DISH

Wow, one more place falls asunder in this location. I will miss their «adult» mac ‘n cheese. Doesn’t get much better than that. Everything else, well, it may explain why it’s no more. Oh well.

Big Surprise… it closed… there was something off about this place… warm dark appointed wooden bar to the right while to the far left it was a room of few appointments as far as warm woods… I personally am not into sparse… less is more mentality not to mention… food was not memorable…
RIP Dish

This restaurant is just great. We had been looking for a good breakfast place in Thousand Oaks for awhile and I think we’ve found it! Hearty food. Full plates. And friendly staff. I’ve never had a problem getting seated. I’ve tried two or three of their omelets and the French toast. All were good.
I’m very sorry to hear they are closed.

Closed! Went there yesterday to meet friends and we were shocked! Note on the door states they are permanently closed.
I’m so bummed!

Beautiful restaurant that serves breakfast/​lunch/​dinner in a huge shopping center. Came here for a business meeting on a Friday afternoon and we sat at the patio. No compliant on the service, the menu had a solid selection of food. I ordered the tri-​tip salad. I didn’t like that the mushrooms were so big and chunky which made eating the salad a little difficult. The tri-​tip tasted OK. They cut it into super thin slices, which is abnormal in a salad.
Overall, charming restaurant with decent food and above average service.

Got the chicken pasta w spinach, awesome. First time here and loved it! Will be back.
Also our server Lauren was terrific. She went out of her way to get us what we wanted! b

DISH opened up in the same spot as the ill fated TGIF in the Janss Marketplace. We decided to check it out after picking up a Groupon.
The restaurant was only half filled at 7pm on a Friday evening when we walked in. They have a pretty extensive patio area as well as indoor seating. Our waitress was very chipper and nice. Not sure if they were overstaffed for the number of people in the restaurant, but service was fantastic.
We ordered the pork belly tacos, a cheeseburger, salad, gumbo, the «grownup» mac and cheese, and the pork chops. The bread rolls that they gave us were piping hot but looked and tasted like the kind you buy in bulk at Costco. The pork belly tacos were actually very delicious — for $ 7 you get two tacos — a mound of deep fried pork belly, sweet picked bell peppers and salsa heaped on double soft corn tortillas. Very flavourful — the meat had a nice chewy texture. The gumbo was pretty good — lots of salty sausage and wild rice. It had a weird herbal aftertaste — someone at our table compared the taste to chinese herbal medicine. It wasn’t necessarily bad but it didn’t add to the gumbo. I would avoid the grownup mac n cheese — definitely not an improvement over the kids mac n cheese. The bleu cheese was wayy too much and absolutely overpowered everything else. The cheeseburger was almost sweating grease. I wasn’t sure if they had overgrilled the buns or if they were just stale, but they were very stiff and hard to eat. Pork chops were not good — definitely something to avoid.
The fries that came with the burger were the holy grail of the meal. I think my life flashed before my eyes when I ate one. Fat, golden-​brown melt-​in-​your-​mouth deliciousness. They were soooo good we ordered more.
DISH also has a bar with an extensive selection of craft beers.
Overall, OK experience. I think the menu tends to be hit and miss — some of the items really are very good, but some of them should absolutely be avoided.
AWKWARD BATHROOM EXPERIENCE: The women’s bathroom is arranged in a very odd way — one of the toilets faces another toilet. This wouldn’t really be anything of concern since they’re in their own stalls. However, in the separating wall there was a huge gap between the wall and the edge of the stall. So I was sitting, minding my own business, when I look up and make direct eye contact through the gap with the person using the toilet in the stall facing me. SUPER AWKWARD. I think at least some of the female staff know about it, because when I left the stall the hostess opted to wait for a different stall to empty out instead of taking the one I was just in. Ladies, something to be mindful of.

