The Palms

I had a lovely dinner on Friday with my husband and friends the service was beyond excellent!! We sat at the bar and enjoyed the live music the bar service was more than we expected! The food we ordered was out of this world delicious! I'll be coming back very soon!

Went out with my GF to celebrate our anniversary and had been waiting to try this place. From the start this place is very nice and beautifully decorated. Service here was excellent from the host to our waiter all were very friendly and spoke with us very kindly. Now for the food the app we got was the hummus and wow this was amazing. Every bite was a pleasure for my tastebuds. For my main I got lambchops this was my first time having them, but I hate to say I did not particularly like it. Since this was my first time, I wasn't sure what to expect but I feel the meat was bland and might have been slightly undercooked. Without knowing better this is only my assumption but would not recommend this dish. Other than that I had a great experience and I would recommend this place for a nice night out.

I wanted to gift my Hubs a very special, romantic evening for dinner, for his Birthday. All of the pics online led me to believe The Palms was to be our romantic evening's destination. I made 7:00pm reservations days in advance. Upon arrival, 10 min before our reservation, we were crammed into the foyer with 4 other couples, and a couple who was waiting for 4 other people. The Hostess wished Hubs a Happy Birthday, as I noted that on our reservation. We checked in and waited for our res to be called. The bar area was packed in, and Hubs commented that he didn't realize they had such a lively bar scene. Due to that, we couldn't have a cocktail before our res was called. That was fine, we'd just wait until we were seated. At 7:20pm,, we were the only ones left standing, while everyone else were seated in the dining room, including a party that didn't have reservations and walked in just prior to our arrival. How do I know? Because I overheard the gal say she was worried they'd not get in. So finally, the hostess calls my name and begins to lead us through the bar. Wha??? I see a big round table in the back corner, with chairs stacked behind it. I'm thinking....omg you are not going to stick us in a back corner, in the bar, no less. Yep, that's what they did. We weren't even asked if seating in the bar was okay. Hell, they will even ask at Red Robin. Then their "new" piano player starts in. Between the mix of contemporary music and the table size, my hubs had to yell at me so I could hear him. I was incensed. My chair was literally banging into a stack of chairs behind me. I've had more intimate dinners at Santa Fe Basque ( if you've been there, you know what I'm saying).One of the servers came over and asked how our night was going. I let her know this was not okay, that this was supposed to be a special romantic dinner and it's plainly the opposite. The piano player brought in a ton of people, who took up several tables, since he's a local favorite, so "your reservation got bumped"....my Hubs was offended as it was no longer a mystery. The one server in the bar tried her best, offered us a cocktail on the house. Which were not even good. I've no problem paying even $20 for an old fashioned, but that drink was horrible. The Palms decision-maker need to be informed that the actual orange peel in the Old Fashioned serves a PURPOSE in the cocktail-its not just garnish and a dried blood orange slice is a trendy way to tell people you can't make a drink to save your life. Style with nothing to back it up is just wearing a costume. The Jameson and Ginger was terribly weak and not even worth the free pricetag given to placate us. The Hostess and the older woman that were visiting all the tables except for ours, were a disgrace. And had the audacity to look offended when we walked out while they stood in the middle of the doorway, blocking our exit. I actually had to raise my voice "excuse me" as Hubs and I left without ordering. It's unfortunate for The Palms as I would have had no problem spending $500 on our evening there and likely would have come back many times, as we tend to do. Ruth's Chris got our money instead. This was our FIRST visit to The Palms and it will be our last. All style, no substance. Next time, we won't take chances on a first-time visit. We will stick with The Limelight, the Manhattan or Ruth's Chris. The Northside should be embarrassed. Sadly, the food may be phenomenal to warrant their self-titled "Fine Star Restaurant" sub-moniker, but we will never know due to the horrible experience.Normally, I would take pics to show what a great time we had. No, there will be none of those, either.

