Avalon

The Avalon has closed.

After having the worst sushi of my life my friend and I needed somewhere else to have dinner. We had parked near the restaurant and seeing that it was not busy we decided to eat here. If only we went here before! This place saved our night!
We were greeted and seated immediately. The waitresses were extremely friendly and pleasant. I had the dover sole and my friend had the ribeye steak. My dover sole was delicious. It was tender, flakey, and scrumptious. Afterwards I had the banana foster for dessert. It came out on fire and sweet and fantastic. To top it off I had a raspberry lemon drop. It was strongly made and cleansed the taste of terrible sushi from my mouth.
The restaurant is located in a building that once was something else — high vaulted ceilings, wood paneling on the walls, pillars diving the center of the room and a piano near the door. It was a great, relaxing experience and one I would repeat.

Went there on my birthday, back in October. It stood out in my mind as a negative time. Had terrible service. Our waitress appeared to be drinking and was more interested in chatting with the other table who she obviously knew personally. I’m not sure if she was the owner or what but she was not a good waitress. In fact she was awful. We had to ask for bread, we never got drink refills, and I ordered a «rack of lamb» and got served not even a half of a rack. Very expensive. Was TOTALLY disappointed. ;(I have had a positive experience in the past, so I would like to give it one more try.

We went in for some birthday cocktails. We loved Mark the bartender. He was so genuine and had great stories. Not to mention he let us ask a million questions about the liquors. I would be back anytime for a drink if he was behind the bar. And the cocktails rocked!
Mark did mention that Avalon woud be closing that location and were moving to Fortuna. So I’ll have to be back there soon and often.

Took my girlfriend here for Valentine’s Day, thinking it would be a pleasant place with good food.
Despite having a reservation, we waited about 20 minutes to be seated while the hostess was chatting it up and drinking wine with a couple sitting at a table near the back. The restaurant is simply a little box of a room, and we were seated in the middle of it, where we could experience the full effect of the cacophony of voices, dishes clattering, and barely audible background music.
We were served wine after another 10 or so minutes of waiting. We received dry, cold, flavorless bread rolls with olive oil and vinegar to dip them in. It tasted like stale bread dipped in vegetable oil, but I ate them anyway, knowing that it could be a while before the dinner arrived.
We ordered the most expensive thing on the menu (lobster pot pie) which was probably the worst thing about the dinner. It was basically a stew that tasted like it had sat out for several days with a stale puff pastry floating on top. The lobster was overcooked and rubbery, tasted a little bit like old tires dipped in saltwater. The scallops and potatoes were alright, but overpowered by the other ugly elements of the «pot pie.»
The rest of the dinner was mediocre. I had a game hen which was only slightly overcooked, and we split a compressed patty of cold crab. All told, I spent about $ 120 and was satisfied with $ 20 of it.
Avalon is awful. It has gone way downhill since the last time I went there.

This was a great dinner. The employees; the the chef were so great and accommodating to our special needs. The food was fantastic, great best meal I’ve ever had in humbolt county! For real

great wine list, mediocre food, great service. Not a place I frequent but not horrible.

A group of friends and family reserved the café room in advance at this place. We ended up running an $ 800 tab all told. When it came time to pay, the waiter informed us they don’t split the tabs. We had about dozen people there split over a couple of families. We all had the intention of paying for just our portions, not everyone else. Things went from bad to worse. The the waiter, while very friendly and polite, insisted that it was management policy not to split the tab.
When we talked to the manager, she still refused to split the tab and make us tally up our individual charges off the menu pricing. Outrageous that we should drop such coin and be treated to such poor customer service. The food was overall was decent, but vastly overpriced. $ 14 for a small plate of olives, crackers and deli meat? Nice presentation only goes so far. Upscale pricing is fine, but you have to provide really exceptional food and service, neither of which we received. The only real upside to visiting this place was the really professional waiter, who unfortunately is a slave to poor management policy.

4 for eureka. A nice meal in a comfortable atmosphere. Had the fish special. Was good, not great but very fresh, well cooked, and presented.
App of jamon, aioli, cheese was excellent.

We have come here a few times in the past. We love the dinner, but usually come for dessert. TOnight, Valentine’s we went here for dessert and coffee. I had a cappucino that was really good. If only local coffee shops could make one this good, I would be in heaven. Hubby had Crème Brulee, and it was warm YES the Crème Brulee, not the dish, was warm and traditional and oh so good. Yay, they learned to have warm brulee instead of a warm dish with cold crème brûlée. Thanks for that! Hubby approved!
Avalon was packed tonight, but we sat on the sofa by the fire. The staff was so nice and helpful. they wanted us to share a few moments at Avalon so they didn’t turn us away no matter how packed they were! Very nice. We met some great people by the fire and had good conversation. A little girl and her GiGi (grandma) were there and we talked about fabulous food, adventures and fun stuff. What a nice way to top off the Valentine’s Day. I wish I could review my hubby. I would give him 5 stars for making the day great!

Came up from San Francisco for a company party (only seven of us). Made reservations several weeks in advance. We get there only to be told that they overbooked and could not accommodate us. They just plain screwed up and had no excuse when we asked them what happened. Completely amateur.
Had a great meal at the Sea Grill down the street. Avalon will never again see me. Sea Grill will see much more of me.

What a classy & cozy spot to get drinks! Wow — the vesper (sp?) martini… Not too sweet and mixed to perfection. I’m in love!

We were a party of 7 and brought our own wine, which they served to us.
The wine was handled very well for a reasonable corkage fee.
The food was exquisite and the service was superb.
Not one person in our group of seven was disappointed, in fact they all
raved about the experience. This is the second time I have dined here, and the first time was as great as the second. I thought the prices to be very reasonable for the quality received.
I will make sure I visit this restaurant every time I visit my son in Eureka.

