Molina Restaurant

Excellently prepared and presented dishes from locally grown and delicious ingredients.
Attenitive service, good wine list and evening playlist of music so cool.
A favorite spot, intimate, cozy, and buzz of happy crowd.

Great food!
Great Service! Interesting beverage list.
Only negative is the noise otherwise I would give it 5 stars.
Hard to talk across the table

So I really was hoping to like this place and some of the dishes were good. The mussels and oysters are prepared and served beautifully. However the servers are very pretentious and not at all friendly. We even bought a round of beers for the kitchen and didn’t even get a thank you from anyone. The entrees were substantial in size but soaking in oil. Not what we expected for a $ 30 entrée. This place needs some improvement unfortunately.

We came here to celebrate our engagement and had the most lovely dinner. Every dish was outstanding, but the most memorable (6 months later, as this is much over due) was the smoked trout appetizer and the French fries. But again, everything was outstanding and this definitely ranks very high on my list of favorites. The design is also very nicely done, from the murals on the walls to the vintage silverware. Perfect blend of woodsy and modern, relaxed and sophisticated. Love it all. Down to the music. And the service was fantastic as well — thank you for the celebratory champagne !

Tucked away in the heart of downtown Mill Valley, on the corner, this place is divinely awesome.
I love the rustic modern interior. I adore the cozy, inviting seating, with the wonderful sheepskin pillows.
What I love even more is that all their food is cooked on a open fire by the bar, not some fancy stove. You can even sit at the bar, eat and watch them put the food in the open fire.
Even more love is their food and service. Every time I go their food is spot on, their wine is on point and the servers are friendly, attentive and helpful.
It can be deemed a date night place, yet I have gone with friends and had a lovely night talking over wine in the dim candle glow they host. Otherwise, if you go for lunch or brunch during a nice warm day, where they open their windows, you will enjoy a lovely meal with a beautiful breeze coming in (suggest you sit by the windows to enjoy it); It’s the best way to do it.
Writing this makes me want to get up and go right now. You will certainly have this feeling too when you come, I promise !

I’m going to start writing reviews like this: GO.
This is easily in the top 10 of the entire Bay Area IMHO, especially because it isn’t a tired approach, nor too edgy. It’s a very appropriate and homey spot for Marin & Mill Valley, and firing on 12 cylinders like an under the radar supercar should. =)
I’ve reviewed enough people trust me, and know I like multi-​coursed dinners whether at a pizza joint or in fine dining. I just like gluttony. But this is the perfect marriage of modern fine dining and hip, without the hip feeling like Portlandia. That being said, you’d think a vinyl music play list to border along those lines, but it’s tasteful, and YES… as the night progresses, the busy kitchen and staff abandon worrying about the playlist and just operate the restaurant. As a vinyl DJ with a residency who has also worked in the kitchen and front of house in multiple situations… HOW CAN THEY DO THAT? Well, they don’t make it a «thing». That’s how. But this place is a «thing»… and I can tell you I am disappointed I waited this long.
We’re back this Friday, in fact… so thanks Marjorie! =)
Course 1 —
OYSTERS EVERYWHERE, and they were fantastic… no mignonette, but it’s all prepped just to slide into the mouth, and enjoy with whatever topping they decide.
The Pickles are an arrangement of different veggies, and I wouldn’t miss this. They are that good. I am not a huge pickled cucumber fan, but the way they pickle is tasty as it gets.
Course 2 —
Smoked pork ribs with charred broccoli, mae ploy, mortared nuts, and cilantro. They are breezy… if, say, you didn’t like cilantro, tell them and it’s not there. The ribs were phenomenal.
Monterey squid cast iron w/​shishito peppers, Carolina gold rice, and carrot escabeche. The latter part being a tasty foam sauce that really compliments the dish. Also fantastic. Actually, that applies to everything.
Seared Albacore with broken avocado, lemon cucumber, and preserved lemon with olives. I coveted this dish and shared far less than I should have with my two special lady friends.
We paired the front end w/​2014 Château Coussin ‘La Croix du Prieur’ Grenache Blend from Cotes de Provence… a lovely apricot not too pink Rose. Earthy notes, not too much fruit/​floral and very old world, or at least they valiantly lay down to the acidity and minerality.
Course 3 —
I drink Oregon Pinots to the point it annoys my wife, so I thought something bigger for our main entrees, and it was SUPERB. I picked out a Northwest Syrah that was VERY SURPRISING — 2011 Fausse Piste from Amador Vineyard in Columbia Valley, OR. Most of the up & comer’s grapes are from Washington, but his various Fausse Pist incarnations are likely to make you happy… adopting the northwest’s soil into an older world, far more complex wine than a Sonoma counterpart. WATCH JESSE SKILES. WATCH HIM CLOSE.
McFarland Springs Trout w/​cauliflower (which they made delicious, BTW, something hard to do for my nemesis cauliflower)
Pork Chop with yellow peach, bacon vinaigrette, chopped almonds, and flowering thyme.
These two entrees were sublime.
Course 4 —
Blackberry Cake w/​Crème fraîche
Stone Fruit Crumble w/​whipped goat cheese
Superb desserts… not over-​sweet, skillfully made.
and of course… 2013 Château Roumieu-​Lacoste Semillon Sauternes and possibly partying with the staff, a bit. I think we are meant to come in and stamp with them.

