Vincent’s

Had a rude interruption during dinner tonight by two ill– intentioned smokers on the patio… Entirely grateful to Vincent staff for defending our dining experience and delivering exquisite food directly afterwards. May you attract customers as classy as you! Thank you again so much! Would highly recommend for the excellent service and food!!!

Husband and I came for dinner here as a celebration of my promotion. We were really excited and had been here once before during restaurant week a couple years ago.
My husband works late hours and didn’t get off at until 8:30 — however we made reservations through Open Table for 9 at few days before. When we checked Unilocal it said Vincent closed at 9 so to avoid any mishaps we called to confirm. The woman who answered the phone said they closed around 9 but when we mentioned we were allowed to make the reservation for 9pm she sounded kind of surprised but said we could still come. A minor miscommunication but it’s something that should be more clearly communicated on their website and Unilocal profile.
Once we were seated, it was quite a while until we were even acknowledged. As other reviews state, there are a lot of regulars and the staff tends to mingle. In general that’s fine but not at the expense of ignoring new patrons.
The food itself was great. We had pâté as an appetizer, then duck l’orange and beef wellington for our entrees. We each had a cocktail and they were good, on the strong side.
I’d love to come back here but the tip had been rounded up and we were overcharged for our meal.

Best meal ever ! I’ve tried all the restaurants up and down grand and this is by far the best. I’m one of those people who hates everything, growing up in a that cooks well. I had the ravioli and everyone at my table loved it. You will not leave hungry and disappointed!

Visited Saturday night for a birthday and had a fantastic meal: soft shell crab appetizer was a surprise, light and crunchy. Shrimp Provençal with gnocchi was excellent with large, juicy shrimp and I soaked up the sauce with my bread! Cream brûlée was perfect with fresh strawberries on top of sugar even better. Vincent’s is one of Escondido’s best food discoveries and a favorite for us.

We were not happy with the service. Quick story you can go if you want not impressed at all. We go out probably 4 times a week for dinner and usually have lunch at a local spot for work. I personally have worked in restaurants from being a dish washer to server and chef a little background on me. So anyway we’re standing in the front waiting to be seated a few people walked by and never agnoldged us. We were the only ones standing there looking to be seated. Finally a young girl said hello and was nice enough to accommodate us. Our server took 10 min or more to even walk by and say hello. Asked us if we wanted a drink I asked for a wine list since we had been given nothing when we were seated. No menu or wine list. oh by the way this is suppose to be a somewhat upscale restaurant for the area. Finally he realized we didn’t have a menu and his comment about the wine was confusing I felt like I was being judged that maybe I couldn’t afford or didn’t know about wine. Whatever didn’t start off very well. I always start 20% tip if you Kill it I will tip more but if you start sucking because you feel you deserve $$$ for basic service well it starts dropping. So here we go remember I’m skipping things to make it short. we ordered a bottle of wine then the bread came so far so good the server came back for our order I asked for the French onion soup and my girlfriend asked for the salmon which came with soup. I was looking at ordering my entrée when he delivered the soup. 15 min later my soup arrives I also order the mushroom ravioli for my entrée. Not thinking much about it I finish my soup but my girlfriends soup is still not out. We never saw the server for 30 more min. I asked another person walking by about the soup. So here comes the server so sorry I forgot to put your order in what were you having again. What? It’s been over an hour and everyone around us is eating and finishing there dinners and he hasn’t even put our order in yet. He gave us a house glass refill of wine to hold us over till the soup arrived not the wine we were drinking. Finally the soup comes. Now because the taste of the soups we were trying to enjoy our evening and wanted to see what the main dish was going to taste like. If it wasn’t for the food we would have walked out. Salmon was great my mushroom ravioli was not that great very watery runny and seemed rushed and of course because the server screwed up our order again and delivered the salmon and 10 min later brought my entrée. So as my girlfriend was finishing her dinner mine was just arriving. So funny enough I still gave him 10% tip but it was hard to even do that. If that was my restaurant I would have come to the table and tried to apologize for my server and fixed the situation with more than a splash of the wrong wine. But guess what no one ever came by to say anything and the server left me a bill for $ 100 and over 2 hours of a wasted night. Not happy and you can probably see why 2 hrs for dinner really? Where was the manager in all this? So instead of me telling everyone how great it was I’m telling everyone not to waste there $$$ on this place Escondido needs more upscale places to eat so these owners try harder to impress new clients and keep the original customers coming back.

dinner was fantastic. the lamb was very flavorful and expertly prepared. my friend had the duck confit. amazing taste and texture.
nice waiter.
only teeny thing. they did not light the candle on the table (amblence/​gotta have it).
every bite was a pleasure. thank you.

