ad hoc

when you combine the talents of thomas keller, a comfortable and casual atmosphere, and a unique family style menu, it is easy to see why ad hoc became so popular virtually overnight. this permanent pop-up restaurant is showing no signs of slowing down, with the recent addition of a full liquor license and what is sure to be an incredible array of hand crafted cocktails. all of this may leave chef keller's hamburger and wine dreams unfulfilled, but with the luxury of hindsight, the accidental success of ad hoc is really no surprise at all.

our menu (that i meant to take a photo of) involved sous vides short ribs, awesome veggies from the french laundry garden, amazing scallops, and an incredible dessert involving pound cake and mango. i really meant to take a photo of the menu or a screenshot online, but that didn’t happen.

what a total bummer!!! wanted something grande-- yuck!! think bad cafeteria food and you are close-- go to another place that is less noisy and meant for the masses!!

brunch. unbelievable. the atmosphere is fun and unassuming, and the food is outstanding. the family style fixed menu is perfect as it takes all of the decision responsibility out. we went on sunday when fried chicken and waffles were on the menu. something i would never order off the menu, and therefore something i've been missing out on. next time i'm in napa, i'll be back to ad hoc.

i absolutely loved the rocky road ice cream sundae. this should come as a huge surprise to anyone who knows me because typically, i don't really like marshmallows, and i hate nuts in my desserts! however, i love marcona almonds, and the candied marcona almonds worked beautifully in this dessert. i loved the dense crunch that they provided; plus the creamy chocolate ice cream was divine

originally intended to be a temporary concept, this one-fixed-menu-per-day establishment has been packing them in ever since thomas keller (of french laundry and per se fame) started it. each day’s menu is posted on the website in the morning and served family-style that night. main courses have included santa maria smoked tri-tip, beef short ribs, grilled pork chop, and buttermilk fried chicken.

call before u try this place. we tried to get lunch @ 1 and were turned away because "they were not serving" at that time a silly pretentious inconvenience. we enjoyed the deli up the street much more, dont waste ur $

still keller.. this review is for their sunday brunch. i have to say this was the best brunch i had this year. $38 per person with 2 courses and dessert, the portion is generous and food is comforting. you get out full and satisfied guaranteed.

yesterday, the menu was: smoked salmon with cucumber salad and yogurt raita sauce, suveed tri top, with delicious potatoes and roasted small onions. the dessert was lemon cream bar. i wish i can elaborate more on how it was prepared, because it was not as simple as i described. food is very simple, but very meticulously prepared. you do identify the familiar flavors right away, then you are amazed how well that is executed.

the concept is very unique. as the restaurant is there to give you the "temporary relief from hunger", the menu resembles files from the doctors office and the staff are in brown casual shirts and jeans. the decor is simple and themed around the comfort food with big old french style kitchen tables at the front and in the dining room with iron pigs on top of them. the food is served family style, which gives you the visual of generous portion. immediate relief from hunger can come from seeing the big plate of hot food in front of you alone.

service is very knowledgeable and settle. i would say that at times we felt it was a little slow, but welcoming.

i would love to go try their dinner one of these days.

unworthy of the trip and the price. we drove from berkeley up to yountville to have a birthday brunch at ad hoc. our first surprise/disappointment came when we saw the restaurant. i dare say it's the funkiest looking place in town...which would be ok if it blew the other places away. the interior is very nice and the waitstaff were very friendly and well-trained if not the most knowledgeable about food. so, they have one menu for brunch, no choices, which we knew going in. it's $34. the menu read citrusy yogurt w/granola and fresh fruit, soft scrambled eggs, ham, a cheddar chive waffle w/maple syrup, and a fig/plum tart w/chantilly for dessert. the eggs were overdone for our taste, as was the ham. the "waffle" was brittle; it broke like a cracker and thus couldn't absorb the syrup. the tart was quite nice. the bellini they serve is a bottled, pre-mixed brand called canela. it was nothing i'd want again. all in all, a major disappointment. we could have had three wonderful brunches out for the two of us in the bay area at tried and true venues like 900 grayson, the royal cafe, brenda's french soul food, etc.

this surprisingly simple yet ingeniously flavorful dish epitomizes the fare that you will find here; i’m not sure if it was the ripe oranges, the toasted almonds...

so dissappointing!!. i loved ad hoc, and have been eager to repeat a wonderful fried chicken meal. it took 3 months to get a reservation! we trekked up with another couple to yountville.
not great ad hoc, just good. the best part was dessert.
and too loud, wrong genre of music blaring at us. it was hard to carry on a conversation. at $90.00 per person it should have been great. there are other places, i go there next time.


-----08 sep, 2009-----

destination eating. not the place to "drop" into. unlikely you'll get a seat, and very unlikely you'll land on the every other monday famous fried chicken menu. i took two of the fried chicken experts in my life, they have voted this the best fried chicken ever. i'd say the best biscuits too. so though you will need to plan ahead make a reservation and spend the day in napa, it could be a fine ending at ad hoc. ignore the urbanspoon 76% rating, it just isn't possible. they must not have been there for the fried chicken. the place is beautiful, the service excellent and the food outstanding and all for a very fair price ! only suggestion is that they lower the volume of the music, it was too loud.

the menu is put together on an ad hoc basis (boom boom), from whatever ingredients seem best and freshest at the time.

terrific. picky eaters stay away! (leaves more availability for the rest of us.) really good and for the price cannot be beat. great food, great service, and just a lot of fun.

...broccolini, purple and cheddar cauliflower, palladin croutons, black olives, ruby grapefruit, petite uplandcress, and roasted garlic vinaigrette provided a gorgeous palette of colors

we were incredibly pleased with our dinner at ad hoc - a four course family style menu that changes daily.