I have got mixed feelings about this place.
The atmosphere is great and the restaurant changes its menu daily based on what is locally available. Which always deserves praise in my humble opinion.
Yet this is also Molina’s downfall.
My wife and I went there and we had two great dishes and one really really mediocre dish.
We ordered the trout stew, which was a daily special, and it had no taste whatsoever.
None whatsoever.
And it cost $ 27.
It was a daily special so I suspect the chef was experimenting with what was available that day.
I am sorry to say this, Mr. or Mrs. chef, yet your $ 27 experiment failed. It failed big time and the trout was the worse dish we have had out all year.
Although the salad and french fries you made were awesome.
And they were cheaper than $ 27.
We did mention our disappointment to your waiter…
And nothing was done about it.. .
We hope he told you.. .
Because please do not make that trout again.. .
And please consider giving your customers a free desert or drink or heck even an acknowledgment of some kind when your future experiments do not work as well as you wish.

Meh
Came Thursday evening for a 5:30 dinner with 3 friends, two visiting from the east coast. I suggested Molina based on past articles. I gave it 3 stars instead of 1 star because my friends did like their entrees whereas my experience was a fiasco. Small menu; 4 starters, 4 entrees. They’re known for their fries and they had mussels for a starter. Mussels and frites are a favorite. But, I have celiac disease and always have to ask if the fries are cooked in a dedicated fryer. 80% of the time they are not, but I’m used to that. It doesn’t hurt to ask, though, right? I was told that if they are making beignets that night, it would not be dedicated, but would find out. The waitress (young) came back to tell me it wasn’t dedicated but they were willing to put fresh oil in the fryer and make fries for me; that they would come a few minutes after my mussels, however. Wow, great! I also asked about the size of the mussels ($ 17) and was told they were «good sized». Entrees came for my friends, mussels for me. Friends had trout and pork. Pork was really generous, trout came in a smallish terrine on a bed of small potatoes, etc. About 9 or so small mussels in a smallish bowl in a very nice broth, but they were teeny and served cold. Interesting. So, I waited for the fries which never came. One friend had ordered them, too. We never saw a wait staff after the meals were served. I finally got up to find one and ask about the fries. I was told by the waitress that the oil was taking a long time to heat up. I asked it I would have them by dessert. She couldn’t say. I manager type (young, too), came to the table then to tell me I wasn’t going to get them after all, 40 minutes after the entrees were served and everyone was about finished. «Would I like to order something else?» What, are you kidding? Order it to go? «How about my fries?», my friend asked. They then brought his fries right away and I had to watch as my 3 friends ate fries, while I was still famished after 9 teeny mussels. We declined dessert.
We all agreed everything was about $ 10 overpriced. The cheapest glass of wine, $ 14. Ambiance is nice, cozy, clean, but there are a lot of reasons, in my opinion, Molina was dropped from the top 100 Bay Area restaurants for 2016, and it’s not just the new chef (see Michael Bauer’s article in the food section of the Chronicle, Sunday, ⁵⁄₂₂). My friends thought I should have been comped something but all they gave me was attitude when they realized I was upset. And, BTW, beware the white napkins if you’re wearing dark slacks. Looking for the best mussels and frites in Marin? Check out happy hour at The Left Bank. Cocktail, glass of wine, big, plump mussels in an awesome broth, lots of skinny, crisp fries (from a dedicated fryer), served in a paper cone, all for $ 19!

