The Grill at St Mark

Long large dining room has a perfect view of the first hole tee, tables and booths inside with patio tables on the other side of the floor to ceiling windows. Feels old school, brunch was only fair, some choices no longer available. Staff was nice but inexperienced. 500 for Easter brunch last year, 800 this year. I suspect they used the same number of staff based on limited choices and slowness. My three stars suggests you consider other options.
Our waiter brought large red wine glasses half full of champagne (they had run out of flutes), a small carafe of orange juice and water. The serve-​yourself brunch had clean plates and several stations. An omelette station was no longer operating. The «bloody Mary» station was out of glasses. Breakfast choices: scrambled, eggs Benedict, sausage, bacon, unavailable rustic potatoes and French toast if you waited until more was brought out. A toaster with wheat bread was provided. Entries included chicken and rice, broiled fish and a meat carving station which included roast, ham and lamb. The cheese board had two blocks, cut your own piece. The salad area was small with very limited choices. The desert table had small individual dishes (cheese cake, red velvet cake, tiramisu, fudge brownies and in-​eatable peanut butter cookies.
I used Open Table to reserve Easter Brunch asking for 12:30pm but getting 1:15pm. Parking was adequate, mixed with golfers coming and going. At 1:10pm we joined a line of six other parties standing in front of the hostess desk with three or four more already checked in. It seems that each party on the list had a table pre-​assigned. Each party waited until their specific table was ready and then were seated. More than once our hosts left the desk to help clear the table and make it ready. Meanwhile, we waited in line, not knowing if those in front of us had a reservation or not. We were finally seated at 1:45pm, 30 minutes after our reservation.

Went for Easter brunch. $ 40 per adult and the floor was covered in crumbs and food. Servers were overwhelmed and service was slow to nonexistent.
We never even had salt and pepper on the table. I asked for a manager but I never got one. AWFUL SERVICE! We will not be coming back.

Last year, on April 5^th, 2015, it was our first time dining here with family for Easter Sunday brunch-​buffet. Upon a friend’s recommendation, we called earlier to reserve a table at 2:00 PM for a late– brunch. We drove about 40 minutes and arrived with the parking all full, and saw a long line with lot people standing outside the noisy entrance. Turned out they all had reservations but the dining room was completely occupied and no one in the line moved for about half an hour. We asked the young hostesses at the entrance how long will the wait be; they said they can’t say! Surprisingly a few tables became available; eventually our turn to get seated came after a total of 40 minutes wait.
Since it was our first time at this restaurant, we didn’t know the price of the buffet as the website had nothing mentioned about the Easter-​day brunch. We were happy to see a whiteboard Easel at the dining’s entrance door that had a hand-​written price for: Members– $ 17.99 and Non-​Members– $ 24.99. We said Wow! This is so nice and affordable for families to have a special day brunch. No wonder so many people wanted to get in. Our waitress, Taylor showed up at our table right away to take order for drinks. When she brought champagne and orange juice, my husband asked to make sure if the non-​member price for this Easter-​brunch was indeed $ 24.99 per person as written outside the door. She gave a long pause and said that price is NOT FOR ALL non-​member guests today. She hurriedly mentioned that OUR price will be $ 39.99 per person. We wondered why two different prices for non-​member guests? She said she had no clue and without offering to bring back an explanation she left. We asked three more staff members, at the dining, the bar and hostesses at the door, they all gave a stunned look and didn’t have an answer.
It was ridiculous that no one in the dining staff knew who gets to pay the lower price of $ 24.99, among non-​member guests at the dining of St. Mark Golf Club. It sure felt unfair to hear them charge two separate prices for the same buffet. I later figured out that they had advertised a week or so before in the local SD Union Tribune’s newspaper for this Easter-​day brunch for $ 39.99 and those who reserved after learning/​hearing from that newspaper’s advertised price were charged higher than those who paid $ 24.99. I still don’t know for whom the buffet was priced $ 15 less as advertised at the grill’s entrance. Possibly those who didn’t make reservations earlier…
Nevertheless we felt the food quality and selection was mediocre at best. Service at the buffet replenishing the empty food platters was way too slow. People were waiting in lines too long, especially at the carving station with roasts. It was the same situation at the omelet-​station, where the omelet-​maker just left and didn’t return from the kitchen for a while. Some guests stayed waiting in line while others picked something else and left. No one replaced food at the salad and fruit section of the buffet. There was very little selection left for not-​so-​good choice of sweets at the dessert-​table. Not sure if this was all because we ate late, and the buffet’s closing time was less than an hour away.
There were still a lot of guests inside with every table occupied. It stayed too loud and very busy even until late afternoon hours between 2 – 3:00 PM. People getting up to refill their plates with more food were stopping on their way to the buffet, yapping loud and hugging friends (though it felt good to see them all socializing), but many were blocking the buffet-​food traffic everywhere. It was cool outside to sit at the patio as it got shady and windy later in the afternoon; hence there was no escape from the super-​noisy dining inside. The only good we noticed was that majority of guests were enjoying the obviously free flowing champagne. We didn’t feel the need to have more than a flute-​full.
Although the food wasn’t as overpriced as some of the popular hotel’s restaurant buffet, we were still very disappointed that they purposely charged us more by not honoring the price mentioned at the door for non-​member guests, and for the buffet-​food that failed the sufficiency to satisfy the guest’s appetite on this festive event.

