Viognier - San Andreas

Viognier is fine French dining in San Mateo! My date and I came to celebrate Valentine's Day and it was a lovely experience. It was a 5 course prefix menu for Vday and overall, it was a very enjoyable menu. 1) Truffle ice cream with caviar (Amuse Bouche) I've never had anything like this before The bite was salty and sweet, which made for the perfect bite. 2) Appetizer: Baby abalone with poached egg this was my favorite thing on the menu! The poached egg was perfectly cooked and seasoned. When it's eaten with the abalone, it has a great burst of flavor. 3) Second course: Warm lobster salad the poached lobster was absolutely lovely and tasted fresh, but the smoked chard tasted burnt in my opinion. 4) Third course: Braised lamb ragu the lamb was super tender and the house made pappardelle was on point. However, the sauce was a load too salty for my taste. 5) Intermezzo: Black cherry sorbet very refreshing and perfect pallet cleanser before the next course. 6) Fourth course: Hokkaido A5 wagyu the wagyu was amazing! It's fatty but melts in your mouth! I haven't had good wagyu since Japan. This is was pretty comparable. However, I can't say much for the truffled potatoes (gratin) it didn't add much to the wagyu. I would have been happier with wagyu on its own. 7) Dessert: Amour we had a predessert chocolate before our final dessert. The predessert with passion fruit filling was absolutely delightful. As for the main dessert, I loved the layers. The cake with the heart shaped cream and the lychee jelly and grapefruit was quite flavorful and not too sweet! It was perfect! My only critique is the cookie on the base. I couldn't eat the cookie with the other parts of the dessert because it was rock hard! I had to eat it separately, which isn't my preference. Otherwise, I enjoyed the dessert. I enjoyed the meal overall, but I would love to come back to try the prefix menu on another night!

I came here to celebrate my anniversary. I left there feeling satisfied and was totally impressed by their customer service and food. There were 4 of us and when it came to serving, 4 servers came out at once and placed the food simultaneously. This is what I call top notch service. $85 per person for 3 courses meal was definitely worth it. Not only the food was cooked to its perfection, the presentation was meticulous and too beautiful to eat.

Amazing service and great food! We used Viognier's private room for the holiday party and we had a blast. Must note the parking lot closes at 10pm on the weekdays. I worked with Olivia to work on the menu/beverage, dietary restrictions, and decor/ seating charts. She was very responsive and cooperative. The evening was a success thanks to all the staff and chef that made our meal celebratiom amazing. We wish to come back to host another gathering/ dinner soon.

Finally tried this place after being curious about it for quite some time but didn't pull the trigger until last Friday for my wife's birthday. Very glad we came as Viognier (pronounced V on yay) is a great fine dining experience on the peninsula without driving up to SF and the dealing with the traffic and parking headaches there. The dining area is very spacious and there is plenty of room between tables so that you don't hear the conversation of the nearby tables. The interior looks nice and classy once you step in and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Gary Danko is our favorite fine dining restaurant in the Bay Area and we found out Gary Danko was the chef here when the restaurant opened in 1997. We had the 3 course menu for Spring 2019 and each dish was beautifully presented and tasted even better. Here is what we ordered: 1st course Mussels with fries: the mussels and steak fries were deelish White asparagus salad: very flavorful asparagus and lots of it 2nd course American Wagyu ribeye: cooked sous vide and then grilled to perfection with a warm pink center 3rd course Carrot cake: wonderful take on a classic cake Strawberry ganache with dark chocolate: very nice and not overly sweet Overall this was a great dining experience. I would definitely be back to try their other dishes when the menu changes again.

After a long absence we tried Viognier for dinner. A very pleasant surprise. Another new, and promising chef with recent experience from Madera has transformed the upscale restaurant into a worthy dining experience. Viognier opened about 20 years ago with Gary Danko as head Chef. The restaurant sits on top of Draegars fine foods. Don't let that keep you away or thinking this is ordinary fare. It's not. The interior is lovely and now more open as a row of booths have been removed giving flexibility to seating options especially for larger table requirements. What would be a 4 top in most restaurants is set for 2. Nice touch, no crowding and making for conversation you can actually hear. This is not a stuff or formal feeling place. Tablecloths yes, stuffy, no. The menu is divided into a left page of the Chefs 5 course tasting menu, $95, plus optional wine paring for $60. Given the parings I felt the pricing was very reasonable. The right side is the 3 course option at $75. Many wonderful options in each first, main, and dessert areas. Mains prime NY steak, very interesting prepared pork chop with veggies that were grilled and then cooled as if you we're eating a bbq meal. Scallops that were more sashimi style slightly cooked think rare salmon style) extremely tasty and tender. The finishing course is dessert and the lemon cheesecake was simply to die for. Not a large portion but just right very creamy and full of rich lemon flavor. Beignets were also offered as was a homemade sorbet, panna Cotta Great wine list and cocktails with flair. We will being going back. Worth it when you don't want to fight traffic to SF.