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| - I live a 30 second walk from this place and had heard lots of good things from my neighbours. It always smells really good when I walk by as well, with the kitchen door being open to the street.
I don't regret going, because I wanted to try it, but unfortunately, it was a pretty disappointing experience. It was fairly empty when we got there, and we asked for a table for two. It was 7:30 PM and the hostess said we could have a certain table until 9 PM but that it was reserved afterwards. We didn't wind up needing the full hour and a half, but there must have been 6 or 7 other tables for two available when we left at 8:45 or so.
The actual restaurant is beautiful, and the service was pretty good; our server checked in with us periodically, was available when we had questions, and gave us the time we needed to decide on what we wanted. That's why I'm giving an extra star.
However, the food was a major letdown, and on top of this, the portions were so small. And not just the food- I don't even think I got a full ounce of the Glenfiddich I ordered. The only tasty part of the meal was the arancini appetizer, but even that was cancelled out by the fact that they don't serve bread and oil at the start of the meal. I thought this was an Italian restaurant!
I ordered the wild boar pasta (bucatini I think?) and my date had the lobster pasta (think it was called gigli). My noodles were barely cooked. Way too firm. The sauce was good but I was blown away by how small my portion was. I could have (and have) made a much better pasta at home. I tasted a bit of her tiny pasta as well, and we both thought it was overly fishy. There didn't seem to be much lobster in it, either.
The atmosphere and service are good, but the food itself is pretty underwhelming and waaaay overpriced. Even for the Entertainment District. I think I would have still been disappointed had we only paid half the price for our meal.
On top of it all, we were both still hungry upon leaving.
I'd come back if somebody else was paying but it wouldn't be my choice. Feel free to cross it off your list even if you haven't been.
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