My first visit to this little place, my dinner was amazing! What a lovely place!

If this review was just for the squid starter it would be a 5-​star rating– it was crunchy and delicious! However, we had the black cod as our main and almost sent it back. The broth had absolutely no flavor, it was water with turnips. Such a stark contrast to the starter.

Good Food… But
I chose this restaurant for a celebration dinner based on Unilocal & Chronicle reviews. It was a major disappointment for one reason — the excessive and almost intolerable noise level. When you have to practically shout at your fellow diners to be heard across a small 4-​top table and when you leave the establishment with ringing ears (like at a rock concert)…the dining experience is severely diminished regardless of the food quality and service level (which were both very good). If you do go, ask for the seating near the front window or sit outside on the sidewalk. Otherwise, bring a pair of earplugs and eat alone at the bar.

Another gem that I somehow managed to overlook! This place was amazing and will become part of my «go to» places for special events and/​or date nights.
We had 8:00 pm Friday reservations and were seated immediately. The restaurant was pretty crowded, but we did not feel cramped in our little corner table. The décor is nice, the noise level is good (you can easily hear your date and tune out others), and the background music was fabulous! I understand that the restaurant has a playlist for each evening, but I was feeling down about the death of Prince and our waiter (absolutely fabulous guy) had the restaurant play Prince for our entire meal.
We ordered a glass of champagne recommended by our waiter (forget the name of the champagne, but I believe it was Sicilian — nice, crisp and dry) and then proceeded to order every appetizer dish on the menu; this was way too much food and we could not finish it all (which made our son happy because he got the leftovers) but we wanted to sample. Our favorite dishes in order were: smoked pork ribs with charred broccoli (not fatty and a hint of sweetness); sardines (crispy skin, mild fish flavor with complimentary flavors and textures); smoked olives (oh so buttery and creamy); Kennenbec fries (thick fries, crispy on the outside with a great pesto aioli); asparagus confit rabbit (some of the asparagus was nicely charred and the rabbit was crisp, but the whole dish was balanced with fresh herbs); Dungeness Crab stew (big chunks of crab and a hint of fennel?); charred squid (whole squid pieces that were very clean tasting and not chewy, good overall dish); lettuce salad (great salad with fresh strawberries). Hubby insisted on dessert, so we ordered Angel Food Cake. I took a bite simply for taste and, no surprise, it was also amazing.
While not inexpensive, the overall bill was more than fair for the food, alcohol and experience. I will definitely return.

Delish, fun, great staff we stumbled by after a Sweetwater concert and were welcomed with no reservation, while waiting at the corner of the bar for a spot to open up (clearly in staffs way) we were treated with smiles, jokes, polite «excuse me’s», a very attentive bartender and just generally happy folk by the time we sat down we felt like one of the crew. The food was amazing and because the bar is basically the «Chef’s table» all prep questions we asked were answered enthusiastically, we are thrilled to have Molina as a choice in MV!

What a GREAT little restaurant of this caliber in mill valley! Stylish, smart, inviting & food to live up to the hype. Thank you!
We had been wanting to dine here for a few months but life always got in the way. We finally bit the bullet one recent Monday night & had a great dinner & the restaurant had a good buzz about it. Dinner always is better with some bubbles & their sparkling vouvray fit the bill. Coupled with some ribs (oh yeah they were delicious!!) some black cod & some steak we couldn’t go wrong.
The ribs had a great crust & were moist inside & the dressing /​sauce was incredibly flavoursome. The cod was very good but perhaps a touch bland/​one dimensional for my liking but the steak was very very good.
This little restaurant is highly recommended.

