Cork Tree California Cuisine

I had the mini seasonal salad, which was okay and a good portion. The dressing did not have much flavor, a little too subtle for my taste. My boyfriend had the mini cesar which was THREE pieces of romaine lettuce. The seared jumbo scallops were just four regular scallops. I had the chicken dish which was really good and a huge portion. In addition, the pork shank and black cod were very very good! The crème brûlée was literally amazing. Wowow!!! The service was also great.

Nice atmosphere, good service. First time here and the prices seem fair…
until you realize you just paid $ 18 for lobster bisque that is luke warm lobster stock with no lobster and not enough to satisfy anyone.
The food was actually tasty, it just burned us to get a bill over $ 100 and leave very hungry.
Bottom line here is, there is no real value for your dollar here.

My husband and I looked at many restaurants in the area for our last night of our vacation. Cork Tree looked like it fit the bill so we went for it. We were impressed with the service, delighted by the presentation of the food and wowed by the flavors. The wine list was lovely and we would have liked to have seen beer on tap and more single malt scotch selections. The dessert selection and the dessert cocktails menu was super!
Don’t hesitate to have this culinary experience!

We stopped in at the bar last night and I’m thrilled to say the butternut squash soup is back!!!

We were a party of 14 Thursday at 7pm. Service was so slow that we were the last diners to leave at 10 pm.
It was extremely busy, but really. Some of entrees were tepid to cold, but no one wanted to send them back because it was so late already.
Our server was busy but personality kind of snippy. Didn’t even keep wine flowing– 8 of us drinking white and just brought one bottle then disappeared. Nothing exciting about the food– will not return. Too bad cuz 4 of couples are timeshare owners at the Marriott Villas.

Great everything. Amazing

The best meal we had on our trip to the desert. Service A+. Food A+ I had the duck with mushroom risotto. Best duck I have ever had. My husband had the scallops and is still talking about it. The food was San Francisco class, in the desert! It’s not cheap but it’s worth every penny.

Returned after a year away. Everything was really good. Duck breast was correctly cooked, great sauce. Our friends Lamb was just right. The seared ahi appetizer was excellent. The salmon fume was perfect. We also shared a excellent corn Chowder. They have a live singer/​guitar that was a pleasant addition. Really good experience.

Had the Filet, wife had the sun dried tomato encrusted white fish. Ya, um, okay… needed a little more flavor. Not sure what the big deal is here. Bummed. So close to our home yet I’m pretty sure it will be 3 more years when we are back! Server was great.

My last visit to Cork Tree was over four years ago. I returned recently (December 2015) and am glad to see that it is still serving amazing food with excellent service.
If you are looking for the perfect night out dining in the desert — this is your spot.
Our server, Casey, was extremely helpful in making recommendations from the menu and was very attentive — making sure our dining experience was enjoyable from start to finish.
Some menu highlights included:
Duck Confit Tacos — Very tasty, but not too rich or filling. A nice start to the meal.
Demitasse Soup Tasting — Each of the three soups included in the tasting were phenomenal. I rarely order soup, but these really hit the spot and were so flavorful.
36-​Hour Pork Shank (Osso Bucco): If you don’t know what to order — get this. The pork was fall-​off-​the-​bone tender, and cooked in a wonderful sauce. The garlic mashed potatoes and greens that accompany the dish all worked together perfectly.

We were judged the moment we walked thru the door, me and my 14 year old, who clearly wasn’t going to be drinking. We were sat at a table right next to the kitchen, which shouldn’t even be a table location based on the noise in the kitchen. I asked if we could move, since there we other open tables and booths available but I was told by the host that they were all reserved. They remained empty all night. The manager walked over to every other table to ask how their meal was, but not to ours. $ 118.00 later, bad vibe, wouldn’t return because of lousy treatment.

Really awesome restaurant. Fantastic service. Menu was loaded with really great and interesting choices. Could have closed my eyes and picked anything on the menu and would have been great. We had the bouillabaisse and the duck. Awesome! Service staff was excellent and chef executed the menu perfectly

We had a business dinner here with lots of wine.
Our reservation was quickly implemented and we had attentive service from the staff. We loved the food, not gourmand but tasty and better than you usually see for the prices. See the photos, the Pork Shank and Beet Salad were great, crab cake was ok, the escargo was pretty but not as tasty as I would hope. The fish stew was very good and all seafood was out of the shell, which was handy.

We chose this place based on the reviews and there were two salads on the menu which said they were organic.
A side note here, as of the date of this review, the online menu does not entirely match the actual menu in the restaurant.
Aside from a few difference in items, overall the service was amazing when we first came in. Our server was on top of everything checking on us often until our main course: she came by a few times and then disappeared. This is NOT a bad thing as the ambiance and the food is amazing, just understand this is not a get in get out quick place, it is a place to relax and enjoy an amazing meal.
I started with the Organic Mini Kale salad which has to be one of the best salads I have had in a long time. We also had the Sea Bass, the Scottish Salmon and the Roasted Chicken. All were perfectly prepared by the kitchen. The attention to every detail in every dish is evident, KUDOS to the kitchen.
This is a place some would consider pricey however, the price is worth the quality and quantity. You will not find a better place.
For dessert we ended the crème brûlée trio and the tequila ala mode.
I highly recommend this place, it is very popular and fills up fast so get here early or make a reservation.

This place was nice, quiet and served so pretty great food. I definitely recommend the escargot and beet salad.delicious.
Jumbo Sea scallops… brilliant. Cork Tree– a pleasurable experience with a well informed staff and good food and relaxed atmosphere.

