Cricklewood - American, Santa Rosa

4618 Old Redwood Hwy, Santa Rosa CA 95403
(707) 527-7768
Parking: in parking lot
http://www.cricklewoodrestaurant.com

Last Visited: July 29, 2005

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$

Cricklewood’s sign says that it’s an ‘eating and drinking place.’ It’s been established at that spot for quite some time. The outside is dark brown wood. Inside is similar, with a large bar and dim lighting. Cricklewood also has a large patio in the back which is great for dining on a nice day. The patio has some sun protection while letting in the light, so it’s quite comfortable.

One nice thing about the entrees is that they are all accompanied by salad or soup, available during lunch and dinner. You can make one trip to the salad bar and fill your plate with either choice of soup or salad. It seems rare to find this available in restaurants nowadays. The salad bar isn’t huge, but offers enough variety with the basic fixings for a salad and offerings of premade pasta salad too. The freshness of vegetables ranges from slightly below average to average. It has a lot to do with preparation – lettuce being cut more than likely the night before or at minimum, hours before, causes some of it to dry out wilt or rust. It’s not severe, but you’re bound to find a few pieces in this state.

- Clubhouse sandwich – The bread for all the sandwiches were the same – some variety of multigrain. The bread was cut into thick slices, but I found it to be a bit dry. My sandwich was made with turkey (like that in a roll, not fresh turkey slices) and bacon, lettuce, and tomato. It was served with a pickle. Overall, I found it to be a bit dry and lacking in flavor.

- French Dip sandwich – Thinly sliced pieces of roast beef are layered in a soft French roll and served with au jus. This sandwich came with garnish and a very small slice of honeydew. Some at the table found the meat to be on the rare side, but mine was okay. The roll was slightly crusty on the outside, and soft on the inside. I was satisfied with this dish. After having this sandwich, I upgraded the food rating to 3 stars from the 2 to 3 range. Good. $7.50

This experience was in line with my past experiences at Cricklewood. It’s interesting to go for its atmosphere as it’s been around for a while, but it’s not a place that I choose to go to. For me, it’s more of a place that other people select, and I’ll go to be part of the group. Depending on what you’re looking for, you may find it to be your new hangout or just another place to go. That’s why the atmosphere is in the 3 to 4 star range.

Note that the staff was extremely good at attending to the drinks, and since our party was rather large, this in itself was quite a task. In past visits where larger parties (greater than fifteen or more), if you call ahead, the service is typically very good, although drinks may not get refilled. This alone brought service to a 4 star level. As always, try it for yourself and decide.