Essense

Ok here we go.
I have been dining here on and off for over 20 years but it has been about 5 years.
We used to enjoy the bread cheese garlic and fruit appetiser but it is no longer offered. That was the first disappointment. The server stated that they are focusing more on SPA CUISINE.
The place has received a complete makeover and has been modernized. I cannot say I like the décor any better. I had to compete with 3 flies for my tiny meal.
The menu is new as well, focusing on charging for everything separately. If you want veggies or whatever with your entrée you will have to pay extra.
When the entrée arrived I was let down again. It appears they are taking their cue from the french. Charge plenty and serve tiny portions.
They first brought my caesar salad on a huge white plate with a small divot in the center where a Sizzler sized salad resided. When the main entrée arrived it too was served on the same ridiculous plate. See photos attached.
They forgot my sauteed mushrooms which was fine because I was afraid to see how small that portion may have been. I told them not to bring it after they apologized.
If you eat like a sparrow you may enjoy this place. I felt cheated.
The service was pretty good. It was just a let down compared to old times. This will be our last visit to the restaurant.

I am surprised there are not more reviews. I had the pleasure of eating at this magnificent establishment during Restaurant Week. First of all, this place is gorgeous, and who would have thought a place like this would exist in DHS. You could tell a lot of thought and effort was put into their creative menu. Growing up I ate my grandma’s chicken mole, so I was a bit skeptical about trying eggplant mole, but my tastebuds are so glad I did. It was AMAZING, and it paired well with the Mexican street corn. I felt very satisfied when I left, but I didn’t have the gross full feeling after a big meal, probably due to the food being clean. I will be returning very soon!

Essense Mother’s Day 3 Course Bunch with bottomless mimosas was nothing short of a culinary delight!
Course 1;apps:
A. The smoked salmon on flat bread, served with a lemon herb spread was perfect. The spread was not over powering, it truly made this delish app. a treat with just enough lemon/​dill/​cream cheese ratio. I would’ve prefered the flat bread slightly toasted, but I can not complain.
B. The strawberry gazpacho was the perfect blend of brunch sweetness. With the right blend of ripe strawberries & crisp cucumber, the balsamic glaze drizzle took it just over the top of amazing, fresh & sweet!
Course 2, entrée:
A. Excellent grilled Char! Not a hint of fishiness, flakey n moist. I would’ve prefered it served on a bed of watercress & endive, but the baby greens were crisp & fresh.
B. The flat iron steak was cooked to the perfect medium. Tender, thin sliced & just the right amount of char on the edges. Veggies served with it dialed this dish into heavenly & not heavy.
Course 3; desserts:
A. The Lemon bar was tart & perfectly sweet with a sprig of mint, lightly dusted with powered sugar.
B. The flourless chocolate cake with carmel wouldve been a bit dry had it not been for the mocha coffee that accompanied it. Wonderfully chocolately, but I would’ve preferred it with a warm molten center. I also would’ve preferred dessert paired with a coffee drink, included, however, it was not. We did order cappuccinos to accompany the dessert course… perfectly frothy, they undoubtly made the dessert course perfect.
The just of it: Our mimosa glasses never ran dry. Service was excellent. The food was nothing short of delish & satisfying with decent portions, cooked to perfection & perfect pairings! I hope they have a Father’s Day Brunch this year, as we will be there again. Top ur day off with a soak in their waters & what a magnificent Mother’s Day it was!

When at Two Bunch Palms or in DHS for that matter, the only place to go for fine food, juice and drinks. Def for the laid back person.

We were really looking forward to dinner here. Staying at the resort provided it to be a perfect night cap to a relaxing day. The ambiance was wonderful, our seats though were disappointing considering we made reservations well in advance and were seated against a pole. Our waiter although very nice seemed to have to many tables since it took about 10 minutes to be greeted, once ordering our drinks, those took another 20 minutes. Our entrees took even longer, so long that the waiter apologized and when I asked about our appetizer was told he forgot and would bring it free of charge. He at that time offered comped drinks to make up for it (however when our bill came we were charged for the drinks). I ordered the prawns, which I was told there would be 4 (for a dish at $ 28 I would expect 4 at least) but there were only 3 and we ordered the chicken dish, which was cooked well but bland and tasteless. The only plus was the bacon wrapped dates and the drinks…
We were there for a total of 2 hours, almost an hour of it was spent just waiting on drinks and food… Although the manager brought over our entrée’s there was zero apologies from her. Luckily we were to relaxed and happy to be relaxed to complain but overall this was one of the worst dining experiences we have had…
the two stars are for the bacon wrapped dates, sweet nervous waiter and ambiance…

