Stone House

Having recently relocated from Los Angeles--a city renowned for its vibrant culinary scene--my expectations for dining experiences are unapologetically high. Stone House not only met these expectations but exceeded them, offering a delightful and memorable New Year's Eve celebration that my family and I will cherish. The ambiance of Stone House is truly enchanting. The historic building, with its charming stone walls and warm, inviting decor, evokes a sense of understated elegance that perfectly complements the serene setting. As for the cuisine, each dish demonstrated thoughtful preparation and creativity. We began with the tots and caviar--a harmonious pairing of playful comfort and refined luxury. The golden, crispy tots were a hit with my 15-month-old, while the creamy sauce and caviar elevated the dish into something truly exceptional--an indulgence I would never attempt to replicate at home. For my entrée, I selected the truffle pizza, a dish that struck all the right notes: rich, fragrant, and utterly satisfying. Each bite was a testament to the kitchen's mastery of flavor and balance. Dessert brought a delightful surprise in the form of their rice pudding. Traditionally a sweet conclusion to a meal, Stone House's rendition leaned into tartness with the addition of fresh raspberries. I found this creative choice both refreshing and inspired--a perfect counterpoint to the carb-forward nature of the meal, providing a "soft landing," as it were. As a new mother, dining out often comes with challenges, but Stone House made the experience seamless and accommodating, a detail I deeply appreciated. Their mocktails deserve special mention as well; the sage-infused drink was a standout, with its savory and herbaceous profile offering a sophisticated alternative to more saccharine options. Stone House has firmly secured its place as a cornerstone of culinary excellence in our new hometown. I eagerly look forward to future visits and fully intend to make this exceptional restaurant a staple for celebrating good food and great company. 10/10 experience.

I secured a reservation for 1:45pm while driving up to Nevada City from Sacramento. It was nice that there were so many dining option times, so I selected 1:45pm from the "restaurant" list option. TBH, the only reason I chose to have lunch here was because the ("inside") pictures on their Yelp page looked cool. I was expecting to dine in a "cave-like" room with intimate lighting and stone walls. Is that what I experienced? Unfortunately not. First off, parking was terrible! Due to the Victorian Festival, the adjacent restaurant parking lot that says "restaurant parking only" was completely full from the people visiting the festival. We had to park 3 blocks up the hill. For the amount of cars parked in their restaurant parking lot, it didn't add up to the people actually dining inside, so the restaurant needs to do better in managing their parking lot and tow cars that shouldn't be parked there. Management, where you at?Once we walked in, it literally felt like 10 minutes until someone actually helped us, but they weren't busy like that. Servers would walk by us and didn't acknowledge at first, I noticed this because I made eye contact with this individual but he tried dodging. So weird. First rule in customer service, acknowledge- even if you're too busy to help, just say "hi and someone will be right with you." It was as though I was invisible, again so weird. When we were finally seated, they only had high top tables which wasn't really convenient for us since we had the baby+ stroller, but it is what it is. Slightly disappointed that the room did not look like the photos from other past patrons; room did not look like a cave and it was dark but not in a good way. My Crispy Chicken Sandwich was the lifeline of my visit. It was seasoned right and consistently crunchy with every bite. My side salad was dressed with the perfect amount of dressing. Huge plus, the chicken was a thigh piece which is my favorite and a must with chicken sandos.So.... Would I eat here again? Probably not. I think there are other restaurants that need to be explored in Downtown Nevada City. If you're reading this and have a recommend in town... please let me know ;) TIA

