Centrale Kitchen & Bar

This is my new favorite place in town. The food and service were equally excellent! Jenny made our experience pleasant and her knowledge of the menu and suggestions were on point! This will be a regular spot for me.

Went here today for lunch. Ordered the new york steak sandwich, which didn’t have much flavor even after adding salt. The chips that came with it were good. To top it off, the soda I ordered had almost no carbonation. I was very disappointed, especially since it was on the pricier side.

The Caesar salad was wonderful. The burger was simple, but full of great flavor. They have nice beers on tap too. The bill was fairly priced.
And their service was excellent!

Just a quick update about Mother’s Day. If you are serving only Buffet Brunch on Mothers Day and charging $ 45pp++, it would be nice to let customers know, Katie, at the time the reservation is made. We enjoy Centrale as a neighborhood eatery and particularly enjoy Sat Sun brunch. Oysters, huevos rancheros, waffles and eggs Benedict. None of which were on the expensive Mother’s Day buffet. Loved the gravlax but where was the accompaniments? Bagels, capers, onions, cream cheese? The room was so dark it was hard to see the choices. Needless to say the buffet wasn’t worth $ 45 even with the complimentary mimosa. It’s the busiest restaurant day of the year and I realize it’s a good day to capitalize on that as a restauranteur. Just let your customers know so we have a choice.

One of the best places I’ve been in a long time. Idk if she’s still there but the bartender Veronica is one of the best I’ve ever came across. So polite and sweet. Very knowledgable also. Knows a lot about where she works. I’ll def be back

Decent place. The fish and chips was very good. Three good size pieces of fish fried just right and served with a healthy portion of crispy fries. We split the entrée. The asparagus salad was AWESOME! Very lightly blanched and served with a very light vinegarette. Garlic fries were a complete FAIL. Just a few slices of garlic on perfectly fried fries. Add about 4 x as much garlic, for a start, and add some parsley for color. Great service and a pleasant atmosphere.

Eaten there on several occasions. So excited when the weather is nice due to the quiet setting on there patio. The food is always delicious but the pairing of spirits & desserts are a real treat

After reading several reviews, I hopefully will clear up the issues of why there are five and one start reviews. P. S. I love this place, but understand some of the issues.
1. Dinner: This place does dinner really really well. I think they should truly focus their entire energy on a nice «upscale» seasonal menu.
2. Drinks: Their mixed drinks are typically very very good. Wine and Beer selection is vast and varietal.
3. Lunch: Can be hit or miss. I have had really great meals and okay meals at lunch.
4. Breakfast: Here is where I see all the one start reviews happening. I do not think they are hitting the mark for breakfast. I have been there once for brunch, it was just okay.
Key takeaway: Great place for dinner and drinks. It’s a coin toss for brunch or lunch.

This is our favorite place to go to for special occasions. This year we opted for another restaurant just to try out but boy did we miss this place. We have been here about 4 different times in the past few years. Every time we went we were never disappointed. I always got their filet mignon (medium rare) It is the best I’ve ever had. The meat just melts in your mouth. The portions are smaller than most restaurants but it is just enough to satisfy you. The taste of the food is just so exquisite!!! I love this place and can’t wait to go back!

Centrale is a cool little upscale type of bar/​restaurant located towards the end of the Miracle Mile. They provide a nice selection of bottled brews, about 4 or 5 on tap, and a nice Gin selection. Friendly service.
Be sure to check out their chalkboard full of specials provided daily and mixed drinks. They squeeze the fruit right in front of you from pomegranate to orange to grapefruit. You get my drift. They have a nice patio perfect for loungin’ while eating brunch & downing mimosas too.
It was 11:00 & I moseyed on down to Centrale Super Bowl Sunday for a couple of Bloody Mary’s and maybe a bite before headin out to a party. The bloodies were good and spicy and only $ 3. I ordered the eggs blackstone and it was pretty basic but good. The potatoes that came with it were disappointing though because they didn’t taste freshly cooked and they just looked dark and all shriveled. Next time I’ll order the Centrale Sandwich which I know is excellent because I had before and it was really delicious. Check this spot out.

