Alpine Inn

I’m writing this review because the Alpine Inn is NOT CLOSED as of 5÷27÷2015.

This place only gets 2 stars because the server was great. The dining room smelled old and looked the same. We came in 10 minutes till dinner time and was given a million menus to look through. I ordered the tenderloin bruchetta and the fish and chips. The tenderloin tasted like it was cooked with a salmon patty and the pesto overwhelmed everything. My fish was flavorless unless I dipped it in the sauce. I would have put lemon on it but the piece they gave me was obviously cut to be pretty not to be squeezed. Garnishing 101: make them practical. My fries came out late and were extremely salty. The family behind us sent their food back because it was saturated and dripping with fat. They didn’t even want to order anything else. My BF had the prime rib and it was huge. It was not served traditionally (sliced and served) and it lacked flavor. We would not return to eat here.

Having been an «on again, off again» patron, I must say tonite’s dining experience was less than acceptable. It is ONLY because I have so many more good experiences here and our waitress was so sweet that I provide the second star; otherwise, tonite would have rated a 1 star. Our normally delicious fish and chips: WAY over crusted on the outside, and WAY too mushy on the inside. The 13-​year old didn’t mind; his 51-​year old seasoned father (my husband) DID and complained (although he rarely if ever complains about restaurant food) … the solution by Alpine Inn? To allow him to send it back and get the Sea Bass instead … but then they up-​charged us instead of just charging for the original order. My baked potato with MY sea bass? As cold as if it had come out of the refrigerator — the cold butter never did melt. All in all, a waste of $ 93 for three (including my blueberry martini which was awesome) … and a tip for the very kind waitress. It will be a LONG while before we venture into Alpine Inn again … a shame because we live in Alpine and there is already such a sparse selection of decent dining. You missed the mark, tonite, Alpine Inn.

We have only been here a couple of times, but the food has been fantastic since the new owners have come on board! We will be back!

I’ve been coming here off and on since 1971. I miss the days when Frank Harris owned it. The other day I came here with a co-​worker. I had the grilled shrimp, and he had the grilled chicken. The food was delicious, and expertly prepared, but the presentation was sub-​par. Everything looked stark and lonely on it’s own plate. Put it all on one plate, and dress it up a little!

This is my husband and I’s go to place for a quick date night. We generally only eat in the bar… it is our social time as well. The bartenders always make you feel welcome (esp Jill and DeeDee), and they are happy to see you. The prime rib sliders… AMAZING…Spinach Salad… FANTASTIC. Best bar atmosphere in Alpine by far. We may be biased because we are born and raised Alpine, but it is the only place we like to go and be comfortable. No drama, no «trash», and all around good locals that welcome everyone up to the bar for a beer and a story.

My husband and I just ate lunch at Alpine Inn, and it was great. Hadn’t been there in a while, and our server mentioned that they were thinking of adding a chili-​size as a lunch special. He asked if we would like to try it. That’s all my husband needed to hear. It’s his favorite dish. He said it was the best he had ever eaten, and that’s saying something! I ordered a prime rib quesadilla and it was delicious. Now we each have a new favorite dish to order there and will do so again soon.
Our server, who happened to be the owner’s son, was also first class.

Hubby and I ate here last night after attempting to eat at the buffet at Viejas. With the 2 for 1 special running this month at Viejas, I don’t know why I was suprised to see a TON of people in line. Well, the change in plans was WELL worth it. I haven’t been to the Alpine Inn in about 10 years, and was pleased to find that not only was it still there, but the food was just as good as I remember. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to drink, so the bartender made me what SHE likes to drink, which was a mish-​mash of vodka, fruit juice and lemonade. DELICIOUS! We started with the sampler platter, which had a TON of food on it! We took home more than we ate! I had the wedge salad, VERY GOOD, clam chowder (just OK), and the filet mignon with a baked potato. So much food, I had another meal today! Hubby had the seafood special (Halibut) and rice pilaf and dinner salad. We both loved our meals and unfortunately had no room for dessert. Service was excellent! So long Viejas buffet, HELLO Alpine Inn!!!

I used to love coming here. It sucks now!
Soup is always cold. Meat is always cooked wrong, and I can’t stand the squeaky annoying ass waitress that always makes mistakes.
I think I’m done with Alpine Inn.

Although I’ve lived in San Diego all my life I never had the pleasure of dinning at the Alpine Inn until this past Sunday. I dined with a couple of good friends and we had the perfect dinning experience. Excellent food, I had lobster and prime rib, and it was delicious! But, best of all was the service. A super nice young lady was our waitress (I wish I could remember her name) — friendly, making sure we were happy with our meals and that our water glasses were full. It was the best dinning I’ve had in a very long time. Thank you Alpine Inn — I’ll be back!

Service in the bar was good & pleasant, food was ok but overall doesn’t drive me back. The highlight was the Tenderloin Bruschetta.

