| rev:text
| - Went to Cafepino with a group of 8 just before seeing a movie at the adjacent Harkins. I was a little apprehensive when we first walked it, the place looked too fancy to be next to a movie theater. After only a few minutes, though, I realized a better description was "trendy casual" ... not too loud, not too pretentious, and essentially just right.
We let the waiter know what time the movie was to start and he worked backwards from there assuring we would be served and finished in time. In fact, 6 of our party had already ordered and despite that our orders were taken about 10 minutes later our food was served just slightly after the rest of the group.
Our server was exceptionally attentive and on top of his game. He was there when needed and not a pest when he wasn't. Used plates, and unused settings were removed swiftly and efficiently by the busser.
It was half-price wine night, which encouraged us to buy several bottles of wine. We may not have done that otherwise because the wine prices were out of scale with the food prices and the ambience of the restaurant. At half-price, the bottles were reasonable.
There was a variety of food ordered by our group. I ordered a French dip (despite the cuisine leaning toward more of an Italian genre). It was, to me, just the right size, served on a fresh baked roll with caramelized onions and a somewhat tasteless au jus. I preferred that it was more tasteless than the overly-salty au jus I have had at other restaurants. The meal was served with a large portion of really good shoestring fries and a creative little pre-dressed salad and accompanied with small crocks of ketchup and horseradish. At under $14.00 it was reasonably priced.
Other guests' meals were attractive looking and everyone remarked that their food was very good. Most menu items were priced reasonably, maybe slightly high considering the movie theater mall location.
I think what makes Cafepino run so well is the fact that one of the two owner/partners stood dead-center in front of the open kitchen facing the dining area and acted like the captain of a ship. His eyes were on everything that was happening and he was constantly giving subtle hand signals and calling in team members for quick verbal instructions. He inspected every meal before it was delivered to the tables and made several quick rounds to greet his guests and assure their satisfaction. I truly have never seen such involved, personal (but yet subtle) involvement by a restaurant owner.
My star rating is based, in order, on quality of food, quality of service, and value received. Value received brought the overall down slightly because I don't think most people expect to spend as much for a meal prior to seeing a movie and those that do spend that much probably won't go out of their way to dine at a casual restaurant in a mall next to a movie theater.
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