Love the ambiance, and cozy space. Service was excellent. The food overall was delicious, and changes regularly which is a plus. The music and playlist concept is a smash. The only reason I withheld the fifth star was that the ribs, which were said to have been smoked all day were not tender, not meaty, and over charred, 3 on the plate with a few broccoli florets for over $ 20, not okay. Dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine, 1 appetizer, 2 salads, 2 entrees, over $ 200 with 20% tip.
That said, I will be back.

Wow. Man, this spot has it going on. First of all, It’s a beautiful space. Replete with Heath Ceramics and enviable art/​décor.
There were tunes playing on an old fashioned «Album» or «LP». These circular disks from a bygone era were, apparently, quite popular at one point. They are made of some kind of epoxy, are quite large, and hold very little data. However, the sound of the music has an appealing, old-​timey feel. Who would have thunk it! Seriously though, they have a cool playlist using old records.
The food… delicious. They have a small, yet focused, menu and an eclectic wine list. They are using fresh seasonal ingredients and the plates come in smal versions for around 12 $. They also have full entrees at about 30 $. No. Not cheap, dear reader.
I particularly liked the squid and padron peppers, the avocado salad and their amazing French fries. No ketchup though. Aoli only. We also had some wilted mustard greens with an egg and Parmesan cheese shavings. Yum.
The service was really top notch. Oh, they have a giant wood burning oven that is beautiful. And, this place in our mild winter would be a very nice place to rest your weary bones and order up some expensive ass, delicious NorCal grub.
I’ll need to replenish the coffers before I come back here. Possibly take on a second part-​time job. But, I will definitely be back.

Trying to find a great restaurant in Southern Marin is like truffle hunting in Alba with a sow who has lost her sense of smell…
Molina is not the emperor without clothes he’s just wearing H&M or Zara.
Don’t get me wrong the location is a beautiful side street of lovely Mill Valley. The building itself is a cute and quaint cottage befitting of a small Basque town or Zermatt. The inside is nicely decorated. Their open bar with the large wood fired oven, where everything is cooked in cast iron, is so romantic.
The notion of playing a vinyl playlist of great eclectic music from many eras is great… but that’s where the fantasy stops!
The food and service are just okay and when you factor in the pricey cost of just okay food… I just do not feel it.
First of all our waiter was a nice guy but not very professional and very frazzled. It just felt very mickey mouse. No suggestions, intermittent service, he just felt like a guy they asked to help out.
Our appetizers were mixed:
hand cut kennenbec FRIES w/​sonoma nori aioli 9: awesome some of the best french fries I have ever had. Large meaty fries fried perfectly with a great aioli.
Another dish was fried clams… the breading kept falling off. The composition was really out of kilter… as the top of the small crock had the clams and the bottom had small tomatoes and padron peppers… it didnt work and each component did not make sense.
The roasted Brussels sprouts were tasty but smaller than grapes. and a small portion.
The charred avocado salad sounds great but was executed without any char and tasted of a cesar salad with half an avocado tossed in.
The main courses were even less compelling.
My pork chop came served with what looked like a vegetarian version of Donald Trump’s hair (
). The pork chop was minuscule riddled with fat and over salted. It came with two nasty grilled peppers and half a grilled peach. I was thinking WTF?
My other three dining partners were equally underwhelmed. The ribeye was not a good piece of meat, not prepared well, and not garnished well (not!).
The roasted game hen was probably the best of the bunch but was a measly portion. Somehow the bleu cheese didnt work though and distracted from the flavor of the bird.
Wine list is okay but wines were meh for what you paid.
AS my friend’s wife said of the two bizarre desserts: F U, pay, and turn the table.
Yeah a grilled peach with fried pig ear… didn’t piqué my curiosity enough. I don’t think they want you to eat dessert.
Dinner for four with two bottles of wine sans dessert: $ 450…I would pass on this place.
The highlight of the meal was sauntering down Miller Ave. to the new pop up ice cream store Bön Bön… and having a good dessert.
Maybe it is just me but when crossing the north of the Golden Gate bridge: All sense of fine dinning is lost in a culinary Bermuda triangle.