With the unfortunate passing of Vincent the new chef would have some big shoes to fill. Chef Brandon Hunsacker has stepped up big time. Brandon is an excellent chef, our dinner was outstanding. My wife and I have been enjoying Vincent’s on Grand since 1998. The food and staff are excellent. Chef Hunsacker is continuing Vincent’s tradition. We are sure Vincent is smiling!

Excellent food and service. I had the turnados in merlot sauce. The meat was well prepared and perfectly med rare. The sauce was divine. My friends each had a duck entrée (a l’orange and confit. They both said the duck was flavorful and crisp. The wine was a nice pinot from northern california, and of course half off the price because it was la Nuit de vin. All in all wonderful food and wonderful service.

My boyfriend and I love fine dining, so we decided to try this French Restaurant for his birthday.
Giving ** stars for FOOD only.
— For appetizers — Escargot was not the best. Very tiny shells, not much flavor compared to the escargot we had at Paon Restaurantin Carlsbad. Mussels were cooked well but the sauce wasn’t amazing. Like, I didnt want to dip my bread in it.
— For dinner — we had the beef Wellington and duck a L’orange.The portions are huge. The beef Wellington was delightful; we asked the beef to be rare and it came out perfect. The vegetables were not tasty, very salty. The duck a L’orange was very dry and served with the same vegetables as the beef Wellington.
— For dessert — the apple tart dessert was very tasty.
Vincent’s was a cozy spot, the service was amazing (we really liked the Russian server), the staff really came at just the right times.
We won’t be back.

My husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a deliciously romantic dinner at Vincent’s. The restaurant ceiling was covered with red and pink balloons and the tables were sprinkled with red confetti hearts. The «Chocolate Bomb» dessert was the perfect ending to a perfect dinner!

First time at Vincent’s. Valentine’s Day weekend (Saturday) so of course it seemed a couple of more tables were crammed in but it worked out nice. Started off with cocktails and progressed to champaign and wine. Decent selection of wine (on line wine list is not accurate) but by the glass is subpar. Opted for a half bottle of Pinot Noir which was outstanding. Rack of lamb was the best I’ve had. The filet my wife had was simply outstanding. Appetizer to desert was great. We will definitely be back and bringing friends.

Came here for dinner with my family since my grandma has been wanting to eat French recently.
For appetizers we had the crab cakes, baked Brie, the pâté plate, and mushroom ravioli. The pâté plate was good but nothing special. The crab cakes had a lot of meat and a great sauce paired with it. And the mushroom ravioli (yes that’s singular) was awesome, even though there was only one. It had chunks of mushroom instead of ground up mushroom, and the mushrooms had a nice pronounced flavor.
As for dinner, we had the beef Wellington, rack of lamb, duck a l’orange. The portions are HUGE. We asked the beef to be medium rare but it came out well done and the pâté was just a slice of firm late instead of a mousse — kind of disappointing. The duck a L’orange was delightful! The sweetness of the orange was such a nice complement with the savory duck. Also, all the veggies that accompanied the entrée were really fresh and high quality!
We couldn’t decide what dessert to eat so we chose all three hahaha. The crème brûlée was over torched so it was kind of burned. The chocolat fondant is always a classic, but the apple tarte is what really stood out. The pasty shell was still warm, perfectly crispy, and oh so buttery.
Needless to say I was quite stuffed after my meal, and overall very satisfied :)

What a wonderful meal. All the food and sauces especially were spectacular. Took my wife for her birthday, in search of the best French Onions Soup and we were not disappointed. The crab cakes were equally as good. While the wine could be pricey, $ 20 corkage fee could get around that. It is not inexpensive, but you get what you pay for, we got the best.
I had an early bird, Trios et trois, $ 30, Tues-​Wed-​Thursday, before 6PM. Had 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 3 deserts to choose from and the menu changes every week. I chose the: Pork Belly over Purée of Carrots, Bangers and Mash, Gâteau Basque. All first rate. The pork belly itself was tender and melted and the sauces covering and surrounding it were the best. Bangers at mash at a French restaurant? You might ask. well home made sausage, covered in the best mushroom sauce I have ever had, I counted 4 different types of mushrooms, deep and rich. Mixed in were brussel sprouts, cauliflower over the Yukon Jack mashed potatoes, circled by a carrot purée. The desert was a warm cake/​short bread with a cherry filling and vanilla ice cream.
Our wait staff was attentive and very friendly. I plan to return for more. I urge you to do the same.

