Elephant Bar Restaurant

It was just okay. Way over priced and the quality of the food is not that great.

Pulling up this Yelp business listing sure did catch me off guard. Why? Well, those first few photos sure don't look like the food that comes out of this kitchen! These moments frozen in time display food that is masterly prepared and presented with with precision on the plate. In reality it generally looks like it was pulled directly from the microwave and half-heartedly tossed onto the waiting dish. Ten years ago Elephant Bar would have been a strong four star rating for me but it struggles to even reach three at this point.

Here's why...

It wasn't until I migrated South that I realized that Rancho Bernardo is a bubble. A bubble full of strip malls and stock restaurants serving the masses. The inability to attract well trained chefs has left this town full of restaurants like Elephant Bar. These places thrive off of coupons delivered to the front door of senior citizens waiting for the next place to save a few bucks. With this being said, the food suffers. I once though that E-Bar had decent ribs... until I actually had a rib cooked correctly. The bad part is that over time it seems to have only become worse. Typically the service is on par with the quality of the food here and the atmosphere almost drains the life from you. Do yourself a favor and get the hell out of RB and see what food actually tastes like - you may be surprised!

They have tried to stay current and update the menu, but for me it just doesn't cut it. For RB this place is a four star, for the rest of the world it lives in the realm of three with the likes of Chilli's and Applebee's.

We live in RB and used to come here pretty often. However over the last 9 months or so, things have really gone down hill. Seems like there has been a big turn over in wait staff and many changes to the menu. Several of our favorite items have disappeared and we do not like the replacements (we did try them). My husband and step father used to ALWAYS (I mean EVERY time) order the ribs, but both say they are no longer baby backs ribs and not good anymore. Service is slow and the quality is gone- at least at this location. Looking for a new, favorite place to take the family and out of town visitors. Hard to find a good family restaurant in this area! Bummed!!