, with housemade granola, yogurt, and berries, served with honey from CordeValle's own hives. While not a huge serving, it was delicious, one of the tastier parfaits I've had recently.
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My cappuccino, however, was a tad disappointing. It was served tepid. I asked if it could be reheated, and our server was gracious enough to have it remade, but it honestly wasn't as good as the cappuccinos I make at home with a Nespresso machine and milk frother.
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The Verdict
Food and service at One Iron Bar was very good at both dinner and breakfast. The main thing I didn't enjoy was the deafening noise level when we dined in the evening, in part due to the large group at the table behind us, but also poor acoustics design. Given the restaurant's relatively small footprint, it really needs to invest in some sound absorption panels. I wouldn't return to it at the sound levels I experienced at dinner.
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