I really wanted to like this place, but alas they fell a little short despite making efforts to correct their shortcomings. So good news or bad news first.
OK the bad news:
1. The below reviews about SLOW service are spot on; they are slow and are understaffed and under trained. When we arrived the hostess was taking orders and busing tables. A+ for effort but poor management. Some random waitress stops by to introduce herself to us as we are waiting for dessert and says she is sorry and she has been real busy. Very weird, why bother, the hostess took care of us. I hope she does not get my tip.
2. The food was average. Pesto salmon above average; Cheeseburger below average (improperly cooked). Strawberry shortcake above average; Granny’s apple pie below average (they mixed ice cream and whipped cream on the same dessert = weird, and it was just a big pile of cream and a bunch of apples and only a little bit of crust).
3. This place is a little dirty, bathrooms, ceiling, floors, tables. All need some attention.
Good News:
4. They realized they were slow and losing control and comp’d us a free beer. Nice and appropriate, but for a good reason.
5. When they asked about the desserts I told them the Apple pie was only average and they promptly comp’d it. Also appropriate.
6. The pesto salmon was good. The burger could have been great but they ruined it.
Conclusion:
This place is a mixed bag and is in trouble. They need a good manager, better training of their staff, and some organization. The below reviews are also a mixed bag and so I am going with 3-​stars and agree with both the good and the bad below equally. This place needs help and I so want to like this place, as TO needs a decent restaurant like this. Sadly, they are failing and it is not the fault of the staff it is the fault of the owner and manager who need to get control and make this place work. Also, the menu is weird; they have weird appetizers for a traditional American restaurant they are missing items one would expect. For instance they have a mushroom Quesadilla appetizer. I mean I might eat it, but when I think of Quesadillas I don’t think of mushroom Quesadillas.
This would be a perfect Chef Ramsey Rescue episode. It is a large enough place and seats about 100 customers at one time. I counted about 35 — 40 tables and only about 30 customers in the restaurant and they were running around as if it was some crazy Saturday night. Tonight was a week night and it was after 8pm.
This restaurant has a good location, ample customer base, ample parking, and could be great. I want it to be great and I want them to be successful. Please DISH get some help; and fast.

Okay. I ordered a half portion cesar salad with avocado. The salad was fine. I asked for some olive oil on the side, they brought me an «olive-​oil-​like» substance, def. canola oil. What kind of resturant doesn’t have olive oil? Very strange. Also our waiter, I don’t know what his deal was but he intentionally would not turn around or acknowledge me when I called for him. We made straight eye contact, I waved him over, and he just turned around and left. He was really short tempered and a total jerk. I did not leave him a tip, why should I give someone money for being a jerk to me? My mom ordered a cup of soup and it literally came in a cup, like a coffee cup. A tall coffee cup with a handle… I don’t know if they were just out of clean bowls or what the deal was?
The food was completely below average, and service was terrible. I’d be surprised if this place stays open for much longer.

I ducked in here with my hubby for breakfast on a quiet Wednesday morning. Service was just fine, although I would have been shocked if it wasn’t, as the place was definitely not busy.
I like the toasters on the table. Gives me something to do while waiting for the rest of my breakfast. Mine came out perfect, but my hubby’s burned even though he didn’t touch the setting.
My spinach mushroom omelet was tasty — not greasy or watery like some omelets can be. The red potatoes were very good. My husband said his bacon and eggs were perfect and the hash browns were excellent.
I would feel comfortable with 4 stars for the food, but the first cup of coffee they brought me wasn’t hot. Also, my potatoes were barely warm. I found that a bit odd. The coffee was delicious though. I would definitely go back for breakfast again. I want to try the Johnny Cakes!