I have traveled all over the world, and dined in many French restaurants, including Paris, France. We dined at Vincents last night for the first time, as we have just recently moved here from Hawaii. The service was impeccable, the ambience delightful, the soothing music filled my soul with happy memories. The food was was nothing short of a gastronomic religious experience. I give this restaurant 5 stars. If 10 was an option, I would give it a ten
We will most definitely return

Where you meet the man, Vincent, that the restaurant is named after. He is in the kitchen cooking, and pops out to the dining room for a visit.
Vincent and his chef go to the markets themselves to pick the best ingredients, and serve produce grown by our local farmers and mushrooms from Mountain Meadow Mushroom Farm in Escondido.
I could dine at Vincent’s for just the Appetizer of Country Pâté. The Brie en Croûte is another favorite. And often they have an off-​the-​menu delicacy offering of Foie gras.
Oh! The delicious French Onion Soup Gratinée. I know it is fine dining, but I find myself nibbling on the yummy melted cheese that oozed onto the side of the bowl :)
Aside from Vincent’s Dinner menu, they also offers a new menu weekly of 3 courses for $ 30. I’ve enjoyed the Seared Ahi with a Grilled Shishito and Mango Salsa. I’m getting hungry just looking at the new offerings:
My boyfriend savors the lamb chop, rabbit and duck dishes.
This is excellent food, service and ambiance!
Dinner Menu:

Superb quality of food. Portion was pretty big too but we just had to endure our almost-​bursting stomach for the dessert (Bavarian cream with ganache)

We went the day after Labor Day for my husband’s birthday. We had the restaurant to ourselves and Vincent made sure to come over and see how we were doing.
We ordered the baked Brie which was great, along with the corn/​potato chowder. For our main course I had the shrimp and pasta dish which was fabulous. My husband had the Thai chicken raviolis. He felt that the raviolis were pretty hard and didn’t love it. We had the chocolate lava cake for dessert, which they put a candle in for his birthday.
Except for the ravioli, the dinner was amazing!

Always wonderful. Our Beef Wellingtons were amazing!
I tried the rabbit pâté and i loved it. Heart of palms salad is another great appetizer.
I requested a martini from my last visit, habanero infused vodka martini and wow simply amazing balance of sweet, spice, and alcohol. Great drink, gotta serve that at my house some time.
Desserts and cappuccinos are a must.

Vincent’s is what used to be the definition of a good restaurant. It’s a place with great food without the fanfare and pompousness of San Diego’s other $$$ restaurants.
The ambiance is a cozy kind of classy, with excellent service but the interior doesn’t quite give an air of elegance or modernity. It clearly has history, and the food speaks to that.
The food was overall flavorful and well seasoned. The house made bread is phenomenal, it look every bit of self control not to eat the entire basket so I would have room for my entrée. Every entrée is preceded by a bowl of soup, which changes daily. I had the mushroom soup, which was good but too salty for me, as are most mushroom/​onion soups.
The Duck a L’orange was moist and the sweetness was nicely balanced out by the candied ginger on top. I felt the broccoli served on the side was a bit overcooked. It was also just steamed vegetables plopped onto my plate; nothing was really done to these vegetables. Definitely not a crispy kind of duck a l’orange, but I’m not complaining.
Unfortunately by the time we got to dessert they were out of most of the items. We ordered an apple tart with vanilla ice cream, which was good but nothing worth writing about.
Overall a cozy spot for good food, high prices for high quality but lacking a bit of elegance in the décor. The service though was amazing, the staff really came at just the right times. Also note that they do leave a pretty good wait time in between each dish, which allowed me to enjoy the dinner more as I didn’t feel stuffed but this may be frustrating for some people.

Vincent’s is one of our favorite places to go! The atmosphere is so relaxed yet refined. Seats are inviting and comfortable to sit (which is important, to me anyway). If you choose more then just an entrée the timing between courses is perfect. You don’t feel rushed or like you’ve been waiting forever. This is something I appreciate.
Whenever we go we always get the beef Wellington I think it might be the best dish I have ever had. Seriously. It is so tasty! I’ve also had the duck but it was to sweet of a dish for my liking. Definitely quality and delicious just not my favorite.
Dress is business casual-​ish. You can certainly dress up if you wish but nice slacks for the guys and a dress for ladies always reflects well on the restaurant.
It is a bit pricey but hands down worth it. Maybe an anniversary or date night?! Just because night. Do it. It’s a great choice