AVANT Restaurant

Had a lovely brunch here to celebrate my birthday, and it was very satisfying! The inside of AVANT is classy and ample, with great natural lighting! There were more than enough options for brunch, ranging from traditional American breakfast foods to Crudo Bar, Dessert Bar, Omelette/Hash station, and a great Fruit/Salad bar! Oh, and don't let me forget the bottomless mimosas (servers were the OPPOSITE of stingy with the champagne, and would re-fill my glass just when I needed a refill)!The service was super attentive from everyone there, which made my experience a pleasant one! The complimentary dessert that I received for my birthday was delicious, and definitely stood out compared to other desserts (which were still delicious).I believe there are coupon codes for Buy One Get One online, which makes it fairly priced for two people (or more)!I would definitely recommend checking them out for brunch, especially for a quieter, more "classy" and "adulty" vibe than other restaurants in central areas like Downtown or Hillcrest!

Went to the Sunday Brunch for my birthday with an online 2 for 1 coupon. We frequent the bar fairly often for drinks and appetizers but this was our first experience 'down the steps' into the restaurant. In summary the food and service was excellent and couldn't have been any better. Our table of 4 enjoyed absolutely everything we true. From the omelette station, to fruit/salad, raw bar, and various sides and entrees each was excellent and delicious. While I first thought the spread out layout was weird, I soon realized it was such a great idea. Omelette/desserts in one area, raw bar at the raw bar (this is their standard location at the end of the bar), and all the rest in the seating area. The genius of this is there is hardly any wait for anything you want and the restaurant was completely full. The raw bar had a line at times but that was it. Servers regularly checked in, remixed plates and our champagne glasses were never empty! Ever! We enjoyed a relaxing time (2+ hours!) and never felt rushed and always with plates removed and glasses full. In my opinion, while the food was fantastic the real star of the show were the attentive servers. They had a live musician playing really nice easy going music that was not too loud, but loud enough even though we were sitting just below a speaker. Really nice that you could listen, or have a nice conversation. In the end, we can't wait to go back. Thank you RBI!

Food: nothing was spectacular or even really good, especially for the price. We ordered the duck and wagyu and both were okay. The meats were a bit tough. Service: sub par. Our waiter hardly came by and didn't really bother to introduce the menu to us. Ambiance: located at Rancho Bernardo Inn, the setting was nice. I wouldn't recommend this place because my priorities are taste and quality of the food and service.

I actually hit the lottery stopping by here. This place will stay on my list of favorites. All it took was one visit. This place has the most exquisite quality, pleasant ambiance and impeccable service!! The staff is so knowledgeable and well poised. The place has the elegance and demeanor peopleLike me appreciate!! Everything was amazing I cannot wait to refer and return!!!

Quite a beautiful setting, not just the restaurant, but the Rancho Bernardo Inn at night is wonderfully romantic.We were greeted by two gracious and giddy hostesses who were enjoying their evening even during a busy time of service the restaurant.An impressive seating at the table with menu presentation, wine list on an iPad, one of the most decorative cocktail lists I've seen (looks like each cocktail was hand drawn by an artist with colored pencils), and finally an announcement and special offer (oysters, caviar, and champagne) that the restaurant was recently recognized and awarded 4 by Forbes Travel Guide. It was a dreamy and exciting start to our meal, but it was a roller coaster of an experience from here.We perused the extensive wine and cocktail menus for quite some time. Moments went by with no waiter or service. Upon arrival, our server seemed rushed (and maybe tired), quickly took our drink order and we inquired about water.Little did we realize that 'water' would be a constant theme (struggle) throughout the evening. In short, I've never experienced difficulty or the longing or need for water service from any other restaurant. I'd anything, water is refilled almost too frequently at many establishments. At Avant, lack of service especially water, distracted us from enjoying our dinner experience.As a diner, you want to be seated and let the dining experience unfold. All you have to do is enjoy. This was not the case with delays in our cocktails (my Smokin' Diamond cocktail had a single diamond ice cube that had melted and lost its shaped by the time it was brought to our table). A delay in our entrees (server apologized and told us 5-6 minutes) that really took another 15-20 minutes extra from when the server acknowledged the delay.The presentation was amazing (see photos) but the temperature was lukewarm, which doesn't give the dish full credit as how the chefs have intended for the diner. The Parker House rolls, Iberico Pork, and foraged mushrooms, were the highlights of evening.Forbes Travel Guide rate and award with a primary emphasis on service, then food, ambience, etc.Presenting and celebrating their recent award is exciting, but now the bar In order to retain the recently awarded 4-star rating, Avant will need to ensure consistency every service every night moving forward.

My wife and I took advantage of an online deal for two for one Sunday brunch to celebrate our anniversary. Service was very slow in bringing us champagne refills and our check but the rest was self serve at the different buffet stations. They have a weird setup where the bulk of the food was in a corner area of their dining room, while the cold seafood was in the bar area and a third section in a different room altogether for the waffle and omelette station and desserts. We liked the fact that they had some expensive seafood being served by an attendant. It kept the wackos from ruining a good thing by dumping all of the crab on their plate. A bit of portion control let's everyone enjoy the lox and ceviche. Speaking of lox, very odd that they serve it, but not a bagel or cream cheese is served at a Sunday brunch?We still had a great meal for a fair price.

Lovely Sunday brunch buffet at the gorgeous Rancho Bernardo inn. Such a beautiful ambiance with stunning views everywhere you looked.I thoroughly enjoyed the bottomless mimosas! At first, the servers were really great at ensuring my mimosa was bottomless. As the brunch service ran busier, I found that my mimosa was constantly hitting bottom, and I was getting out of my seat to request a refill. That I didn't like so much since it made me feel like a bother to the servers. The food and options were terrific, although I would have liked to see a carving station for the price of the buffet. In comparison, Tom hams has a Carving station and crab legs and their Sunday brunch is under $70 whereas this brunch cost over $80. Still a beautiful experience and would love to come back in the future.

We went for the Sunday champagne lunch. This is a very relaxing place with huge spread of food and bottomless champagne to spend your Sunday morning. We enjoyed the atmosphere, food and amazing service.

Disappointed on our one-year anniversary dinner on 7/13/24. Let me begin, the two premium vodka martinis we were served were not very chilled and were served in "old style" champagne glasses. The french sorrel 'ceasar' salad was not even close to being a 'ceasar salad.' It seemed they used somewhat older spinach/lettuce, and it was not very tasty. The grimaud farms aged duck breast was a very small portion and somewhat over cooked. The wild blu bass dish was tasteless. On a good note, the charred broccoli rabe was simply excellent. Also, the waiter and the two hostesses were great and very attentive. We will not be returning.Steve G.

Service was amazing and the food was incredible. Definitely going back again. Very relaxing environment.