Looking for that perfect spot to celebrate? Choose Station 1 in Woodside!

I checked out Station 1 in Woodside for my birthday dinner. It was absolutely delicious! Kristi Borrone and Zu Tarazi are parents at my kids' school, and super nice people. Guess what? Their restaurant rocks too!

Four of my besties and I hit up the restaurant on a Tuesday night. Despite it being Tuesday, the place was full. Station 1 offers a 3 course, prix fixe menu priced at $54 per person. I eat out every week to sample the local restuarants and to scope out event spaces for EventCounselor, and I found their pricing on the prix fixe menu to be on average with my weekly spending. Falling in the average spending category, this meal was a great bang for your buck! I would characterize Station 1 as upscale dining prepared in a very inviting way.

The meal was gourmet, but cozy. The restuarant is also very warmly decorated, and it featured the collage artworks of local artist Michael Paulker. It was a fantastic backdrop to their food and service!

Our meal started with a round of Proseco (compliments of our hosts -- thank you!!) and an amuse bouche. The prix fixe menu offered five appetizers, four entree, and three dessert choices.

I chose the "Farm Egg" appetizer which consisted brioche piled with beech mushrooms and then topped with one egg over easy and piece of maple bacon on top. I opened the egg over the brioche and the mushroom and everything came together perfectly tied together with the saltiness and sweetness of the bacon.

My second course was the "Lamb Loin and Shoulder" which came with hedgehog mushrooms, onion and cranberry. So. Well. Done.

My team finished off our meal by sharing five desserts. Two cheese plates, two chocolate cremiux, and a vanilla panna cotta with a citrus granite on top. Delish!

The service was amazing, and the wine list complemented our meal very well. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a very special meal with outstanding food and service to match, in a very sweet atmosphere with tons of character and tiny touches.

Have you had dinner at Station 1? Let me know if you liked it as much as I did!

Super Find! John Bentley's Quiet and Sophisticated Bar

Have you ever needed a place for a quiet conversation in the afternoon during the work week?  Something more sophisticated than a coffee shop? Maybe you needed to hammer out the final details of an important business deal or need to have a strategy session away from the office for neutral mind space? Well, I found an old friend who offers just that. John Bentley's in Redwood City.

The bar is cozy and quiet between 2 - 4:30 pm

John Bentley's serves lunch and dinner and has two event spaces that they offer up for business meetings and for special occasion dining, but their bar is open for service in between their two meal seatings.  It is a beautiful, fully stocked bar with super comfy chairs. It is that quiet, private and elegant place to meet in Redwood City while their kitchen is closed.

I was able to dine anonymously before visiting with their events manager and as usual, I made some initial assessments of their food and service.

1. I think their food falls into the fine dining category and was also very creative. Both the appetizers and entrées were pretty on the plate and tasted good. Wine list was nice. I believe a guest at an event hosted here would be impressed by the food.

2. The service was good, but our server was a bit chatty.  He was overly friendly, but well trained.  I think it was just this person's way in the world, but it seemed that the other diners were being provided with a level of service that matched the food. Also on subsequent visits the staff was helpful and appropriately friendly.

The event space on the dining room main floor is small. It holds 15 people comfortably and 24 tightly. They do have doors to close off the room from the main dining space, but I remember the main dining space as being full of voices and conversation when I dined there. I suspect that the noise level in that room even with the door closed for a business meeting would be a bit of a challenge. However, that space for a family celebratory meal or an incentive or holiday business meal would be super.

There is a dedicated space upstairs that is perfect for many types of events. Especially set up for business meetings and larger celebratory events, there is a full functioning bar upstairs, along with a bathroom and built in A/V screen and projector. The events manager seems very flexible in terms of how things could be set up and how the space could be utilized for different functions and needs. Not a great space for a cocktail reception, better for a sit down meal.

Book your next group meal, business meeting, or business meal at John Bentley's or contact EventCounselor.com for more ideas on great event spaces in Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Redwood City.