Truffles Fine Cuisine

Fine dining hidden in the strip mall shared with Kroger, Plato’s Closet, and Hobby Lobby. It’s attractive inside with lovely works of art displayed on the walls and I can’t help but to think that it would be so much more popular at a different location. Seems to be a favorite of more mature locals. We had the bar fries that were delicious. The meals themselves were prepared delicately and plated beautifully. Great selection of wine. We did wait a little while longer than preferred, but this was accommodated with friendly (and apologetic) service. This would be a place for a graduation or anniversary.

Sad day. I remembered the food being stellar from years ago and did not read the reviews before booking our Valentines dinner. :/
Basically, the food was good. Not great. And certainly not worthy of the price paid when you could go to Scholars or Monet for the same price point. The shrimp cocktail wasnt cleaned, the mashed potatoes lacked salt and the pork was dry enough it could have been cooked yesterday. The best thing we ate tonight was the compound butter… that being said we had to ask for bread, instead of it being offered as is standard when you’re dropping $ 100 – 150 on dinner for two.
Service was what really drove down the stars. Service was horrid. And not just our service. Everyone’s service. We were served the wrong food. The woman next to us was served prosecco when she asked for house red and then given huff from the waitress when she pointed it out. And after our entrée was delivered our server NEVER checked back with us. Never. As in my wife said, maybe he went on break… in the middle of service. I’m still sitting here. More than 20 minutes have already passed and I’ve yet to see his face. I would love to tell you it’s because it was packed… but alas, the restaurant was half full at best. And he has two tables. Two. When I finally found him. Yes. I went looking. He said. Sorry. I’ve been cut. I’ll have to find your server for your check. Oh. Too bad you didn’t mention that 45 minutes ago. And the new server didn’t come over. Awesome.
The best thing I can tell you is to come in and request a take-​out order for the homemade compound butter from the host. The two of them are the best things in the entire place. What began as a two has fallen to a one and it’s only because I can’t figure out how to leave less stars.

Sooo… I’ve eaten here many times but not recently due to moving out of the area. We drove into town from Indianapolis to bring someone here for the «bar menu» salmon and pine nut crusted goat cheese (both have always been delicious and affordably priced). We found out they closed at 9 pm on Sunday and we were not going to get there until 8:45. In an effort to avoid the annoying last minute arrival situation, I called at 8:35 to put in our order ahead of time so as not to keep anyone overly late!
That is when I was told the kitchen closes at 8:30 pm. Well that was a wasted trip. Have you been to a restaurant that posts a closing time but then been turned away because the kitchen closes substantially before that time?! They didn’t even open until 4 (maybe the kitchen opened at 3:30??).
This restaurant has always been hit and miss on service (likely due to bizarre and unfair tip sharing that I’ve heard the servers mention — i.e., they don’t keep their own tips but the owner gathers them and «distributes» them a long time later based on hours worked and how busy the shifts you worked were) but I’ve returned due to solid food and the affordability of the bar menu (regular menu is definitely pricier and not always worth the price). I only give them an extra star for the history; they will not see me giving them any money on my return trips because they obviously don’t need it. And that makes me sad.

OK so I have been here several times and I will say the basil infused goat cheese appetizer is literally out of this world but I must say the main courses are just lacking in flavor and presentation. I recently visited Truffles with a friend for dinner I ordered the house filet and she had the duck for the price your paying I really expected a lot more. I was disappointed with the slow service although our waitress was apologetic the food took an hour to arrive at the table. It’s just not worth the money.

My food has always been good. They have a wonderful bar and run specials each evening on their cocktails. I have never had any complaints and go there often. The service has always been impeccable, the atmosphere nice and the change of menu refreshing.

Absolute worst service we’ve experienced in a long time. Food was fine though it wasn’t until after we were ready to order that we were told they had sold out of vegetarian special. I believe we were there around 7. There were only 3 other tables of diners on restaurant side when we arrived. Bar side service has always been good. We had wine spilled on table by server water glasses never re-​filled, hot water for tea never came. Soup and entrée came out together. Service definitely did not meet quality of food or price of meal at all. Was very disappointing to take my out of town guests and have this be the treatment they received. Server was rude and crass.

The female bar tender doesn’t know how to mix drinks. She adds way too much ice on my drink that it tasted like water. I could definitely mixes my own cocktails way better and for a lot less money. Overall Truffles is way too expensive for what they have to offer.

How does this place stay in business? Mediocre food. HORRIBLE service. As I have said in reviews before, the majority of restaurants in Bloomington have bad service, but this place… one of the worst. First server brought menus, then I guess was off and that was just the beginning. A few tidbits… don’t want or need to list them all:
— I had to go table to table to fetch salt and pepper and silverware.
— I ordered a beer and the waitress plunked a bottle on the table in front of me. Seriously? I asked for a glass and she actually sighed. Jerk.
— We waited over 30 minutes for our food.
— Our server never came back after taking order (someone else brought our food)
— We had to flag another server down for our check
— Food is overpriced and mediocre.
— I know it is considered one of the «fancy» places in town, but it is in a strip mall, and you know you are in a strip mall by the constant stream of headlights glaring into the restaurant and blinding you.
My mother paid and I insisted she not leave a tip. I am sure she did, but hopefully it was a buck or two.