Came here on a whim, looking for some brunch and drinks. Wasn’t disappointed. Really tasty buffet (loved the Benedicts) and free flowing champagne. I wanted to eat everything on their normal menu too. The view was rather nice and our waitress was the best. The majority of the other patrons were families or seniors, so it’s not a place to bring your hungover friends, but I’ll definitely be back.

I really like this place I’ve eaten there several times and never been disappointed. The staff is always nice and attentive. The selection of draft beer is pretty good. It’s a nice oasis away from the busy streets of San Marcos.

The BEST buffet to take the family for a special treat! We went for Thanksgiving, and everybody was impressed with the quality and selection of food. Custom-​made omelets, carving station with Ham, Turkey and Prime Rib… too many other options to mention but I’ll try… Lox? Yup. Prawns? Check. Fresh Fruits? You betcha! Bloody Mary bar? Champagne? Uh huh… Desserts galore, all I can say is WOW. And at around half the price of similar facilities… The service was top-​notch, we never needed to hunt down our server. water, coffee, champagne, soda. were kept full. We are definitely going back
*Can be very loud inside, get a table on the patio

Man, oh man. I miss what this place used to be.
Gotta say, if I could give 5 stars based on service and the bartenders, I would! They’re always so attentive and friendly. Honestly have been a couple times just because we knew we’d be treated well.
However, the food has definitely gone downhill. The calamari used to be SO AMAZING! But now, a soggy, overcooked mess appears before us. The salmon pattes? Long gone. The snap crackle shrimp now appears as shrimp in a heavy, fried battered blanket. So sads… I think their food vendors may have changed, as well.
I will say that the Monday night deals are really what you should aim for! Also, the happy hour is fantastic.
Maybe my nostalgia for the menu that once was has warranted the 2 stars. Hopefully management sees this and considers a change.
Would love to love you again!

Terrible service, mediocre food,
Went there on a Saturday night. No problem getting a table and now I understand why. We were seated on the patio and they turned on the overhead heater. When asked about lighting the nearby fire pit, we were told that was not possible because of a gas leak. After waiting 30 minutes for our appetizers the waiter informed us that they were out of one of our orders. So we ordered something else which took another 15 minutes to arrive. Our appetizers arrived after our salads, and we were barely through our appetizers when our main course arrived lukewarm. As it was steaks when they rewarmed them they went from medium rare to medium, but at least they were warm. Then when it came to desserts they were out of one of our choices. Our waiter also doubled as the bartender as they were short on waitstaff.

we had two breakfasts and one dinner experience here while staying at the Lakehouse Resort down the street. when you read the menu on the hotel website you get the impression that The Grill is as new and chic as the resort. nope. not that it’s a bad thing; the restaurant is just the country club eatery. nice view of the greens.
both breakfasts the service was slow. food was ok. i tried the short rib hash the first time and it was hearty; great portions. flavor wise it was lacking a bit. next morning i had the short stack w/​eggs and sausage. it was good but nothing exciting. wife had the waffles and french toast. the french toast was pretty darn good.
for our dinner, we had a great time. service was awesome (granted the restaurant was pretty much empty.) and the food was really tasty. wife had the shrimp scampi. great flavor, noodles were a little overdone. i had the burger w/​the fried egg and bacon. it was huge and flavorful! cooked perfectly medium and the fries were good, too. based on just dinner, 4.5 stars. but the two breakfast services… we plan on coming back to the Lakehouse Resort so we’ll most likely be back at The Grill, too.

Pretty damned good for Sunday brunch.
Buffet is extensive and high quality, complete with massive mounts of excellent cocktail shrimp, an omelet bar, and some superb roast beef.
French toast, bacon, ham, bloody marys, eggs benedict, three kinds of potato (breakfast, mashed, baked), and quite a bit more. All dishes were pretty good, although the ginormous filets of smoked salmon (yes, an entire filet, or two!) weren’t quite as flavorful as expected.
We waddled out of the contemporary dining room quite satisfied.

Amazing brunch and mimosas, meat and cheese platters, great desserts, breakfast sausage and mashed potatoes to die for

Delicious food, amazing bartender, great service!
The Sunday brunch has a bunch of really good items and they definitely don’t skimp on the champagne pouring. Recently they’ve added a bloody Mary bar on Sundays as well. Sitting outside with the beautiful view is my favorite.

Great food and customer service. Very child friendly if you have children. Prices are reasonable, food comes out fresh and hot. Peaceful atmosphere, pleasant staff that makes your experience five-​star!

Overall ambience gave this a 4 star rating. Food was average but tasty and large portions. Sitting outside with a glass of wine/​beer listening to a good music soundtrack while looking out upon the greens and being among the quiet concentration of golfers was heavenly for Sunday lunch!