So, let me give you the dish, on Dish. Sorry, I had to. Came here the other night with Naomi H. to eat food and catch up. I really wasn’t planning on drinking or sitting in the bar, but I got there early and was lured in by the Happy Hour Menu.
Now anyone who reads my reviews there’s nothing I love more than a good happy hour. The best thing about their Happy Hour menu was the wide variety of drinks and the cheap prices accompanying them. Even at full price the prices seem pretty reasonable. (No $ 12 martini in sight!) Technically their happy hour is 50% off for wine, beer and well drinks — but they let you know right away that they can make most of their signature martinis with well and do 50% off. My Strawberry Lemon Drop was huge, delicious and quite the steal for around 4ish bucks.
We split the mushroom quesadilla, also on the Happy Hour Menu. I was a little surprised when it came out. It was just the quesadilla with a small salad. Nothing to put on the quesadilla, no sour cream, guacamole, or anything! After I tasted it I didn’t miss any of that stuff, it would have killed the flavor unless they made some kind of specialty salsa that went with the mushrooms.
The Ojai Salad was pretty tasty. The honey mustard vinaigrette seemed like an unusual pairing with the chunks of grapefruit and orange, but it worked out just fine!
For dessert we shared the warm pumpkin bread pudding. This was very tasty and a fun take on bread budding. Love the cinnamon and fall spices that were in it.
I would definitely come back to Dish. The service was good, the food tasty, and the prices reasonable. Definitely looking forward to trying more desserts!

I feel like I missed out on trying the best dishes at DISH. Not their fault, I was kind of feeling a little sick before I went so I skipped Happy Hour drinks, just ordered an Arnold Palmer and joined my friend at the bar. For happy hour, they serve sweet and spicy popcorn! No kidding! Good Stuff!
DISH’s Happy Hour runs from 3 – 6 p.m., M-​F and during Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and Thursday Night Football (the only reason why I know this is because it says it on the menu, haven’t been hanging out here for the games… yet) My friend, Julie H., had moment or two to get the lowdown on the Happy Hour food and drink menu. She was super excited about how many drinks were selected for Happy Hour, from White wine, Red wine, Beer on Tap, Craft Beer bottle & cans, and Well Cocktails. And foodwise, it was also pretty good, too. Here is the breakdown:
DISH’s Happy Hour Menu (as of 10/​30/​2012)
~Fried Calamari with spicy Chipotle Mayo & Ginger honey Slaw $ 4
~Wild Mushroom Quesadilla with Portobello & Enoki mushrooms & Smoked mozzarella $ 4.25 (tried it, LOVED IT. Asked for salsa or sour cream when it was served, decided to try it first before getting any dips, and discovered it doesn’t need anything. Perfect on it’s own!!)
~Grilled marinated vegetables with DISH green goddess $ 3
~Hand cut fresh Kennebec potato fries $ 1.75, Sweet Potato Fries $ 2
~Grown Up Mac & Cheese baked with parmesan, blue cheese & bread crumbs $ 4.95
So there. Prices you can’t beat, but in the future I hope to see a broader selection.
When it came to the service, it was nice and consistent. The blonde gal at the bar was super nice and super helpful, detail-​oriented and attentive. I never felt like we were lone ranger-​ed, maybe because it was a quiet Tuesday night *yawn* (I was ready to go to sleep at 6:30 p.m., and this place barely kept me awake).
The décor was super odd. Almost borderline bare, I suppose the restaurant space was a little more than expected for the people at DISH? Kind of sparse decorations, farm/​country/​homey style. You can check out pics on DISH homepage
Most of the patrons there seemed to come from the surrounding Senior Living homes. I kept hearing sirens in the distance, wondering if they were coming to fetch one of the DISH patrons.
Anyhoo, back to food. Entrees were salads, Julie wisely chose the Ojai salad, which was popping with color since it is served with grapefruit, oranges, avocado, chicken, and tomatoes with baby greens served with honey mustard vinaigrette. ($ 12.95) I got a salad from the Specials of the Day menu which was basically like the Diced Green Apple, Candied Walnuts, & Crumbly Blue Cheese Starter Salad but instead of Blue Cheese, it was Goat cheese. It had the organic greens, goat cheese, green apples and it came with delicious Green Apple vinaigrette ($ 8.95) Both salads were perfect, and halfway through mine I realized that I would rather have had Julie’s salad because it definitely looked more tempting!
Dessert was pretty epic. We shared the Warm Pumpkin Bread Pudding. It had a bit of a kick, since it had ginger and cinnamon in it. Super good. Perfect on a cool night like this one.
So Julie and I managed to not break the bank again, as Happy Hour can sometimes do, as over time + alcohol we can over indulge and over order. I definitely felt each of us had a balanced meal and I intend to come back to try more of their dishes in order to able to really give them a solid rating on their cuisine.