I think what most folks have said captures this restaurant well. The atmosphere is nice and the menu LOOKS great, but the food quality is not on-​par with the prices you pay. Overall everything we had was mediocre to alright… but the prices are that of a much better restaurant.
On this particular evening, the restaurant had run out of the wine we ordered and two of the entrees we were hoping to get. I had the chef’s seafood special — a monkfish over razor clams and vegetables in a white wine sauce — which didn’t taste like much of anything. I mentioned to the waitress that it was bland, to which she responded, «I’m glad you liked it.» At $ 28 for the plate, I think I could do much better.
We had the baked goat cheese and pine nut appetizer over basil oil, which was pretty good but a bit salty. Others at the table had the duck — cooked improperly and very fatty, with a side of cranberry «dressing» that was pretty good. A friend had the chef’s pasta of the day which was actually the best thing on the table — fettucine with a generous portion of beef.
I think the seating area and atmosphere was comfortable and pleasant. Our waitress’s attitude was interesting overall (see above comment on my meal). And we did seem to be a bit rushed out.
I’m not in a rush to go back.

Pros: The atmosphere is nice, very classy, service is good.
Cons: Food was not worth the money I spent (over $ 100 for two people and no alcoholic beverages), it was cold and overcooked. I dare not send it back because we waited over an hour for our food and we were starving. lol
Maybe it was just a bad day for the cook staff, so I might try it again… but not anytime soon.

Overpriced for non-​mind-​blowing dishes. Good service and atmosphere though.

WINE BAR & STORE
BEST PLACE TO BUY WINE & MIXED BOXES
Mark, the owner, gets to know what flavors you like & can make a mixed box of wine for you to pick up. He stocks our wine fridge approx twice a year and it’s always a treat to see his selections. He includes big, strong reds for my hubbie & pink wines for me. The mix is always really varied in flavors, wineries & price but we like them bc he selects them just for us. The price was equally divided among inexpensive, medium-​priced & a few higher priced wines. Most of them are from wineries I’ve never heard of or seen in the grocery store but his prices are very comparable. It’s fun to open a bottle & find out what he’s picked for us. It lets us explore lots of different wines & flavors we never would have found on our own.
If we sit at the bar & he’s in, sometimes he pours us glasses he knows we’ll enjoy. It’s so fun. Sometimes the tastings are tequila which is even better.
Recently, he catered an event for us. Their food selections were on the money & their timing was perfect.

Four of us went to Truffles for drinks and some light food last Thursday (12÷14÷11) and at the end wished we hadn’t. There are some things the restaurant does well (nice selection of beers, for example), but most of what you get is either mediocre or poor. The service was friendly and inefficient (unfortunately a frequent combination in the US). It took a long time for us to order even our drinks, let alone be served them, and we had to wave down several waiters before ours came by to take our food order (at this point we had been seated for about 25 minutes). It took about another 30 minutes to be served the food.
The food that some of us were served was fine, though nothing to write home about. I had ordered a pizza, which tasted as though it had been bought frozen at Kroger’s next door and hastily heated up. There was no crust to speak of, just a sort of chewy, salty dough. The toppings looked more promising, but it was hard to taste, let alone enjoy them, given what they were sitting on. I was able to gulp down only about a quarter. The waitress, rather than asking whether there had been any problem, cheerfully offered to pack up the rest.
An altogether disappointing experience.

Always perfect.
Great service, delicious food, expertly made mixed drinks.
Hard to do better in Bloomington.

I’m getting ready to move back to CA after living in Bloomington for 5 years, and this is my absolute favorite restaurant. I’m going to miss it so much! The drinks are great, the food is consistently delicious (particularly the sundried tomato penne pasta on the bar menu), and the service is usually quite good. I wish I could pick this place up and take it with me! I don’t have 1 negative thing to say about this place.

Sadly I never went to Truffles when I was living in Bloomington. I went this week though when I was back in town visiting. It was great, I really wish I had gone when I was there full time. One thing to remember, they open daily at 4:30pm.
They’ve got a nice upscale atmosphere with a range of clientele that were generally well dressed. I was there Thursday which just so happened to be half priced martini night, so of course I had to get a couple. I had a Metropolitan, that was IMO way too light on the cranberry. It was a lighter shade of pink than lemonade, which really exemplifies just how little cranberry there was in it. I was disappointed by that. I had a Topaz Martini with Gin that was better but really didn’t strike a chord with me. The martini’s were priced at around $ 9 before the discount.
I ordered off the Bar menu which was reasonably priced, if I remember right everything was between around $ 8 and $ 15. I had a hamburger which was fancily named, I cant remember what. It was really freaking good though. They ground the meat there using what they don’t leave on their cuts of steak which allowed the chef to take it off the grill sooner than one might want to with typical ground beef. The burger came with a choice of either fries or fresh fruit.
I took a quick look at the restaurant menu, which ranged from about $ 13 – 30
Atmosphere — 5, nicely designed, quiet, and soft but not void of energy
Price — 4
Food — 5
Drinks — 2
Service — 3 our bar tender did everything right, and was on top of her game in terms of serving us, and I know this sounds way more hippie than I am but she had negative energy. maybe we caught her on an off night.
A note for students, this is a great place for a date. The bar menu is priced decently and the relative obscurity of the resturant adds a little to its charm. Everyone’s been to Malibu Grill and Gratzie…