I'm not one to get aggressively vocal about subpar dining experiences, but this was truly awful. The food was flat out bad, overpriced, and the service was slow and inattentive.We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation and were promptly seated upstairs. The hostess was kind. It took about 10 minutes before anyone came to get our drink order, and it took about 15 more minutes to get drinks. All of that was fine. When the server brought our drinks, she then took our entire food order... and that was the last time we saw her until we asked for our check. For a starter, I was excited to try the whipped burrata because the flavor combination sounded delicious, but the proportions were completely off, and it ended up being bland. I normally love a burrata centric appetizer, so I was disappointed. That being said, it looked pretty and I was still optimistic about my upcoming entrée.The main courses took an exceptionally long time to come out, and because there was no complementary bread or anything like that, we ate the bland burrata with a spoon. Why with a spoon? The burrata only came with a few slivers of hard bread as a conduit to consume it, but we were extremely hungry so we ate it anyway. I was going to ask for some more bread slivers, but as I said, I never saw our server again until the very end, and nobody ever checked on us a single time.We ran out of the drinks our server had brought us before some harried food runners dropped off our entrees, and we were never asked if we would like another, and we were unsuccessful at every attempt to flag someone down.And the food. It was so, so bad.I ordered the steak medium rare. It came out almost well done. It was not only way overcooked, but the outside was completely burnt and tasted that way. This was not a pleasant char. I've had a burnt steak before that was redeemed by the delicious flavor of the interior meat, but this steak itself had zero flavor. It was supposedly marinated, but it was the most bland steak I have ever been served in a restaurant setting. They served it with a bitter chimichurri, and the combination was atrocious.I haven't sent back a meal in years, but this was one that should have never made it out of the kitchen. For $40, it should at minimum be edible. I had one of the pre-sliced cuts, my companions tried one slice to verify, and we all waited for someone to come back so we could send it back. They never came back. Not our server, not a manager, not even a food runner.My husband got the bolognese. The noodles were drenched in olive oil, and once again, the meat sauce was flavorless. It tasted like they mixed unsalted ketchup with rinsed hamburger meat and called it a day. While I don't doubt that the fettuccine noodles were housemade as the menu stated, there is no logical sense that it would've been so slimy if it was freshly made, which is what most people assume when a house made pasta is on the menu. I don't know if they only make it once a week or if somebody was cutting corners today, but it was so gross. How in the world do you mess up bolognese that badly? I honestly don't understand.When our server finally appeared 30 minutes later, we were beyond ready to leave. At that point, I just wanted to pay and forget this place existed. It was far past the appropriate time of asking for something else instead. We asked for our check and declined her offer of to-go boxes.The server pointedly looked at our mostly uneaten food and asked if anything was wrong. I told her plainly that it was not good... and then she offered us a complimentary dessert to make up for it. No thanks.The positive parts: One of our companions got the friend chicken and liked it (though the mashed potatoes were also fairly bland... like seriously, salt is your friend, stop excluding it from the convo) and the fries that came with the steak were actually seasoned very well. Someone got the pasta that was pesto drenched, and the pesto was good... which based on the rest of the meal makes me think it was probably from a jar. I don't know that for sure, obviously, but I don't understand why that was edible when the rest was so bad.We ordered four entrees, two cocktails, two mocktails, and our total was over $200 before tip. The audacity lolFor the record, I don't blame this awful experience on the waitstaff. They appeared to only have one server working the entire room we were in. She was kind and I'm sure if she had time to check in on us, she would've tried to get our food order fixed. But it is what it is.There are better options around that same pricepoint in the area, and if you're only in town for a short while, I would pick another one of them. Like literally any other one.

We had a fantastic first experience, trying out Stone House! I wanted to take my mom and sister for their birthday dinner. Stone House went above and beyond and greeted us with lemon drops (I added that to our reservation notes on Open Table) which made the start to our dinner perfect. The food was excellent, so flavorful. The atmosphere is exactly what you would expect warm and cozy, classy and clean. If you haven't been give it a try for date night. ALSO, their pistachio tiramisu was 1000000% the best I've ever had. Thank you Stone House.

The food was wonderful. The ambiance is super cool and the staff were very friendly! I like how they have maintained the old west feel with modern upgrades and cool decor!

Came here for an anniversary dinner while visiting Nevada City. Cozy, hip, rustic ambiance, delicious food, and very reasonable prices for the quality.We split a plate of sourdough / butter and marinated green olives to start - super tasty.My flank steak with frites were pretty good - the meat and chimmichurri were excellent. Fries unfortunately arrived limp but still had a good flavor. Very generous portions. 4.5/5 overall.My husband's skate wing was delicious and a super unique item. 5/5We ended by splitting an order of pistachio lava cake (delicious and not too sweet).Excellent and responsive service.Given that we are used to Bay Area prices, the cost for this filling, well executed meal seemed lower than we are used to paying for similar quality meals. Definitely recommend this special spot if you are in the area!

Love, love, LOVE this place so much that we opted to eat at Stone House both nights during our stay in Nevada City. The building itself is really cool, and the inside had a unique ambiance! The service was great from start to finish. Everyone from the hostess, the bartenders and servers were fantastic!

Awful experience and misleading in reservations. Be careful if you reserve after a certain time later in the day or you will end up getting a "lovely bar" seat paying to much for the food on top of it. I didn't actually eat there because I refuse to pay over a $ 100.00 for sitting at the bar in a very tight enclosed area for average food and drink. The hostess was "very rude" and not accommodating to us. I would definitely not recommend this place to my family or friends that are looking for a fine dining experience. Try to find other nice restaurants in Nevada City if you can? Get it together on your website if you can't take reservations accurately or appropriately!!! Bad all the way around and very,very disappointed in your return and service.

Best restaurant in the area hands down! Cheff Scott has brought a level of excellence this community has never seen. The service, ambiance, and food were 10/10. Even on one of the busiest nights of the year being Valentine's Day.

A new interesting menu! My group enjoyed the steak, fresh fish, papardelle, lamb and pizza. Each of us were well pleased. The pistachio tiramisu was unique and divine. Great service and attention.