Anaheim White House

We made a reservation months in advance for ten at the White House for our annual convention in Anaheim. Granted, we were a large group but honestly, I did not leave with a great impression overall.
We entered a 12' x 12' room off the staircase, gorgeous and well-appointed but positively stuffed with two long tables and the accompanying parson chairs completely filling the small room. Two problems emerged rather quickly: 1. The small room, filled with twenty diners plus wait staff, because inhospitably warm and the air conditioning could not keep the room properly cooled. 2. Once all twenty of us were seated (our own party of ten and the other table of ten), there was no room for the wait staff in-between the two tables and there was no room on either side, either. We tried to make a go of it and realigned our table so that two people moved to each end of the table with four on each long side. No luck, still no room to maneuver. At that point, with menus being utilized as fans, we asked to be moved. We ended up moving to two separate tables of five within the same room in another area of the restaurant. The room was noticeably cooler and the evening began to progress from there. My beau and I split the Escargot con Aglio e Erbe and green salad to start. The salad was lovely, but the escargot was a standout - amazing, lush buttery sauce with a wonderful herbal complement. I then had the Vitello con Funghi - the veal melted on your mouth and the cognac, sage and Morel mushroom sauce was divine and oh-so-savory.
The food almost made up for the initial issue, but unfortunately the superheated, overstuffed room left a pall on an otherwise nice experience.

My husband surprised me on our anniversary by taking me to the Anaheim White House. The building was very quaint and felt very warm and inviting. I had the Caprese salad to start and it was amazing. The mozzarella cheese tasted like it was straight from Tuscany! I ordered the short ribs and my husband had the special, the short ribs and lobster tail. They were both delicious. I had the souffle for dessert, it was the perfect ending. The food and excellent service made for a perfect anniversary. I would go back any day.

Pros: Fantastic food and service

Last night, we drove up to the valet, and were overwhelmed with the impressive, glowing two-story mansion with the contemporary canopy. Romantic lanterns lead the way from the valet to the entrance of the home. A twenty-five foot American Flag waiving on the front lawn... seemed symbolic: Heritage, history, setting the standard. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by three people, and we were taken to our table upstairs. I had never experienced a two-story restaurant... or old mansion for that matter! They had so many private rooms, some for families, some for business. We sat in the Roosevelt room, intimate and cozy. There were mirrors and and paintings on the walls. I think it was actually one of the original bedrooms of the house. Our service team was extremely professional, and not pretentious. They were almost like butlers :) We had their lobster ravioli appetizer. I almost ordered an entree of that stuff! It was honestly the most amazing thing my family and I had ever eaten!! I had also ordered their rib-eye steak. The juice literally came out as I pressed my knife against it. The server mentioned that the steak was a la cart, so I ordered a side of augratan (sp) potatoes and asparagus. Outstanding! I was excited to experience this European style of presentation and service. Lastly, we had the jackie o dessert assortment. If you ever go in a group of four or more, order this! You have never seen or eaten anything this impressive! It was like ten dollars per person, but pricless for the fact that my mother will never forget each detail of the dessert!!! That to me is VALUE. Our server had a European accent. He said he loved working at the White House because 7 different languages were spoken by the employees, each contributing beautiful elemenst of their culture to the dining experience. Thank you, White House! I am so grateful, that I want to make sure the world hears about you! Ciao!

Pros: I think the cliche, "Not just a meal - an experience," started because of this restaurant!!!
Cons: Not open for lunch on Saturdays

Never in my life have I been treated as such royalty. The white historical manor, sparkling with white lights against the evening sky posed as a stunning backdrop as we sipped champagne in the garden and waited for our table. The maitre'd seemed to genuinely care about us (and he was gorgeous too!). When he directed us to our romantic table by the fireplace, he actually took the time to get to know us a little, but was never imposing. The server was knowledgable and very helpful in guiding us through the wine list and exquisite menu. Our dinner was an elegant creation of culinary bliss.

Pros: ambience, amazing food, stellar service

THIS PLACE IS SET UP TO DO ONE THING - EMPTY THE WALLETS OF CONVENTION ATTENDEES. The food is just okay. You can make better Italian food by bringing stuff home from Whole Foods. The $65 surf and turf special gives you a small piece of average beef and a tasteless piece of lobster. Their goal is to sell up charges in the guise of table service. Once they have sold all the up charges at the table, the service disappears. How convenient. They will ask you what kind of water you want and not tell you or your client guests that the cost will show up on your bill as $8 to $10 per bottle. (They are big on pouring water.) It is so transparent that selling over priced up-charges is the goal of their "service". By the way, if there ever was professional service at this restaurant in the past, it exists no more. When paying $120 per person, you should expect professional waiters. Instead we got poorly trained boys - amateurs. I have been coming here for over 25 years and I will not return again. My complaints about the food and service fell on deaf ears. I am still waiting for the promised follow up phone call from someone "who was authorized to address my concerns". BOTTOM LINE: The performance of this establishment embarrassed me in front of my clients. I saw the looks on their faces: mediocre food, mediocre to poor service and a rip-off price tag. And it appears the restaurant just doesn't care. After all, it's about emptying wallets.

Pros: Beautiful building.
Cons: Convention attendee trap to empty your wallet - poor food value. very uneven service