Below-par lunch at the Montage's Apex

Our first stay at the Laguna Beach Montage impressed us and we were also under the charm when we got invited to the open house at the new Deer Valley Montage. So, as a way to reciprocate, we decided to have our Valentine day lunch at the Apex restaurant of the hotel, that we thought would be easily accessible from the Deer Valley slopes. After skiing over an hour, we decided to grab an early lunch, skied by the hotel, spotted the outdoor dining deck, dropped our equipment on the ski rack and walked in. We couldn't quite find the entrance, but a young lady asked us to follow her down to were the hostess desk was located, deep into the bowels of the establishment, on a highly slippery hardwood floor evidently not planned to be used with ski boots on. At that point, we follow another hostess and retraced our steps back into the dining room where we were finally seated. After spending the morning outside and on the snow, the restaurant interior appeared strikingly somber and we had to patiently let our eyes adjust to the dark-chocolate tone of the wood coverings.

While this was before the lunch crowd - mostly all skiers like us - would arrive, we were struck with the number of employees buzzing in all directions and were anticipating an unforgettable luncheon. The menu looked okay and we ordered and looked around while our meals were prepared. Evelyne had the House Smoked Turkey Club and I had the Tuna Niçoise Salad. While Evelyne's sandwich was okay, my salad wasn't measuring up with its description. The “Niçoise Olive Vinagrette” didn't make it as it apparently was embargoed on the French Riviera, and the flattering description of the rest of the ingredients was a shadow of what it should have been. For dessert, we had the Montage Apple Strudel which was good and by a long shot the best item we sampled that day. In spite of the high number of employees, the service was so-so and not very efficient, the bus-boy attempting to take my wife's plate away while she was still working on her meal, and when she had to use the ladies room, aside from the light that wouldn't work, they were also other malfunctions that were not part of the customers normal expectations.

All in all the Montage restaurant wasn't the “apex” its name portrayed and still will have a very long way to go before it can dream to match the food offered at the nearby Empire Lodge operated by Deer Valley Resort...