With its fairytale-like ambiance, the restaurant sets the stage for a non-traditional dining experience that unfolds over three intriguing Acts. Dining at The Hobbit promises a unique and unforgettable culinary journey and one that makes this one of the region’s best destination restaurants.

The Chef & Atmosphere

Mike and Debra Philippi have owned The Hobbit restaurant for over 30 years. The restaurant is itself something of an icon, having been opened all the way back in 1972. Chef Mike’s background is in classic French cuisine, and to that style, he incorporates local California seafood and seasonal produce to create a four-course prix fixe menu each evening.

Debra focuses on the restaurant’s private events and staff training. Since she and Mike took over the restaurant in the 1990s, her efforts have garnered countless Zagat ratings.

The atmosphere in the dining room of The Hobbit is just what you would expect from a restaurant with a fairytale-inspired name. The decor is charming, and both dining rooms are outfitted in a rich, warm palette of deep woodsy colors. The comfortable leather chairs, the fireplace, and the relatively small dining rooms create an atmosphere that is cozy and intimate.

What to Expect

Dining at The Hobbit is an untraditional dining experience and one that the restaurant goes to great lengths to prepare guests for prior to their arrival. And while the restaurant’s website outlines the most important piece of information, that the experience unfolds over three Acts, there are a few more tidbits we feel you should know before you go.

Reservations

A reservation at The Hobbit is a hot ticket in town, and tables ​book out TWO months in advance, but not beyond two months in advance. In other words, there is a small window each month where reservations are released for booking. If you’re planning a special occasion dinner, we warned that you really need to plan ahead here.

Dinner is a four-hour affair at this restaurant. As such, the children must be 8+ years old to dine. The first seating is at 7 pm.

Pre-dinner cocktails

Pre-dinner cocktails are served in a quaint bar area above the restaurant. This space serves as a loungy waiting room of sorts while the staff ensures that the dining is ready to go. With its couches and large armchairs, this area almost has a “living room” quality to it. The bar opens an hour prior to dinner service at 7 pm, and guests are invited to visit the bar during that time.

Corkage 

You are permitted to bring TWO bottles of wine per party, regardless of the party size. The corkage fee is $35 per bottle. ONE magnum bottle is permitted per reservation with a $70 corkage fee.

Act I: Appetizers in the Wine Cellar

Your evening at The Hobbit begins with appetizers, small bites, and champagne served in the wine cellar, surrounded by just over 1,000 bottles of wine. Appetizers are displayed on a larger “centerpiece” table, and there are roughly a dozen options to choose from. Most of the appetizers are one-bite pieces, so it’s easy to sample everything.

Going down into the cellar to enjoy appetizers is a communal event, meaning the staff takes more than one party down there at a time. Guests can mix and mingle while sipping their glass of champagne and sampling the array of options. You’re also encouraged to nose around the bottles a bit when you’re down here and select your wine for the meal. Keep in mind that the restaurant also has an optional sommelier wine pairing if you’re overwhelmed by the many (many!) choices in the cellar. We opted for the wine pairing to get the full restaurant experience.

Act I lasts around 30 minutes.

Act II: The Meal

A member of the staff will escort you to your table, where your second and third courses are served. This typically includes a seafood dish and a lighter meat like duck or quail. When we dined, Chef Mike prepared a Seared Diver Scallop with clam chowder broth and crostini for the second course and Herb-Roasted Quail with creamy polenta, piquillo pepper sauce, and chimichurri for the third.

The scallop had a beautiful caramelized crust, and both dishes were excellent.

After these two courses are served, you are invited to enjoy a 10-minute “intermission”, where you can venture outside to the patio or step outside to stretch your legs. When you return, your table is clean and reset for the final two courses. 

Act III: The Final Scene

The entree portion of the prix-menu includes one meat option (it was lamb loin when we dined) and two supplemental entrees that can be purchased for an $8.75 upcharge. The supplemental offerings this evening were a Chilean Sea Bass and a NY Strip steak with demi-glace.

A palate-cleansing sorbet is served when you’re seated again, and then the entrees arrive! The dishes had a rustic elegance to them, and the steak had a nice amount of bourbon sauce with it. The garlic-crusted loin of lamb was nicely plated, and both dishes were well prepared.

Final Thoughts

When you dine at The Hobbit, you really are in for a treat. This is one of the most unique fine dining experiences in Southern California, and the staff couldn’t have been nicer. We especially enjoyed the refined but relaxed vibe of what was an extremely structured evening. Everyone should try dining at The Hobbit at least once!