Don’t even bother to finish reading this review, just call for a reservation, shut off your computer and go! Seriously, the food is beyond delicious.
My wife and I have been coming out to Palm Springs for years, but were getting bored of the same old fare the tired restaurants offer year, after year, after year. Since last year was a milestone birthday for me, we decided to find something new, and Cork Tree in Palm Desert it was. It’s a bit of a drive from PS, but well worth it if you want EXCELLENT food!
5 of us went out last year, and all we could remember was how good the short ribs were, and hoped they still had that on the menu. Yes they did, and they WERE as good as last year. This year there were 7 of us, and we all raved about the food.
4 of us split 2 orders of the above mentioned short ribs and when the busboy cleared the plates, there was not a speck of food and any of them. Another couple both ordered the oven roasted salmon, and with the exception of the spinach on one of the plates, they too were barren of food when they were cleared away. I had the 36 hour pork shank. The meat was fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. Not to the point of being over-​cooked and mushy, but pulled from the heat at the exact moment of tenderness. Juicy, succulent with a delicious rich wine reduction to accompany it.
You can dress up in your best finery, or show up in shorts and t-​shirt, and feel comfortable. However, Cork Tree is on the dressier side, so come dressed at whatever level that is for you, but be prepared to walk out of the restaurant sated and satisfied!

Food and service were terrific. Had to send my Cadillac Margarita back because it was discussing. Got a beer instead and it wasnt close to cold enough. They did comp me a dessert. Server, Larry and the manager were very nice and accommodating.

My boyfriend and I were celebrating our 2^nd anniversary and I made reservations to celebrate dinner at Cork Tree. I made reservations on Open Table and in the notes section I had mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary. The morning of our reservation I received a phone call from the restaurant asking me how many years we had been married. When I explained we weren’t married yet, she quickly said, «Oh, we typically celebrate wedding anniversaries here.» It was awkward but I didn’t think anything of it.
We arrive at the restaurant and I recognized the voice of the hostess as the woman from the phone. When I give her my name she hands some menus to a staff member and we are seated. The meal was okay. We brought our own wine because I have a good collection, so that was great. Oysters were very good (we never were told where they were from). My lamb was a bit mushy and ate more of the dry scalloped potatoes than the lamb. My boyfriend ordered the bouillabaisse and he enjoyed it. But what really irritated us is they obviously received the note that we were celebrating something. Not one person made mention of it. Apparently nothing is worth celebrating at Cork Tree unless you are married.
We skipped dessert and went to Mastros because we always have a great time there and we were treated fantastically when we went last year for our anniversary. We had no reservation and they were slammed but found seats at the bar. When they greeted us the immediately asked if were celebrating anything. When we said it was our anniversary they congratulated us and their delicious Butter Cake appeared with «Happy Anniversary» written on the rim of the plate. On the house. Classy and a great end to our celebration.
Thank you, Cork Tree, for reminding us we should stick with what we know.

HIGHLIGHTS: quality/​flavorful food, professional service, ambiance
This meal was so delicious. I highly recommend trying this restaurant.
I dined here with two of my girlfriends on a Friday night. We had reservations but I don’t think it would have been a problem if we didn’t. The restaurant is dimly lit with nice décor. All members of staff were professional and courteous. Okay, lets get to the good stuff:
As an appetizer we shared the Duck Tacos. The plate comes with 5 tacos (why not 6?!) so two of us split one. They were SO GOOD! The mini tacos sit on a spread of sour cream. The flavor is amazing — just order them!
I ordered the wedge salad and it was very very good, but my friend ordered the Corn Chowder (it came with a mini quesadilla stuffed with pepper jack cheese!) and my goodness it was amazing. Order that as well!
The entrees were ordered (and shared) were:
Beef Filet — my favorite entrée. The meat was cooked perfectly, was so tender, and had a great flavor. I believe it came with potatoes and spinach, both of which were great.
Lobster Mac n Cheese — I learned I’m not a fan of lobster, but the cheese was runny as opposed to creamy. Even if it didn’t have lobster in it I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as other mac n cheeses I’ve had.
Duck — the duck was very good and the sauce you dipped it in was even better. It was something like a sweet plum sauce. The meal came with smoked risotto (very smoky… good, but smoky) and green beans.
At the end of all that we didn’t have room for dessert, but the menu sounded delicious. This was probably one of the best meals I’ve had in a while, and while my girlfriends played a huge part in it, the food was delicious on its own!

3.5 stars — had the service been a little better, would have been a 4 star review.
We had a large party in a separate room. I ordered the white asparagus soup and told the server to please hold off any truffle oil (if they used that as a finishing oil). The soup was quite good –had great flavor and texture — however the lemon finishing oil was missing. Somehow the «no truffle oil» became «no oil». She brought me a little container of the oil, but seemed put out to have to do so.
My husband’s enjoyed his salad.
My first rib-​eye was overcooked and the gratineed potatoes were tepid, so I sent it back (to our server’s irritation). The second time around the steak was perfectly cooked to medium-​rare and the potatoes were warm — and both were very good. An official looking man stopped by and awkwardly stood at the table without saying anything until the server came back and told him that it was me that had sent the steak back — I assured him that the refire was very good; he said very good and turned and left (odd interaction).
My husband really enjoyed his duck entrée.
Baby crème brûlée had good flavor and texture, but had been bruleed in advance so the top was cold.