Wow. Tasty. I will be giving the hotel 5-​stars solely for the fact that this restaurant is so amazing. We enjoyed the live music of a local favorite Joe Baldino — this actually pulled the 5-​star experience over the edge into one of our favorite new places.
Addison our waiter was top notch and took care of our needs that earned him a nice tip; win, win. As for the food I went a little wild with a healthy vegan orecchiette pasta that was so good. All their ingredients are from local farms or made in house.
We also enjoyed a farm fresh breakfast, juice, and a healthy drink concoction in the morning. The coffee was great too along with great service and a beautiful view of the San Jacinto Mountain range.

The sweet potato fries were good. The soup portion was incredibly tiny and the falafels were very dry. The setting however was relaxing.

This place has plummeted into mediocrity. I’ve been coming here for 30+ years and have watched it’s inexorable deterioration.
I’m staying here and spa-​ing here but eating here is impossible
A shrimp cocktail to which a 10 megaton flavor-​removing vacuum was applied. Awful. I begged for salt and I’m on a low sodium diet!
All the salt in the place must have gone into the cardboard-​dry roast chicken.
Really hard to RUIN chicken but they have accomplished this singular feat.
I’m done.
I’ve got closer spas with FAR better food!

Food was freshly prepared and very tasty. The fusion of healthy ingredients and creative preparation was spot on!
The location is an oasis in Desert Hot Springs.

Very good restaurant discovered via browsing as we were not an hotel guest.
Food was great and wine choice too. We had gazpacho a bit spicy yet great. Stuffed dates really good but I would have dressed the salad rather than just drizzling it with a molasses.
Kobe burger well done.
my only con would be the fact that they allow people in robe to eat in the restaurant and because it
is not just a poolside café outdoor I was not comfortable with bare body while eating. Service good.

Once you are inside Two Bunch Palms you don’t need to go anywhere else. Having eaten at Essence for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never being disappointed even once, I can stand behind a 5 star rating. I have been coming to TBP since the 90’s and have seen its evolution. We have sampled just about everything on the breakfast menu and now most of the dinner menu so basically you can’t go wrong with anything. Breakfast is served at 7:30 and make sure you have reservations for the weekend as it fills up quickly.
Lunch out by the pool and they will deliver to you. The appetizer menu is quite good also. They have a small bar separating the dining area and a small inside patio and a larger outside patio area overlooking the pool. The creative cocktails and healthy vegetable cleanses are actually very tasty. They also have a few bottled beers from local breweries. We keep hoping they will start carrying Belgian beer along with their wine list.
The remodel in the restaurant provided the tender loving care that transformed the dining room into a more contemporary open, light, and airy environment. Great place for celebratory dinners with friends, romantic & intimate, or just relaxing in your robe after or before a treatment. It’s all good. The main dining room has a beautiful view of San Jacinto and Palm Springs that twinkles in the evening. The restaurant staff has matured just in the past year. It just keeps getting better. Even the server’s level of enthusiasm and professionalism has grown. I like being in a place where it feels like everyone is happy and having fun. If you haven’t been here in awhile, check it out. You can even do a day spa now also. Dinner and a soak, with naturally occurring Lithium in the natural hot springs water.

Made a reservation and were seated at a table not acceptable for us. We wanted a view, as there were plenty of empty tables, we were told they were booked and had no other seating options for us.
My husband went to hostess and was disappointed and confused by the accommodations and as we were ready to leave, she came over and moved us to a window view that «just came available». Why do restuarants do that? Yes, we were not staying at resort and yes we made a last minute reservation.
It all worked out! We had great cocktails (Heetseeker), wine and a great meal with a beautiful view. It never got busy while we were there on a Saturday nite. Piano bar, excellent filet mignon, and salads. It’s a must do and eat! Very impressive, pricey but worth it!

