The Flying Toad

I'd leave a 0 if I could.. This place does not exist.. I have never eaten at Hunsaker's but have heard the food was good. We walked in the door looking for "The Flying Toad" and were told that it was something that they did during COVID and that they are not doing it any more. The menu that is shown on Yelp does not exist, this place does not exist..

Incredible food. Fantastic drinks. Great ambiance. Super convenient location. We will be back and then back again.

This is not the Flying Toad for which you are seeing the menu items listed in these reviews. We were told "This is Flying Toad at Hunsaker's". Apparently, the two restaurants are merging. There are 5-6 entrees, all averaging around $45-$65.

It's ok. We went twice. The first time- the lights went out when a live performer was there but tripped an electrical wire. I was impressed with how fast the restaurant was able to compromise and make lanterns help with dinner ambiance. I ordered beef stroganoff. It was too heavy. The 2nd time we went, I ordered their penne pasta, also super heavy and oily! It felt like it was good for the week!!! Leftovers taste great, too! The service can be great depending on who you get. The 1st time we went we had an outstanding server. Their cocktails great! Also love their outdoor location seating option under tent but not the ones on the sidewalks, it's on a slant and irritated my back. I suggest to make reservations!

OMG!!! LOVED IT AND DEFINITELY GOING BACK. Portions are huge so share or take home is a must. Fried chicken and biscuits and I got Rib eye steak sandwich. The chips and dip were awesome as well. Can't wait to try the pork belly fondue thingy.

First time here after seeing this on Facebook Escondido Eats page and all we can say is "WOW'! The service was impeccable and we got the French onion soup, crab stuffed peppers, scallops and the burger!! The food was amazing and we will definitely be back! If you haven't tried this restaurant yet, add this to your list! Thank you to all the staff and chef for a great night!

Flying toad is the best restaurant I have been to in a long time! I love getting takeout and they always have new great menu options. Their drinks are delicious and in the prettiest glassware as well as a great wine selection. I feel safe coming here because they do follow covid guidelines.

Update: oops! Looks like I struck a nerve with the owner... in response to MY REVIEW the owner has further insulted my friend by contacting her to harass her over it. She is now UNINVITED from special events. I've attached screenshots that prove the business owner canceled our reservation while we were waiting for the birthday girl to change, as well as screenshots of the email harassment. This is all very sad. Running off previously reliable customers over their guest's opinion is no way to run a business. She may have very well received 10 other good reviews from others in our group ...----ORIGINAL REVIEW Where do I start? The mediocre, and sometimes gross, food? The awful seating accommodations? The newish owner who kicked my best friend's entire birthday party out after she went to change (to make the best of it?)I will start with the less subjective issue - none of the dishes photographed online are actually available. Don't expect to eat any of those yummy treats. Every single item (we had a party of 11) was all wrong and (to quote another person in the group, "had a lot going on"). I've eaten at every single French restaurant in San Diego county. There's the delicious richness of Bleu Boheme to the creative Mille Fluers, and all of the charming little spots in the Carlsbad village. I've eaten at the most expensive restaurant in the Four Seasons Paris, and numerous little spots in the hidden Parisan alleyways. I've traveled the best spots in Napa, Washington DC, etc, etc. I'm not going to mince words: this place is NOT a French restaurant. It serves overpriced American dishes with "French Inspiration" that are trying to hard and just confusing in the end. The reductions are bland and lacking the richness and delicate balance of French Cuisine. All of the undercooked green pasta items were called "gross" by our guests. The Duck Confit was terribly bland and confused. One of the desserts was nicknamed "Springtime Diarrhea" because of its appearance (it looked like bird droppings on sidewalk vomit) with very distracting textures ... I can go on and on about all 11 dishes + desserts. The only thing they did not manage to mess up was the bacon wrapped appetizer & the jams for the spread board, but even the bread wasn't even a legitimate French style baguette Now to the worst part of our experience ... We scheduled a very important celebration with plenty of advance notice after verifying various logistics concerns (such as rain forecast). We were assured our large group would be seated in a covered area, but when we arrived we were placed on a freezing back patio with our elderly family members after they prioritized another large group for indoor accommodation. They put us in the alley with almost no lighting and tiny little sidewalk tables lined up. Some of us had to eat off of bar stools! Despite every attempt to make it warm, nothing really made the group comfortable. Every person who had coats had to wear them for their meal (except me, I'm from DC), and the birthday girl had to go home and change. While we were waiting for her to return (catching up on social media) the owner came out and shooed us away - she told the group to "get along" and find someplace else to go after I told her that she was not "really trying" ... after were kicked out we started making calls to other restaurants and explaining what happened at the Flying Toad (I have time stamp evidence of our phone calls vs the time we were canceled by the restaurant). No one would take a group of 11 on short notice, but every restaurant in the north county area felt very bad for our situation. One of my regular spots in Carlsbad Village offered to call a favor into the Four Seasons. We were prepared to have the birthday party at Ventana the next day when the bartender (Mo) came out to make amends. None of the amends offered by the owner were equitable to our misery, but we didn't want to have to tell our birthday girl that the owner kicked us out after she went home to change. We made the best of it, but received no more "apology" than a flat corkage fee. They could have offered a flat discount to the group, a gift certificate or even (at least) made the birthday girl's meal free. None of that was offered. The owner kept making excuses and blaming COVID, but the reality is that they did not have enough dining tables. The overbooking and terrible food is all on her. On a positive note: The servers were fantastic. They definitely tried to make up for the situation but we will never return again. We had gone many times under previous ownership but this woman does not belong in the service industry with her attitude problem. There's plenty of local business trying to survive COVID with grace and respect.

The service was phenomenal and the food was beyond anything we have had in North County, honestly. While the food is very obviously elegant, the atmosphere is a nice mix of upscale and local Escondido comfort. The dishes are different each week and each course is very rich and appeals to many unique appetites! The only downside for us is it is very expensive (worth it, though, for sure!), so we cannot go as often!

Outstanding food and ambiance! We ordered the bone marrow, prosciutto salad, duck breast, jidori chicken, and steak picahna. The salad had a great blend of flavors. The dinner entrees were all tender and flavorful. Topped off our meals with the chocolate bomb cake with spumoni ice cream. Chocolate lovers' heaven! And not too sweet. Live music and ambiance is refined but comfortable. Service was very good.