I decided I had to write a review after seeing the «noise complaints» reviews. It could be because I’m a music lover, love spinning records myself, frequent shows semi-​regularly and have a drummer boyfriend, but I honestly thought the noise level was more than acceptable. We went for our date night and sat at the bar no less, and had no trouble holding a conversation and hearing each other. I believe it should be a given though that small restaurants like Molina would get a bit more noisy than large restaurants, because of the acoustics.
Like I said, we sat at the bar which we enjoyed because because we could see part of the kitchen doing their thang. I called in and initially it appeared as if they would not have a table for us for another hour and a half. That bummed us out because hunger had hit; but then… the hostess asked whether we could make it in soon because there were two seats open at the bar (score!). This means that walking in is risky because even if there are empty seats it doesn’t mean that they are for the taking.
The food was GOOD. We started with the squid (tender) and french fries (thick but crispy, sauce on the side), and then had the polenta cast iron and the game hen. I liked the polenta tons; the tomatoes, cheese and egg really complimented the creamy polenta. Although maybe I prefer to have a dish like that for brunch. My boyfriend favored the hen, which I thought could do with a little less blue cheese. For me though, the squid took the cake. The servings are really generous, thumbs up on that.
While the service was nice enough and attentive, I felt like there could have been a bit more of a connection. At the end of the day though, it is definitely a place that has it going on, so we bought the kitchen a round of drinks. Cheers.

Well, I really do hate to do it, but I’m going to be the t*** in the punch bowl on this one. It’s hard for me to come up with something (other than our company) that I really enjoyed about Molina.
Let’s start with the food. There was a theme that ran through appetizers and entrees alike: over-​cooked meats and over-​sauced veggies. Appetizers included calamari that disappeared insome vinegary dressing, mealy anchovies on a bed of green goddess-​drenched veggies, and supposed10-​hour ribs – no way, they seemed boiled. None good.
My entrée was a way over-​cooked and dried out Guinea Hen served on a bed a veggies sauced with a bleu cheese sauce that we could only describe as nasty. It tasted like spoiled food. Bad.
We didn’t even like the space. When we got there at 6:00, early, there were a few people at the bar and other table was occupied, but it was already loud. And as a big man (6 – 3, 225 lb), I felt like I was in a dollhouse. Very cramped.
Anyway, this was a big disappointment. We live right up the hill from here and had been meaning to go for a while. Oh well.

I completely agree with fellow Unilocalies, Molina is amazing. Can I move in? The restaurant is stunning and the small details make it stand apart from other restaurants in the area. From the mismatched vintage silverware, to the fully stacked shelves of records, you can tell how much love has been put into creating this special space. I love the aesthetic, awesome and incredibly thought-​out daily playlist (if you read my reviews you know a good playlist is important to me), and the food is incredible. The menu changes daily depending on what is in season, but if change freaks you out don’t fret! The basics stay the same; they always have chicken, fish, meat, and veggie dishes.
I came here for my birthday dinner and everything was delicious. We ordered wine and shared a radish appetizer. Loved the radishes! I highly recommend them if they are on the menu. For my entrée I ordered the cod with daikon in a miso broth. The rest of the group ordered roasted chicken with vegetables and the pork chop with apple and mussels. For dessert we shared a trio of ice cream and sorbet. The ice cream and sorbet was the only dessert on the menu for that evening– It was good, but I would skip it next time. When we were leaving the chef came up to me and said, «Thank you for choosing to share your birthday with us, I hope you enjoyed it.» I thought that was so nice and thoughtful. I can’t wait to share more memories with Molina in the future!