AVANT Restaurant

JJ Sullivan

Food we ordered was very good and presented nicely. Nice dinner that took some time to enjoy. The place on a Tuesday evening was quite busy, so I would recommend reservations. No more complementary bread the house bread ($10) is has two different spread and was served warm. We each ordered a salad Caesar salad ($18) and an autumn chop ; apple walnut salad ($25). They were out of the tomahawk so we went for a steak alternative, which was really good and we split this entrée. ($190). It did lose a star just because for the price the service was just decent. They did not rush us. We were able to sit and talk and just really enjoy our meal, but I had to ask for every refill on my iced tea and they forgot my husband‘s wine.. also they left the menus on the table the whole time which I thought was a little odd that they didn’t ever clear the menus for such a small table. Overall great restaurant pretty expensive, but it was a great experience and I would recommend it for a relaxing date night dinner.

Matthew Miller

Dinner date my myself and wife, we live locally. The hotel was beautifully decorated for Christmas which was a plus. Their cocktails looked great, but we were not drinking that evening. Their food was really excellent, bold and robust flavors that really satisfied. My wife had their lobster bisque for her main dinner, I had the pork chop which was AMAZING (salty, spicy, juicy) with roasted grapes and celery. We will certainly be back.

Denise Tung

I've only been at the restaurants for dinner or lunch. When I was here during Easter for lunch, I found out they have Happy Hour. Came here for Happy Hour at 4pm and was pleasantly surprised at the HH menu offerings. Loved the aji Amarillo paired with the ahi tuna, that extra spicy kick was so good. The hamachi, the oysters were also excellent. I especially liked the wagyu beef skewers so much that ordered a second plate. A wonderful stop on a hot day to get a nice cocktail or house wine.

Jeffrey Fonseca

Sooo, you think you go to Avant for the food and service, but after finishing your dish, you realize it was a couples art making experience where every piece is one of a kind/unique. Who needs pottery making when you can go to Avant!!!

Kersi Vakil

Awesome dining experience. Stand out items were the beef Wellington, all of the fish crudo small plates, the Parker house rolls and the brown butter cake. The raviolo was also cooked perfectly.

Chaitrali Joshi

This place is a great experience! Their menu is a unique blend of fresh garden produce, experimented with some exotic vegetables and edible flowers. Their dishes are really creative and amazingly tasty! This is my first time trying the truffle butter and bread, I was absolutely amazed by the taste. Being a vegetarian, there are not many food varieties one can have. But this place has done a great job of serving well cooked vegetarian dishes. They have some turnip and daikon based dishes which I highly recommend to try. Don't miss the desserts. They are very artistic, unique and a prefect end to the dinner! The ambience is beautiful, perfect lighting with a fireplace, green view outside.

Arlene P

The food is quality and the service is personable and warm: from Katarina the hostess, Dalton the server and Tyson the manager (...and the kind bartender else granter I didn't get) ...and even the regular patrons like my bourbon expert friend, Al. You'd expect this place to be stuffy, but it's just classy without the arrogance. The food is beautiful. Eat with your eyes first, then delight your senses with flavorful layers. Bon apetito!

Nick Mattaliano

Everything was great. Daniel Suggested a great wine from the Alsace region of France which paired well with the carpaccio’s appetizer as well as our Secreto and Branzino entrees. Josh was great will definitely be back

Jay Keyes

Been thinking of this place a lot lately. Hope it's still open when the COVID-19 lock-down ends. Reliable fine dining restaurant in the Rancho Bernardo Inn -- definitely high-end, but not exorbitantly priced. Pleasant and accommodating front-of-house staff and fussy food made with premium produce and meats.