Service was good but food was a disappointment. Giving 3 stars because of the service, but stars for food only would be 1.5. The menu isn’t big enough to not have every item be top notch.
Garlic fries were blah… Standard frozen fries with a few pinches of minced garlic on top, Not recommended.
IPA battered fish was small and thin, Wouldn’t order again.
Décor and ambience was really nice and lent me to higher expectations for the food, but in the end, it wasn’t there.
I wouldn’t say don’t go here, but if decide to give it a try I don’t recommended the two items I ordered.

My pork chop was juicy and amazing! Loved the pairing with the mashed sweet potatos. Service was also impeccable. I always enjoy coming here.

Centrale is quite hard to place. It gives off some signs of a fancier restaurant in terms of some of their offerings and some aspects of their décor, but in other ways it seems like homey somewhat disappointing comfort food. It is ambiguous in its vibe, and while some menu items are well-​executed tasty treats, others taste like cheaply done wedding-​grade food. To its credit, it adds some menu items that are not easily found in Stockton, which is nice if you want to pair it with a specific drink or wine (like clams and chorizo). That, and they offer appetizers and sides that act as little culinary accoutrements that can just make you feel classy with a nice drink. But, we found some of the entrees could leave something to be desired.
The following categorical scores are all out of 5; when combining and rounding them (weighing taste more heavily), they explain our overall Unilocal rating.
TASTE: 3
In order to contextualize our feeling of ambiguity in Centrale’s menu items, below are some examples we either loved or found less than amazing. To begin with, we found success with grilled seafood, such as a well-​sauced salmon and a flavorful swordfish. In contrast, we found some of the fried fare to be less than stellar, such as an overly fried and bland fish & chips dish as well as calarmari lacking freshness with a peculiar taste. Again, some small items are delicately executed such as the grilled artichoke with cilantro lime aioli and the mussels/​clams with spicy chorizo. Other misses would include a fairly average burger. Overall, this is a place where if you choose wisely, you can find high-​end food that would lend itself to an elegant night out. Our strongest criticism food-​wise would be that the entrees don’t hold up in quality to the smaller plates. It is almost like wearing your finest jewelry and high heels with a fairly average jersey dress (for guys, I guess the comparison would be a silk tie with a t-​shirt).
Please keep in mind they do have seasonal menu changes (we love this aspect), which means many referenced items might not be available when you go.
SERVICE: 3
Their servers here are better than nice. However, like their Miracle Mile neighbor (Manny’s), Centrale has more than once had multiple menu items unavailable or even whole sections of the menu. On one particular visit, we were told they were not able to serve any fried item; that meant many appetizes, seafood items, and sides were unavailable.
AMBIANCE/​EXPERIENCE: 4
Centrale offers a pleasant patio, a classy bar, and a simple yet elegant dining area. It is simple, but nice. It may be timing, but the place has been mostly empty on more than a few nights.
VALUE: 3
Again, hit or miss. Some items are a solid value for Stockton and others are overpriced. As a comparison, Manny’s (down the street) offers cheaper prices for potentially better food on the standard American comfort food items. But, items such as mussels and swordfish are quite reasonable and high quality.
TOTAL SCORE: 3.2
RECOMMENDATION
We’d say call ahead to find out about their seasonal specials and make the trip when you hear something interesting. Go see a weird independent film and then try to figure out the plot over some truffle fries and crab cakes.
We hope this helps.

The reason I decided to try Centrale was because of the descriptions on the menu. From looking at the menu, it looks like they use quality ingredients like garlic and gilroy. Don’t get me wrong, the food was very good, but I wish the flavors were more exaggerated. The garlic fries didn’t have enough garlic and I couldn’t taste the blue cheese in my blue cheese polenta. My boyfriend ordered the Nameste drink, and it tasted great, but I couldn’t taste the ginger. Their crab cakes was probably my favorite dish, it was delicious! My braised short rib was also good, it was super tender.