So I was super jazzed that they were actually offering decent seafood dishes in Alpine. I shoulda known. They were «ok.» In other words, if I’d gone and grabbed the ingredients myself and cooked, it would have tasted better.
Everything was either bland or overcooked. Their tempura-​style shrimp was really good. Calamari was overdone and dried out, threw over half the plate of it away.
Really overpriced for the lack of quality. Portions are huge.
On a side note, I had to go into the bar area to find a waitress one time. It was a Friday night at 7pm. The white trash quotient was at 100% as were the alcohol-​blood levels of the people in there.
In the five minutes I was standing at the bar, two guys were yelling across the bar at a girl to come sit with them (c’mon pretty lady!), the girl who was with her boyfriend next to me plastered was arguing with him, threw a drink in his face, I got splattered a little, and she went and sat down between two strange men telling us all what a piece of crap her boyfriend was.
At the tables on the side, I thought a porn was being filmed while one couple tasted what each other had for dinner using just their tongues. Someone should have told them that there wasn’t a long tablecloth covering their laps, or that she was missing hers completely.
Oh, and then, the kicker… when the waitress brought the bill, it was $ 61, I counted out $ 80 (in 20s) in her hand with the bill because we wanted to leave asap and she asked if I needed change. Really? If I didn’t need change, I would have told you I didn’t need change. I *really REALLY* don’t like it when wait staff does that. No class and in fact, I chopped off part of the tip that I was going to leave because of it. She was either rude and classless or stupid (or all the above.) Even mathematically, if I was leaving 20%, it would be $ 72 and that would be wishful thinking on her part.
Needless to say, I won’t be going back.

Great place! It’s a cozy atmosphere, the servers and bar staff are very sweet and professional and the food is great! I had awesome Shrimp Scampi and my boyfriend had the Teriyaki Steak which he loved! We were very lucky they were open on January 1^st! We had the best dinner ever!

Stopped here at random on the way up to the mountains a few months ago.
It was a pleasant surprise. The service was very friendly, the food was really, really good. The prices were reasonable. It’s way out of the way for us, but we are planning to stop back by on our next mountain trip again. 2 thumbs up!

Great gumbo, reuben. Solid caesar salad. Poor buffalo wing quality, but then again so are 99.9% of the wings in California – just too far away from Buffalo, NY or I spent too much time near Buffalo. So I can’t really hold this against them.
Hear the burgers are killer here but I did not have the appetite to put down a ½ pounder (all that they serve). Super-​cool ‘Elks Lodge’-styled interior.

A little slice of the Alps… in Alpine (California, that is)!
Features a superbly kitsched-​out lodge-​like dining room (exposed beams, walls made of rocks, dark & cozy, orange indirect lighting). There’s also a full bar in a separate room. Booths and tables are available in both rooms.
HITS:
— Service: Attentive without being overbearing
— Prices: good value for quality of food
— Gumbo (soup of the day) — Spiced nicely and really flavorful. No andouille sausage either (good for non-​four-​legged eaters like me)!
— Housemade croutons on the caesar salad (otherwise salad was average)
— Reuben, served on marble rye; ample corned beef; just the right amount of «messy»
MISSES:
— Buffalo wings– not cooked well, kinda fatty (good sauce though)
APPENDIX
— «Fresh king salmon» was printed on the regular menu; I didn’t order it but I’m a little suspicious that it didn’t say «when in season.» Fresh King salmon is only available May-​October. Technically it’s not a «miss» since it was in season when this review was written.

Haven’t been back for a year or so now, but this dark, subdued restaurant is a delicious haven in the rural outskirts of San Diego.
Here’s what’s good to eat:
* Calamari steak — I don’t know if they still have this culinary delight on the menu, but it was my go to dish even as a wee lass that had a picky palate and found most things from the ocean «icky». It was lemony tender, with a complementary light crisp coating that made your mouth beg for more.
* Costa Azul — Now this is Dionysian decadence with every bite. Prawns, stuffed with crab, wrapped in bacon… Eat this with melted butter and you may just climax.
If ever you are in Alpine, check this place out! It’s next to Alpine Liquor, so you can buy a couple bottles of beer from the Alpine Beer Company for your after dinner libations.

This place is pretty classy for Alpine, nice atmosphere. So I do feel bad giving only 3 stars but I feel Alpine Inn has forced it upon me.
I came here the first time for dinner with the wife, we were seated right away and the hostess was pleasant. After ordering acouple beverages we put in our order with the waiter, here’s where it gets tricky (Not really). We ordered the prime rib and fried seafood plate (not sure if that’s the right name) and told the waiter we might need an extra plate because we wanted to share our meals. So the food comes out and he brings two prime ribs and the fried seafood plate, remember i only ordered one prime rib.
So I tell him we only ordered one and that he made a mistake, typically this would be corrected right away. But the waiter wouldn’t take back the steak and said he would add a discount to the meal, since I’m an easy going guy I went along with this. So the check comes and I find out he only discounted $ 4 from a $ 19 item. I never touched the second steak and just got a to-​go box and gave it to my room mate.
I think I was to tired from working all day to fight with the waiter more, so it might be along time before I frequent this restaurant again.

Had lunch at the Alpine Inn yesterday and it was wonderful! We’ve had the fabulous Prime Rib Dip with steak fries (my favorite), Cobb Salad, Kobe Beef Burgers, and Fish and Chips which is three large pieces of super-​fresh tasting fish and lots of steak fries which are crispy outside and perfect inside). Everything has been super tasty and the service is great as well. I hate it when some places trim the plates with underripe fruit or something similar but at Alpine Inn the trimmings are always tasty enough to enjoy just by themselves. I especially like their side dishes of grilled vegetables — I had carrots, zucchini and summer squash yesterday and ate every bite. The ambience is nice whether you’re looking for a romantic location or a pub-​type experience. Keep your eye out for the coupons in Thursday’s U-​T to make it an even better deal!

This place is magical. Ski lodge vibe, lots of red leather booths, roaring fireplaces, and great food. Every time I’ve been, whether in large groups, or small, the service has been great, and the food has exceeded expectations. Hot tip: go in the mid-​afternoon on a weekend, and sit at one of the dark bar tables. The bartenders will take great care of you, and you’re likely to have the whole place to yourself. Great Bloody Mary’s, and a menu that’s old school steakhouse.