Really great experience here with my husband. Spacious– which is the complete opposite of most restaurants. Welcoming to children– again, the complete opposite of most restaurants. Although very casual (we were in jeans and hoodies) you would be comfortable wearing whatever you liked.
Started with an excellent raspberry Cosmopolitan, and fresh, distinctive rolls. We had a couple of orders of salt and pepper prawns, which were perfect. Dry, but not dried out. I honestly don’t remember what else we had, but that’s probably because I really enjoyed that raspberry Cosmo!
If I return to Eureka, I would definitely return to this restaurant. A nice, easy and tasty experience!

I had a going away party here a while back, and overall was really pleased. My meal was good, service was good for the approximately 10 people that were in my party, and I liked the atmosphere a lot. One of my friends even brought her baby, who was welcomed by staff (granted the baby slept the entire time we were there). Based on the above experience I would definitely go to Avalon again.
However, my issue with this place is that if I am going to pay over $ 30 a plate I would prefer that the manager/​owner/​whatever’s large dog doesn’t come busting through the door and interrupt my meal. It was very interested in the food, not on a leash, and at one point there seemed to be a possible threat of leg humping. Take that with a grain of salt though– this was well over a year ago.

My favorite place for an upscale dinner in Eureka. They have a lovely bar and make great drinks, and the food has always been wonderful. My husband and I are both vegetarians – although they usually only have one or two vegetarian entrees on the menu, we’ll often we’ll ask the waiter if the chef can just make us «anything vegetarian» so we don’t have to order the same dish every time. They always bring us something wonderful and surprising. They emphasize local ingredients, so you’ll really get a taste of what’s fresh in Humboldt.
The service is excellent, I’ve never had to wait for a table, and the noise level is low, making it a great place for conversation and a leisurely meal.

My friend took me here for dinner. We had a lot of fun. Our waiter was really plesent not pushy at all but also very attentive. It’s really spacious inside.
Nice selection of food and wine. I had a nice time.

I suppose for Eureka, Avalon ranks high up there but I would rather have eaten at a down home restaurant in Humboldt County but there I was for my brother’s wedding rehearsal dinner and you would expect that we would get great service and food for such an event. It was just sorely disappointing for the hype and for the ridiculous price. For comparison, Bouchon is cheaper and tastes better. Imagine that.
First off, they spilled my mom’s dish all over her — clothing, hair, etc. Great, now my mom smells like oily fish. They were slow to bring her a towel. Then they didn’t even offer to comp her meal until my brother asked them to. Seriously, I don’t go around asking for comp meals but when you dump hot oil and sauce on someone, that’s a given.
Then they delivered the wrong order and forgot my mom’s salad. So we waited for a while for them to sort it out. The fish dishes got rave reviews but my ribeye was overcooked, dry, and puny. I couldn’t believe it. It’s hard to ruin ribeye but I guess there’s always a first.
And then dessert –which disappointed me mostly because of the lack of creativity. I asked for some fruit the lighten up the heavy meal, thinking that since they had figs and melons and what not in other dishes, they would give me something decent. Instead, i got a few thin slices of apples and unripe peaches, not worth the price of what they charged.
Overall, if you want a decent, somewhat fancy meal in Eureka, Avalon probably fills the bill. Just don’t expect anything beyond ordinary.

***Update****
I sent an email to avalon and the owner quickly responded, letting us know that she was quite upset that we were allowed to leave the restaurant with any disappointment whatsoever. She promised to personally look into why the food wasn’t to our satisfaction and why in her absence we were not taken care of, and to send in the mail something to make up for that. Bumped the review from 3 to 4, will definitely eat there again and give them another chance.
**** Original Review ****
Service was spectacular in this classy restaurant. However the two $ 35 filets we ordered, one medium rare, one medium, were both very tough. The waiter told the cook who had ‘no explanation’ which is too bad because I won’t be going back here next time I want a good filet.
The desserts were amazing, except for the crème brule, which was served with the caramelized top not hot or even very warm.

The space is very loud, and the bar/​lounge area was filled with a rowdy crowd who even busted out a guitar at one point. If I was on an intimate date it would have been very annoying, but we were having a good time ourselves drinking the great vodkas drinks from the bar.
As a local yokel myself, this shouldn’t annoy me, but why the heck can’t you go to a nice, classy, $$$, restaurant in humboldt without a bunch of crude, loud, dudes in baseball caps? I know… its just real people keeping it real in this rural area, but it just bugs sometimes. I am sorry Aaron J., but you just can’t replicate the big city dining experience in humboldt, at least not without a dress code & a bouncer!

Avalon is one of the finest dining establishments in Eureka and Humboldt County. Some may think this isn’t saying much, but regardless it is hard to deny Avalon’s spectacular and upscale cuisine, as well as its classy atmosphere. Eureka (and more specifically Old Town) present very few options for inspired cuisine in an upscale setting, yet Avalon is enjoyable enough to partially make up for this problem. Avalon’s wine list is extensive, its excellent dinner menu is delicious, its setting both refined and comfortable, and its service is very polite and professional. My only wish is that I had more money on a regular basis to be able to eat there more often (as this type of restaurant not at all inexpensive, as expected.)
Being a Bay Area expatriate, I often miss not having many choices for fine dining when the occasion arises. Discovering Avalon has helped satisfy this need; and I am very glad that such an excellent restaurant exists is Old Town Eureka. 5 stars for being, quite possibly, the finest restaurant in the city.