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| - Meh. Everything was overpriced.
It is rare for me to post a non-positive review, however because of all the hype this place enjoys due to its celebrity chef status, I feel obliged to give this honest and balanced critique. To start with a positive, the atmosphere is attractive and seeks to evoke a cozy pub-style feel. We arrived about a half hour after opening and already several tables were seated. We got a small table in the back. The tables are not laid - there is a drawer in the table for you to pull your own roll-up out of. Also, there are no menus, which although likely intended to be a cool shtick, was very annoying. The very nice waiter told us their beers and we ordered. These are the same local beers we had been drinking at other places all week, however, when the bill came we learned that here they were priced at $9, even though everywhere else they were $6 - 8. So, there are no menus. You have to get up from your table to walk over to a place where you can read the board (pictured on the website) and not be in the way of servers and other patrons while you figure out what to order. As you can see, titles and prices, with no descriptions. Our waiter came by and tried to explain some of the dishes to us. It was all slightly confusing and annoying. We ordered a dish with smoked meats and mustard and arugula (14) and the duck ravioli (25). The arugula dish was tasty as a shared salad and we enjoyed it. The $25 ravioli consisted of FIVE raviolis with a bit of sauce and nothing else on the plate. $5 per ravioli?? Also, no bread or pre-meal type appetizer (flatbread, olives, nuts, etc.) were brought to the table. After this we ordered two desserts at 9 and 10 which were both okay, although definitely overpriced, and called it a night. When the waiter brought the bill, we were informed that we could purchase a copy of the chef's new cookbook for $30 cash on our way out. The bill came to about $100 which we had spent on dinners at several other places during the week, however, those dinners were much more substantial and enjoyable. If not for our late lunch that day, we likely would have left hungry, and were very disappointed with our dining experience here. Although this place enjoys some celebrity status, we did not get a good value at all, and wished we had eaten elsewhere.
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