Unilocal normally doesn’t steer us wrong but this place is the worst!
So we come in and stand for a couple minutes. Finally a girl comes out and says «sit anywhere.» We find a spot and wait for her to go and grab us some menus.
The hostess comes over and asks what we would like to drink. The place was far from busy yet it seemed we were being rushed. Our little guy asks for hot chocolate and she says they don’t have anything of that nature or chocolate milk. She looks at him and just stares. Ok, so is he supposed to know what you offer? It’s NOT on the menu by the way. I actually have to prompt her and say, «can you let him know what you offer?» She starts going through the juices and then comes to Sprite. He elects Sprite and then my girlfriend chooses coffee.
She comes back with the drinks and she requests creamer for her coffee. She then goes back to the bar and is «working it» there and just shootin’ the $&@! with the people there.
We are all ready to order but I did have a menu question. Just wanted clarification of what the Eggs Blackstone exactly was. I guess what was actually our waiter came out to take our order. He was selfie worthy because of his cute rainbow bow tie! Very festive and appropriate for him, pun intended.
I ask him what exactly the Eggs Blackstone was and he just states (without even looking at any of us), «it’s bacon on a English muffin with a lemon sauce.» He doesn’t look at us and walks away rudely and said I’ll come back in a few minutes. Wait, why?! Ahhhh the table is ready to order. Normal servers know to say things like, «did you have any questions about the menu? Are you ready to order?» This guy was rude and seriously should rethink his job choice.
This was the last straw, we walked out leaving a few bucks for the drinks on the table. Not sure what their motto is but as a business woman, I can tell you no business will make it with poor service. We won’t recommended or ever return.

I may be bias here but I never feel let down here when it comes to food or drinks (mostly) at Centrale. We came here during Beer Week for brunch and the Brown Bag Roulette they had going that Sunday. I went with the omelette bar option choosing bacon, sausage, cheddar cheese, and avocado. The omelette was a good size and had a nice meat to egg ratio, which can make or break an omelette. The omelette itself tasted great, and the 22oz Anderson Valley Bourbon Barrel Stout I got in the brown bag went perfect! One person in our group had a breakfast burrito which they didn’t care for so I’ll maybe stay away from that so I can keep this 5 star rating. Also if you love Sangria they make one of the best ones in town!

The food was alright, not bad but not great, however the service was good. Came here for brunch, and got the breakfast burrito. Definitely was still hungry after eating. Thankfully they had bottomless mimosas, so I didn’t leave here hungry… or sober for that matter.

Excellent bar with amazing food.
The bar uses fresh ingredients and has a good beer and wine selection.
I usually order the short ribs or the burger, unless one of the specials trumps that.
Even when we cook dinner at home, often come here for drinks and dessert afterwards. They usually have some bread pudding choices that change often along with other desserts. Since my wife loves bread pudding, it’s her «go to» dessert place.

Centrale Kitchen and Bar is a great place to meet with friends for a Sunday brunch. I would recommend sitting in their outside patio where they have a waterfall up against the wall and the afternoon sun hitting the area nicely. It is quite relaxing and takes you to a different place. You actually wouldn’t believe you were in Stockton!
I visited Centrale on a few separate occasions and very much enjoyed their food. This past time was for my birthday brunch with friends, in which I ordered their Steak & Eggs and it was «unsurprisingly» very tasty.
In my opinion, their menu is a little under priced– especially for the quality and presentation of their food. The staff are very prompt in their service and knowledgeable of the items on their menu.
This place is easily one of my top favorites in a city with many hidden gems.

Great place for dinner or drinks. We went there for the first time tonight and fell in love with the place.
Great ambiance and a wonderful menu. Had the crab cakes and the roasted artichoke. Both excellent.
We both had their maple pork chop and loved it. Topped the evening off with a cobbler for desert.
Wonderful restaurant!