Essence was an amazing dining experience. Our server Addison was very well versed in the menu and wine menu as well. Sunday is half price wine bottles too!!! The apps were so amazing I can’t list just one so I’ll list them all: Green Bean Tempura, Beet Napoleon, Burrata, Endive Indo Fig Salad & Earl Grey Tomato soup — ALL fantastic! Cannot rave about this place enough. Book im advance for a window seat, the view is incredible.

What a great surprise! Celebrated a marriage and had lunch at Essense in Two Bunch Palms! Food was so fresh, natural (organic when possible) and creative cocktails! Service was a bit slow, but considering this is the spas restaurant and everybody is there to relax, one can’t complain. A storm just passed and there was a drip that started to fall into the table and the staff was very good at accommodating us and moving things around. We had the following (and then some)
Moroccan Smile
(Falafel, Hummus, Olives, Fromage Blanc, Pita)
Local Farm Cheese Plate
(California Cheddar, Port Salut, Goat Cheese,
Danish Brie, Pecorino, Almonds, Fruit Spreads,
Honey, Warm Baguette)
Vegetarian Garden Sandwich (Grilled Tomato Steak, Caramelized Onions, Portobello, Avocado-​Lentil Spread, Harissa Sauce),
Turkey Cranberry Wrap (Whole Grain Tortilla, All Natural Turkey Breast, Avocado, Mixed Greens Caramelized Onions, Cranberry Jam and Local Cheddar Whole Wheat Pita.
Never been to DHS but I’ll definitely come back and explore the menu some more or when I have a craving for nourishing food!

Nice, clean, dark, bit noisy but still romantic.
Food was good, bit pricy but would recommend it if your looking for a upscale restaurant feel.

The place was a bit out of the way from Palm Springs, but it was very good. They offered quite a few vegan options, which were marked as such on the menu (love!), and had a few vegan wine selections. Loved the rigatoni app! The décor was not quite as cute as I was expecting from photos though.

Come for lunch and breakfast, NOT dinner. Lunch here is generally delicious (get the turkey wrap and sweet potato fries; skip the gazpacho – yuck!). I also had a wonderful Palms Breakfast Basket today (the best croissant ever, granola, yogurt and OJ for $ 12). Skip the blintzes.
Dinner on the other hand is overpriced, awkwardly fancy for a somewhat rustic resort, and the lights are too low, the music is too loud and there are loud, annoying waiters. And slow service. It has potential but should take it down a notch on a few different levels as dinner. Again, lunch and breakfast are great, however, on many levels – food, service and value. I’d give those meals 5 stars and dinner 2 stars.

We were so disappointed on our recent stay at the resort with the lack of quality at the onsite restaurant. We had two dinners, the first was ok, nothing spectacular, the second was a spectacular disaster. Our food arrived lukewarm and horribly under seasoned. I understand the desire to strive for healthy, low salt, etc. but it does not need to be at the expense of the taste.
The service was generally awful as well. There is one waiter who is so loud and over the top that he completely ruined the ambience that they seem to be striving for. Speaking of ambience, when every guest in the restaurant has to get a flashlight out to read the menu it might be time to turn the lights up.
The total lack of quality in the restaurant is a huge turn off for staying at the resort again.

Very impressed by Chef Cossi. Everything we had at dinner was delightful. We started with the Heirloom tomatoes carpaccio. For entrees we ordered the Colorado rack of lamb and Mexican Gulf Shrimp. Both dishes are amazing but the rack of lamb was hands down one of the best lamb we’ve ever had.
We will be going back there for brunch! Dining here is definitely one of the highlights of staying at the Two Bunch.

I’d have to say, Essence at the Two Bunch Palms resort was a hidden gem. My lady and I went here for breakfast, but we weren’t looking for anything too filling. Essence had the answer. I ordered the egg white omelette while she had the smoked salmon. I also had a mimosa with fresh squeezed orange juice!
Besides the delicious health conscious menu, the service provided by our waiter, Addison, was nothing less then amazing. He gave us a bit of history lesson on the resort and it’s background along with non stop refills of coffee and also the kind gestures to check out the rest of the resort after our meal.
Definitely making plans for our next vacation to come back to this place.