Having enjoyed lunch here several times, I picked Chinato as a pre-theater dinner destination on the Tuesday of Restaurant Week. The place was packed on a Tuesday night which added great energy to the place. Several things derailed the experience. First, the restaurant was out of both Malbec and Pinot Noir by the glass. Seriously? Open another bottle and sub it. But no. The boyfriend had the pork belly app and one of the pieces was stone cold. Ugh. My salmon app was completely tasteless shredded salmon in some kind of runny mayo based binder. Only took a few bites. The boyfriend's hanger steak on greens earned good reviews from him. My fluke was just OK. Nicely breaded but under seasoned by a mile. Some kind of mashed something accompanied it and some rock hard slices of beets. Now, the lemon polenta cake as outstanding. Really good flavor, nice texture. We loved it. The apple tart was warm and comforting with a nice chewy texture. Service was slow to slower and then slowest.
I realize there's a risk dining during Restaurant Week but I view it as an opportunity to showcase what a restaurant can do...in this case, not much.