Jeff Kaemmerling

Chef Christopher Gentile and his beyond superb staff (thank you Gaby!) host an exquisite and refreshing palette of flavors amidst a farm-to-table menu from their own, onsite garden, providing a culinary delight that rivals some of the best I've had in Southern California. Not only was I delightfully surprised by the high quality but I was continuously reminded how fresh and healthy the menu was as we enjoyed each dish! Truly a one of a kind experience. The ambiance is inviting, warm, and earthen as fireplaces and lanterns move to greet you against a backdrop of sweeping panaromic pine views. The cocktails are inventive with using their onsite garden ingredients like red beet vinegar, thyme, basil etc. I had 3 cocktails: Honey's Alibi (gin, honey, basil and grapefruit), Thyme Change (vodka, homemade citrus-thyme syrup, prosecco and lemon) and a dessert cocktail (scroll down to see). We then ordered the tasting menu which the chef happily modified a bit for us! Crème fraîche ice cream, caviar on top of a garlic crouton. Grilled, fresh oysters, seared scallops in brown butter and pureed asparagus, and 48-hour sous vide pork belly and cheek bathed in dashi broth, wrapped in savoy cabbage. Japanese A5 Wagyu with aerated potatoes and a never-before-seen Wagyu confit (this tasted amazing!). To cap this insane meal, we ordered the chocolate torte with raspberries and crème fraîche ice cream as well as the pièce de résistance, Dark Pedigree dessert cocktail (cognac, calvados, dark chocolate and coffee) . Extremely smooth finish with chocolate ganache balls, perfectly balanced between a digestif and sensual taste experience. Hats off RB Inn!

We had an excellent experience at Avant. I booked a business dinner for 11, and the restaurant’s bar was a perfect spot for guests to gather for happy hour as they arrived. Our table was ready right on time, and the service throughout the night was prompt, courteous, knowledgeable, and incredibly attentive. The team paid attention to every detail—serving utensils for shared dishes, crumbing between courses, and keeping drinks full without ever needing to ask. All courses for our large group were served simultaneously, and every dish was beautifully presented and cooked exactly to order. We never felt rushed as the evening wound down, and the spacious table setup made it easy for us to move around and socialize—especially meaningful since many of us were meeting in person for the first time. Overall, the meal was flawless. I highly recommend Avant for both a special night out and any corporate or group event.

I wish I could eat here more often because it is such a treat. Great food, service and ambiance. The menu changes with the seasons as it should! I love when places love what they do and this is one of them!

Tina Miles

On 12/13, two of my girlfriends and I were celebrating my birthday. Everything was amazing. Thank you Blaine for taking great care of us! ❤️

Adam Schilling

We had an excellent experience at Avant. I booked a business dinner for 11, and the restaurant’s bar was a perfect spot for guests to gather for happy hour as they arrived. Our table was ready right on time, and the service throughout the night was prompt, courteous, knowledgeable, and incredibly attentive. The team paid attention to every detail—serving utensils for shared dishes, crumbing between courses, and keeping drinks full without ever needing to ask. All courses for our large group were served simultaneously, and every dish was beautifully presented and cooked exactly to order. We never felt rushed as the evening wound down, and the spacious table setup made it easy for us to move around and socialize—especially meaningful since many of us were meeting in person for the first time. Overall, the meal was flawless. I highly recommend Avant for both a special night out and any corporate or group event.

KeepingItLocalSoCal

I wish I could eat here more often because it is such a treat. Great food, service and ambiance. The menu changes with the seasons as it should! I love when places love what they do and this is one of them!

Avant is a classy French-American restaurant serving elevated California cuisine. I greatly enjoy the fresh seafood, vegetables, and herbs. Avant also has an extensive wine list and a nice cocktails selection. Professional service. We visited for happy hour (1500-1800 pacific time) for some $7 glasses of Italian red wine and some fantastic $10-$12 appetizers. The happy hour value is exceptional, though note that the regular menu pricing is definitely on the higher end, as expected for elevated cuisine. The raw ahi tuna slices were topped with thin radish slices, small bites of strawberry, and watercress and set in a bright yellow-orange aji amarillo sauce—a beautiful dish. The hamachi crudo was also quite fresh. The halved orange gooseberries and fresh celery were nice contrasts with the fish from a taste and texture perspective. The fish and toppings were placed on a nice pool of ver jus vinaigrette, which brought a pleasant acidity. The Parker house rolls were equally amazing. Served in a bunch of three, the rolls were so soft with a warm moistness. The horseradish crème fraiche and nut butter were excellent companions. The three raw oysters were cold and refreshing. We requested fresh grated horseradish to add a nice heat and acidity to the oysters. Special thanks to Ariana and Joe for taking care of our group at the bar. They were attentive and charming. Overall, a fantastic place for a special occasion anniversary dinner or executive business dinner.

