CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Raise your hand if one of your most wished-for childhood fantasies was to have a tree house. Keep it up if you still want the tree house, but with a nice wine service and without that treacherous rope ladder. Raise it higher if you're interested in adding on a pretty spectacular piece of chocolate cake. Yes to all of the above? Welcome to Sapphire Creek Winery and Gardens.
In the interest of full disclosure, it's not all tree house in this restaurant complex that doubles as an event center. There is a woodsy chalet-like main dining room with a soaring cathedral ceiling and a glass wall that looks out onto a great lawn replete with fountains, fire-glass fire pits, a large tent with an enormous TV screen for additional outdoor dining, and a sweet little chef's garden tucked into the corner On the lower level, there's additional dining in cozier spaces. But I digress.
The tree house itself, referred to undescriptively as The Pavilion, is accessed simply and easily right through the main dining room. It's a large balcony veranda, seating about 130, that seems to hover magically in mid-air, surrounded by a lush 15-acre forest, As the sun sets, you can sit back, order a very fine gin and tonic, and pretend you're at Tree Tops, the legendary glamping resort in Kenya....sans elephants, but also miraculously sans mosquitoes. And you get to sleep in your own bed at night.
So, we've prevaricated enough. How's the food? Well, it's complicated. My two meals ran a very long gamut. I've never spoken to so many people who were so enthusiastic about a restaurant and so reticent about the food.
OK, I'll walk back that statement a bit. There are some very fine items on the menu. These include a buttery velvet-textured Burrata (fresh mozzarella ball with soft mozzarella and cream inside), sprinkled with garlic and an inspired balsamic "caviar" (think vinegary dipping dots).
There's also and an extraordinary King Crab Roll. These are actually rolls, as there are two per serving. Big pearly pieces of crab and a little bit of frisee are tossed in a luxe lemon-tarragon aioli and stuffed into extraordinarily authentic and perfectly toasted house-made brioche buns. They have just enough crisp crust and soft interior to provide the perfect foil for the richness of the crab and its nuance of sweetness. Well-seasoned fries are a welcome accompaniment.
For omniverous voluptuaries, the Rib Eye is 16 ounces of carnal pleasure. Marbled and cooked to perfection, it's elegant in its simplicity, with only a bit of compound butter on top. Served with the equally elegant restraint of a handful of marinated cherry tomatoes and a miniature cast iron skillet of creamed corn, it's one of the restaurant's most memorable dishes.
Vegetarians can join in with the even more voluptuous, and appropriately named, Fat Ass Chocolate Cake. It's a gargantuan slab, $14.95 worth of rich, moist, chocolate decadence. Don't even think of attempting it if there are fewer than four people at your table.
There's also some problematic dishes. The Ceviche presentation was gorgeous, with dry ice billowing from the bottom of the double dish. But when the vapor had cleared, instead of beautiful bites of bright white lime-cured fish, there were gray mushy bits that hadn't been properly prepared.
Jimmy's Tots, large versions of the familiar tator tots, came in charming little fryer baskets, but the contents were erratic. One visit they were crisp and tasteless, another they were soft and over-spiced.
A hostess recommended the currently trending Cauliflower Steak. Luckily, it was served with a warm comforting salad of chickpeas with shallots, capers and watercress, as the 'steak' itself was so 'rare' that it was inedible.
When our waitress came to clear my almost untouched entree, I mentioned why I hadn't eaten it and received a shrug in reply. Speaking of service, there is a great deal of it, friendly, personable, and charming most of the time, from waiters and hostesses alike.
Except, peculiarly, when you really need it. When the food runners delivered one night, they just kept running, ignoring the request for ketchup for the Sapphire Burger. The ketchup finally appeared after a second request and very long wait. We finally figured that maybe this was their way of showing disapproval for asking for the perhaps offending condiment. Though, honestly, the somewhat pedestrian burger was not harmed by its addition.
There's a lot to like at Sapphire Creek right now. Buried deep in the woods, the restaurant/winery is an architectural wonderland with well-planned pleasures around every corner and the best over-21 tree house in town. It's winning in so many ways- - with a little more attention to kitchen fundamentals, it will taste as good as it looks.
TASTE BITES
Where: 16965 Park Circle Drive, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023
Call: 440-543-7777
Online sapphire-creek.com
Hours: 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday and most Saturdays for private events. It's best to check the website calendar to confirm open dates.
Prices: Appetizers $10-$23, Pizzas $13-$18, Entrees $17-$39, Desserts $6-$14.75.
Reservations: Highly Recommended.
Credit Cards: all credit cards accepted.
Kid-friendliness: Children can be accommodated, but it's a winery, not a whinery (alt: but it's an adult winery). Get a sitter.
Bar Service: Eponymous wines--by the bottle, glass, and flight--from the restaurant's Napa Valley vintner are featured, as are creative craft cocktails and beer on draught.
Accessibility: All-access to the first floor and garden. No access on lower levels.
Grade: ***