Being one of the only real sports bars in San Mateo, I decided to head over to The Field Club. Since it was one of the newer restaurants in San Mateo, it intrigued me. Its decor makes it appear as though it was some furnished hunting lodge adorned with sports memorabilia. It was a refreshing feel compared to the many restaurants trying to be more and more modern.
The menu is short, which helps the simplicity of some items stand out and highlight others. The service was quite good; we were checked up on a few times to make sure the meal was going well. I happened to forget my leftovers, and an employee furiously chased after me to make sure I didn’t leave without it — something you don’t see at most restaurants these days.
The Shirley Temple, if you didn’t already know, Â is a base of ginger ale or a lemon-lime soda and mixed with grenadine syrup which gives it a shimmering, deep crimson hue. The Field Club’s Shirley Temple was nothing special taste-wise; while it was good, the presentation of it was very unique. The grenadine sat unmixed at the bottom with the base soda above it, each slowly mixing into each other like blood in water: “cool” to say the least.
Watching the two liquids slowly mix into one another in the Shirley Temple is mesmerizing.
I had the ribs as an appetizer and the chicken club as the main dish. The ribs were good but lukewarm — not piping hot like freshly made ribs should be. The flavor was good and the meat was extremely tender, which are both good things when it comes to ribs. The sauce they were in was a little too much on the sweet side, but I just enjoy spicy sauces more — it’s much more of whether or not you like sweet barbecue sauce.
The ribs had good flavor and were extremely tender — order these if you enjoy a Saint Louis style of ribs.
The chicken club was quite good — extremely flavorful and fresh. It was filled with avocado (absolutely great on almost anything), chicken, and bacon. Everything came together in tandem to create a tasty sandwich.
The bacon was nice and soft, not crispy and hard like at some restaurants, and not chewy at all. The chicken was grilled, with some charring in some areas. The soft and chilly avocado helped cool the sandwich, and its creaminess complimented everything quite well. It was overall a very good sandwich, and I would definitely recommend it.
The Field Club is a good restaurant. While it’s not a spectacular ivory tower that symbolizes the pinnacle of gastronomy, it serves its purpose as a sports bar very well. The food it offers is quite good, and it honestly deserves a try. I’ve heard it gets packed towards the later evening, so try to arrive a little early.
The Field Club sits at 742 Polhemus Rd and is open between 4 p.m. and 12 p.m.