Our meal was delicious. We ordered the lamb, pork chop & elotes. The service was slow and wasn't the friendliest. Our server seemed upset that we sent back a cocktail, but it wasn't prepared the way we asked. Would definitely go back though.

I have been to Avant before, and this time we went to do the chef's tasting menu. It was $95 a person and another 55. If you wanted the wine pairing. We decided just to get a separate drink. The tasting menu was an 8 out of 10. In my opinion. The things that were good were really really good. The only disappointing part for me was the sculpin which was my main entré. Unfortunately. It was under seasoned and the relish style side was not complimentary to the fish at all. It was very bland as if the fish was not seasoned at all. It was however, cooked perfectly as was everything else. Everything on the menu was beautifully plated, thoughtfully crafted and we really had a wonderful time. The German chocolate cake dessert was amazing. The rhubarb dessert left something to be desired. It was essentially some fruit scattered on a plate. In comparison to the German chocolate cake log, that had a chocolate mousse under the chocolate shell, it really needed something else to even be on the menu in my opinion. Before we left they brought us a spiced rub to take home and use on fish, chicken, steak, etc... I use it on salmon and it was absolutely incredible. If that's how the sculpin would have been seasoned, I would have lost my mind in a good way! Thanks again to the chef!

I love this place. Great food. They changed their menu. I think they changed their chef. I liked the latin influenced dishes better but the new menu is good too.

Always a great meal at Avant. Great views, food and service. Be sure and order the bread it's surprisingly a real menu highlight. Only feedback would be the pricing does not align well with the food quality.

I am with San Diego Foodies and Carlsbad Foodies and our Table of Four. Tonight we are at Avant in the Rancho Bernardo Inn. This is certainly a date night place. Soft lighting and great ambiance. A special Thank You to Sue who gave us these beautiful pix! Gougères arrive as 'first bite'. And what can be any better? A round pastry with a parsnip and brie mousse inside, topped with a gooseberry gel and a Sorel leaf on top. World famous Alain Ducasse creates his Gougères with Gruyère cheese, and each are equally good. There are a few ‘stars’ in our meal tonight. The first two come in our ‘appetizer’ delivery. Parker House Rolls and Wagyu Beef Tartare. The Parker House Rolls are with choices of butter: a horse radish crème fraîche and another with several interesting ingredients including honey, anise and fennel. And at this point I am thinking: “If this is what they do with their bread, I can only imagine what they will do with the food”. Dari says: “One of the butters has a lemon taste and the other is more earthy. Both different. Both tasty”. Sue takes a bite of the Tartare and looks and me and says: “This melts in your mouth”. Dari is in ecstasy as she eats some herself. She says: The crunchy rice paper that tops it, which brings the beef tartare to life. Sue adds: “I’ve had tartare with a lot of friends, but this is just amazing. Dari chimes in: “just melts”. Next comes the Duck. “Quack Quack” I say. Lol This comes with some delicious root vegetables. We ordered, along with that, foraged mushrooms. “The duck” Dari says “is amazing". Sue says: “I think because it’s aged”. Dari says: “I would eat that any day of the week ....... any day of the week” she repeats. So when you come to Avant, please make sure you order the duck. Very impressive that this restaurant grows their own vegetables. Noticeably good. Now we are finally getting to the foraged mushrooms. Sue is talking about trying to cook Lions Mane and how hard it is to bring the flavor out. This foraged mushroom side dish makes three different mushrooms cooked, work perfectly together. “This is lovely” she says. And I agree. I tell them all that mushroom gets a bad rap. In addition to helping with inflammation and providing vitamin D they are also mostly fiber. You can let mushrooms be your Metamucil! Lol Our recommendations for dining: the three things to make sure you order when eating at Avant are: The Parker Dinner Rolls, which are better than any, and I mean any dinner rolls I’ve had. Good idea to order the side dish, a forage of mushrooms and their duck as a main. Our chef came out to greet us. And we left saying we think this was a really nice Saturday night out with good company, good wine and good food. We recommend that you try a night out here.