I've been here twice with the ambiance and service that didn't disappoint. The food is mediocre at best. Both times I asked for the steak at medium but got seared (rare in the middle) and had to send it back, upon its return, it came back charred outside and medium well. The menu isn't flooded with items so it was disappointing to have a meal sent back and top of that, it wasn't busy on one occasion. The atmosphere is delightful and the servers are amazing but Its not a place I'd go back to or brag about.

The restaurant itself is stunning and so elegant. We went there to celebrate our 2yr anniversary and were very pleased with the wait time (we had a reservation and we're seated within 15 min). The staff was so friendly although one seemed a bit overly friendly and even winked at my bf in front of me. The food looked amazing and although the flavor was really good, I would say that my filet mignon was not as tender and easy to bite. I like my steaks medium rare but the center seemed almost completely undercooked. The mashed potatoes were so delicious and just melted in my mouth. The creme Brulee was so delicious and I could not stop eating it. Oh man that hummus was to die for. The pickled veggies on top really elevated the flavor.

My first time at The Palms and I was very impressed, let me explain.Upon entering I was greeted with enthusiasm and it was genuine and the hostess knew the guest list and which party I was with ( very professional) the server was extremely familiar with the menu and the specials for the night and that came into play later on.As the pictures show I chose the bone in ribeye which was cooked the way I like it medium rare but before that was the blue cheese salad that was very tasty. The Pinot was the correct choice for me and pared wonderfully with my selection.The dessert(s) were chosen by the host and the three turned out to be delicious, crème brûlée, blueberry bread pudding (the server's favorite) and baklava that is made with honey YUMMY! The decor was elegant and refreshing, the staff reflected the classic business sense that the restaurant projected and the tables weren't so close together that your personal space wasn't invaded...I like that. All and all I was very impressed, give it a try the next time you want a romantic/business/professional restaurant to enjoy a 5 star meal here in Fresno

We had our Christmas ever dinner here - party of 11 with 4 kids. Our reservation was at 5:30 so there weren't too many people there when we arrived which meant the room with our table was nice a quiet. Once people started coming in however, the room was extremely loud with made it difficult to converse with others at our own table. The noise aside, I do have to say I would give this restaurant five stars solely based on the food taste and quality. Everything we had was really delicious. This is actually what actually made me give three stars and nothing less.If I was rating this place on the service alone, I would rate one star. In my opinion, the service was severely lacking for the amount of money one has to dole out for even one dish, let alone 11. We were greeted ok, but once we were seated, it really went downhill. Our waitress seemed like she didn't want to be there and when she was at our table, she would get an order/request from one or two people then disappear for what seemed like forever. She would come back and do the same thing. This happened throughout the night. I assumed she was busy and let it go until I asked her for extra cherries for my son's Shirley Temple - she seemed to have sighed and made a face that I just couldn't let slide. This was the end of it for me. When a table pays upwards of $1,000 for a dinner, you would expect top notch service. Her attitude was totally unacceptable. I read previous reviews after the fact that were similar to my experience which makes me believe the management/owners really don't mind that their waitstaff treat their customers this way. For this reason, I don't think I'll be back. There are many other options in town that do offer a great overall experience that would appreciate your hard earned cash.

I made reservations two months ago, hoping for a romantic Valentines dinner. The meal and service were fine, but the ambience was a zero. We were put in the banquet room or what I'd call the overflow. We passed several empty tables on the way, so I don't know why we ended up there. It was brightly lit and filled with multiple tables for two, and a few larger ones. There was no ambiance. Zero! Zip! Nothing at all! Even the battery operated light on our table checked out. We would tap it on and it would dim to nothing in a few seconds. Needless to say, I was very disappointed.

I just had dinner there and I must say it was really good. From the food, the staff and the ambiance it's worth trying if you have not yet. I had the short ribs and if you like them like I do they are some of the best l've had anywhere. We were there on a weekend and they have live music for dinner. I don't think I've been to a place in town that has live music with upscale dining. I was treated attentively and friendly and the restaurant is really beautiful. If you looking for a nice place for a date night or just a good dinner out in town I think this would be a perfect place.

Good food and friendly service every time. It's the best restaurant in Fresno for ambiance.