A GEM for Easter Brunch!
We have been to a number of places for Easter and Mother’s day brunches — everything from La Costa Resort & Spa ($ 135+/pp) to Belle Fleur ($ 30/​pp) for special occasions brunches. We have four kids, so as much as we love a great meal and free flowing champagne, we don’t want to spend a mortgage payment on an omelet, pancakes, bacon, a carving station, etc. We want clean, tasty, selection, courteous and reasonable — we hit the jackpot with The Grill at St. Mark’s.
We had reservations for 18 — 9 kids and 9 adults — and they went above and beyond to ensure we had a great time. No complaints from any from our group.
PROS:
1. Attentive and available staff — I had two managers assisting our table arrangements as I had called in advanced and was guaranteed an outside seating area. Due to a hostess error — one of our tables was given away by mistake. The management team was on it and set up another table ASAP!
2. A very good selection for brunch — custom omelets, traditional breakfast favorites, an impressive shrimp cocktail area, fresh salads, meat carving with fresh and moist selection of prime rib, ham and turkey. A number of side dishes and a moderate dessert table.
3. Free flowing champagne — REALLY. No waiting while parched for a wonderful mimosa — not only do they bring your initial glass with a side of OJ (so you can add what you’d like), they leave a bottle (or two) on the table. They are quick to readily replenish if needed. Bloody Mary’s were $ 5 extra — but had an incredible Bloody Mary Bar for patrons to create their own delectable savory concoctions!
4. Incredible wait staff — Samuel was our waiter and he treated us as if we were royalty. Being a brunch, they are not there to wait on you hand and foot, but he was always present whenever we needed anything!
4. Price — for $ 39/​adult and I think $ 17/​child — it was very reasonable.
CONS:
1. Run down — there has been a tremendous amount of remodeling done to the San Marcos Lake areas of business but apparently, per management, these guys are about last on the list. In fact, I came and checked it out in advance as I wanted to ensure it would be a great experience for our guest. Once we saw the dining area with it’s worn and stained carpet, and stained chairs, my heart sank. The good reviews on the food, and securing the outside seating was the only reason I gave it a shot. I am glad I did as the aesthetics did not affect the service nor the quality of the meal.
2. Crowd control — our new table seemed to be set up right in a walk way to gain access to the area where an Easter Egg hunt was going — so we had to deal with a number of families squeezing by our table. Luckily the traffic of families quit soon after the egg hunt started and we did not have that issue for the rest of our meal.
Lastly — really came to The Grill expecting it would not receive such a great review. I was pleasantly surprised. We are booking here for Mother’s day, and all have agreed this is our new annual Easter Brunch location!

Service was great! Margaritas were really good! Our fries had a really good seasoning so no ketchup was necessary! Steak was really good too!

I really wanted to give this place more stars but the fact is, you can barely even find it!?! It has no sign or entrance that says «restaurant», it’s super dark in the parking lot, the hallway leading to the restaurant was old and dingy… Overall pretty odd. My first suggestion, get a sign so people can find you!
The food was really good! The roasted chicken was moist and tasty, my wife loved her meatloaf and the salads seemed okay. The drinks we’re very good, good glass of Syrah and a nice cold beer for the Mrs!
Would I go back, NO! Sorry Charlie.
Although service was friendly, it wasn’t worth $ 110 tab for 3!

This restaurant continues to improve under the new ownership. We’ve had several lunches & dinners due to the convenient location. Wait staff is always pleasant & I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the menu. Hamburgers are great, good crab cakes & our friends loved their prime rib; they also have sriracha! 4 star bc of the outdated décor. I believe they will be renovating the interior soon.

If you have old parents — this is the place! My parents live nearby and this is our go to Sunday free champagne parents are easier to handle when you are toasted brunch spot! Great views of the golf course, patient waiters (translate — used to dealing with really old people) and reasonable prices.
I actually took my parents here for Thanksgiving this year and it was fabulous (ordering them two bottles of champagne didn’t hurt). I am worried that all of the microbreweries and the new Lake House Resort are going to pollute my Golden Girl getaway with hipsters so let’s keep this between you and me (and our old parents).
Cheers!
Update: We also went for Easter. The food wasn’t as impressive as the Thanksgiving buffet, but overall still a great experience. The Easter Brunch also included champagne. Again, the secret to a pleasant meal out with the parents.

While our stay at the Lakehouse Resort down the street, we decided to have breakfast at, The Grill. They may be the venue that provides in-​room dining for the resort. Either way, we wanted to try out the breakfast, before we went to the Safari Park.
My BF had the steak sandwich. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it wasn’t bad. I had a short stack of pancakes and bacon. It was good, but again it wasn’t anything ahmazing, it’s a typical breakfast. They do have fresh squeezed orange juice (always a plus in my book!) They food is fresh and the prices aren’t ridiculous. Servers were nice and attentive.
We had some entertainment, while sitting out on their patio, watching the golfers.
We also had a 20% off from the hotel, so our total for two came out to around $ 20 with two drinks. not too shabby.