KakuBites

Avant is a classy French-American restaurant serving elevated California cuisine. I greatly enjoy the fresh seafood, vegetables, and herbs. Avant also has an extensive wine list and a nice cocktails selection. Professional service. We visited for happy hour (1500-1800 pacific time) for some $7 glasses of Italian red wine and some fantastic $10-$12 appetizers. The happy hour value is exceptional, though note that the regular menu pricing is definitely on the higher end, as expected for elevated cuisine. The raw ahi tuna slices were topped with thin radish slices, small bites of strawberry, and watercress and set in a bright yellow-orange aji amarillo sauce—a beautiful dish. The hamachi crudo was also quite fresh. The halved orange gooseberries and fresh celery were nice contrasts with the fish from a taste and texture perspective. The fish and toppings were placed on a nice pool of ver jus vinaigrette, which brought a pleasant acidity. The Parker house rolls were equally amazing. Served in a bunch of three, the rolls were so soft with a warm moistness. The horseradish crème fraiche and nut butter were excellent companions. The three raw oysters were cold and refreshing. We requested fresh grated horseradish to add a nice heat and acidity to the oysters. Special thanks to Ariana and Joe for taking care of our group at the bar. They were attentive and charming. Overall, a fantastic place for a special occasion anniversary dinner or executive business dinner.

Lucy Tiseo

Our meal was delicious. We ordered the lamb, pork chop & elotes. The service was slow and wasn't the friendliest. Our server seemed upset that we sent back a cocktail, but it wasn't prepared the way we asked. Would definitely go back though.

Ryan K.

I love this place. Great food. They changed their menu. I think they changed their chef. I liked the latin influenced dishes better but the new menu is good too.

Summer Sandberg Bonaker

I have been to Avant before, and this time we went to do the chef's tasting menu. It was $95 a person and another 55. If you wanted the wine pairing. We decided just to get a separate drink. The tasting menu was an 8 out of 10. In my opinion. The things that were good were really really good. The only disappointing part for me was the sculpin which was my main entré. Unfortunately. It was under seasoned and the relish style side was not complimentary to the fish at all. It was very bland as if the fish was not seasoned at all. It was however, cooked perfectly as was everything else. Everything on the menu was beautifully plated, thoughtfully crafted and we really had a wonderful time. The German chocolate cake dessert was amazing. The rhubarb dessert left something to be desired. It was essentially some fruit scattered on a plate. In comparison to the German chocolate cake log, that had a chocolate mousse under the chocolate shell, it really needed something else to even be on the menu in my opinion. Before we left they brought us a spiced rub to take home and use on fish, chicken, steak, etc... I use it on salmon and it was absolutely incredible. If that's how the sculpin would have been seasoned, I would have lost my mind in a good way! Thanks again to the chef!

Morgan Kelps

Always a great meal at Avant. Great views, food and service. Be sure and order the bread it's surprisingly a real menu highlight. Only feedback would be the pricing does not align well with the food quality.

