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| - Solid, but with more potential than actual precision. Definitely worth checking out though. A high 3.5 stars, so I'm rounding up.
Went for a Christmas Eve meal, and there was no wait. Well, sort of. When you walk in, you're directed to the middle of the restaurant to see the hostess and wait for a table. Which is awkward, because you're literally in the middle of the place, just waiting... And, for whatever reason, it took a solid five or so minutes before the hostess seated us at one of the score of empty tables.
We sat at one of the booths in the back, and I was worried that we wouldn't have a view of the Browns game, but you can see one of the many flat-screen tvs from almost anywhere in the restaurant. That, in contrast with the "waiting area," speaks to a good layout.
Didn't order anything to drink, but wanted to check out the beer list. I was expecting more Ohio offerings, but it was otherwise pretty solid.
We started out with two "small plates": Pepper-Crusted Rare Tuna and Seared Scallops. The tuna came out with four large slices of rare tuna, each with a healthy coating of cracked black pepper on the seared outside of the fish. Very generous portion, and it was good, though a bit underseasoned (notwithstanding the intense seasoning on the outside of the fish). The puttanesca relish and basil that came with the tuna added an additional bit of tang. I love raw tuna, so I liked this dish, but it would have been a little too "one-note" (the saltiness of the olives in the puttanesca with the sharpness of the pepper-crusting on the tuna) if we hadn't ordered the scallops, which were even more one-note.
The scallops were very well cooked, intensely sweet, and came with a shaved brussel sprouts, grapefruit and pomegranate salad. Interesting combination of flavors, but not a huge fan of sweet on sweet. That said, the scallops complemented the tuna quite well, so it was an (inadvertently) good pairing.
For mains, we ordered fish & chips and the special: a pan-roasted cod. The haddock in the fish & chips was too little fish and too much breading. But at least the breading was delicious: it was eerily reminiscent of funnel cake. French fries were thick and well seasoned. The cod was probably the most creative dish we tried: it came with roasted celery (a little intense), over a delicious, creamy celery root puree, and with a shaved salad on top of the fish that reminded me of cole slaw (not a fan). The cod itself was a very generous piece, well cooked, and simply seasoned. Good overall, and I appreciated the adventurousness of trying to serve cod with "celery three ways" (though not labeled as such).
Finally, our waitress was very nice, but a couple of times she disappeared. Also, not a huge fan of, "everything's amazing" recommendations for what to order or our requests for clarification on various dishes, but that's what we got.
Overall, a good showing. While there were hints of excellence, the total experience was better-than-average. I'd definitely give it another shot and saw enough that I'd recommend it to others. Just order wisely.
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