3.5 stars with an additional 1/2 star for service
You have to plan ahead to get a dinner reservation at peak times. Luckily for us, we were able to snag a table on a weeknight a day in advance. We were greeted with warmth from the front desk staff and you can peek into the kitchen as you step in which was cool. We were running late but they had us seated right away. First, we looked at the rather limited cocktail menu and apprehensively ordered some of those expensive cocktails. We were so glad that they turned out to be so good (got our money's worth). I think their bartender recently won some competition and he truly knows his craft.
We ordered a bunch of food items from the menu (mostly appetizers). Unfortunately for us they all came out in a hurry which was a slight blemish on the part of our server. We requested that they send some dishes back to the kitchen since we were not ready to take it all in at the same time and they obliged. Our server was very well informed and also stopped by our table to inquire about the dish we were served.
Our favorite bites of the night were the oyster po'boy sliders (why are they so tiny?) and the octopus. The octopus is a complex dish but I loved the combination of the harissa and salsa verde (perfect for my palate). The king crab rosti was nothing memorable and it left a sour after taste. Moreover, for 32 bucks I would consider it rather expensive for what it's worth. We also ordered a side of skinny fries (highly recommended even if you are on a diet :)) which we really enjoyed dipping in some herbacious aioli.
For dessert we had the angel food cake with burnt marshmallow crust which was very light and fluffy.
Overall, this place has an upscale yet casual vibe. It also has the right acoustics since we never really felt it was loud to distract our conversation. We left a decent tip since the service was so good. We will definitely come back to try the more upscale place upstairs.