Chef Marian

I am with San Diego Foodies and Carlsbad Foodies and our Table of Four. Tonight we are at Avant in the Rancho Bernardo Inn. This is certainly a date night place. Soft lighting and great ambiance. A special Thank You to Sue who gave us these beautiful pix! Gougères arrive as 'first bite'. And what can be any better? A round pastry with a parsnip and brie mousse inside, topped with a gooseberry gel and a Sorel leaf on top. World famous Alain Ducasse creates his Gougères with Gruyère cheese, and each are equally good. There are a few ‘stars’ in our meal tonight. The first two come in our ‘appetizer’ delivery. Parker House Rolls and Wagyu Beef Tartare. The Parker House Rolls are with choices of butter: a horse radish crème fraîche and another with several interesting ingredients including honey, anise and fennel. And at this point I am thinking: “If this is what they do with their bread, I can only imagine what they will do with the food”. Dari says: “One of the butters has a lemon taste and the other is more earthy. Both different. Both tasty”. Sue takes a bite of the Tartare and looks and me and says: “This melts in your mouth”. Dari is in ecstasy as she eats some herself. She says: The crunchy rice paper that tops it, which brings the beef tartare to life. Sue adds: “I’ve had tartare with a lot of friends, but this is just amazing. Dari chimes in: “just melts”. Next comes the Duck. “Quack Quack” I say. Lol This comes with some delicious root vegetables. We ordered, along with that, foraged mushrooms. “The duck” Dari says “is amazing". Sue says: “I think because it’s aged”. Dari says: “I would eat that any day of the week ....... any day of the week” she repeats. So when you come to Avant, please make sure you order the duck. Very impressive that this restaurant grows their own vegetables. Noticeably good. Now we are finally getting to the foraged mushrooms. Sue is talking about trying to cook Lions Mane and how hard it is to bring the flavor out. This foraged mushroom side dish makes three different mushrooms cooked, work perfectly together. “This is lovely” she says. And I agree. I tell them all that mushroom gets a bad rap. In addition to helping with inflammation and providing vitamin D they are also mostly fiber. You can let mushrooms be your Metamucil! Lol Our recommendations for dining: the three things to make sure you order when eating at Avant are: The Parker Dinner Rolls, which are better than any, and I mean any dinner rolls I’ve had. Good idea to order the side dish, a forage of mushrooms and their duck as a main. Our chef came out to greet us. And we left saying we think this was a really nice Saturday night out with good company, good wine and good food. We recommend that you try a night out here.

We had reservations for our Thanksgiving dinner. When we arrived, the hostess sat us in the bar. We expected to be seated in the dining area for a special dinner. When we complained, we were moved into the dining area. Much better...but we were asked to move again. Surely, if we reserve ahead for a $350 dinner, we should be able to enjoy our meal without this type of treatment. The meal itself turned out to be mixed in quality. The one strange thing is the knives we were given. The blades were dull and cutting the wagyu was a challenge. We asked for better knives which solved the problem. But not being able to cut wagyu!!!

For the price, this is the worst place I have ever eaten. Everything started off ok. Appetizers were fine and service was pretty good. After ordering entrees, it all went downhill. It got a bit busier, and we never saw our waiter again. It took a very long time for the food to come out. We were a group of 6, 3 people ordered steak, 2 fish, and 1 the appetizer ravioli. The 3 steaks: all cooked to the wrong temperature. The 2 fish: so salty it was inedible. I could not believe at the end of the meal someone came by and asked if we were done. He picked up an almost entirely untouched plate of fish and didn’t ask if there was anything wrong or anything else they could offer. The 1 ravioli: it was literally 1 ravioli. I understand it was an appetizer, but the staff should at least let the guests know they are ordering an extremely small portion of food. Overall, it was expensive sub par food with non-existent service. I recommend eating anywhere else.

Kelly Walker

For the price, this is the worst place I have ever eaten. Everything started off ok. Appetizers were fine and service was pretty good. After ordering entrees, it all went downhill. It got a bit busier, and we never saw our waiter again. It took a very long time for the food to come out. We were a group of 6, 3 people ordered steak, 2 fish, and 1 the appetizer ravioli. The 3 steaks: all cooked to the wrong temperature. The 2 fish: so salty it was inedible. I could not believe at the end of the meal someone came by and asked if we were done. He picked up an almost entirely untouched plate of fish and didn’t ask if there was anything wrong or anything else they could offer. The 1 ravioli: it was literally 1 ravioli. I understand it was an appetizer, but the staff should at least let the guests know they are ordering an extremely small portion of food. Overall, it was expensive sub par food with non-existent service. I recommend eating anywhere else.