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| - We're a pair of friends who love to eat out, and spend most of our holidays going to places we've researched in advance. We love eating at everything from locals-only hole in the walls to street vendors to Michelin-starred restaurants - so long as it's good food done well.
We were off to a bad start when we arrived early for our reservation but weren't greeted by the host while she was fiddling with the computer. It wasn't busy, so there was no reason to make us stand there. We were seated at a 2-top with white tablecloths and napkins - more formal than we expected. However some tables were booths with wooden tops, and there was exposed bricks and antlers on the wall, but also the A/C units were covered in skateboarding stickers. Music went from oldies to classic rock to hip hop - all over the place. It felt like an identity crisis.
The waitress seemed nice enough at first, offered us water, and asked if we'd like a drink while we looked at the menus, and said she would be back to explain the menu from top to bottom. We ordered cocktails and started to try and decipher the menu.
Okay, so it's fun when a description is just a list of the ingredients, but just called something "Lettuce" doesn't give you a real idea what it is or make you want to order it (it was a mixed greens salad from a local farm BTW...for like $15)
The server walked us through the menu, explaining it was meant for sharing, and recommending a few options. We had the bread ($6) and warm olives ($7). We decided to go with a few starters (at $15-25 each) and then would see how hungry we were before deciding how many mains to order. While we understand that it can be more challenging for the kitchen this way, our server insisted we order our mains immediately.
She checked on us a lot and kind of hovered, making us feel like we were rushed. All while there were empty tables around us.
When the starters arrived, we made a comment about taking our time, and she seemed to hover less from then on.
So let's get to the food:
- Bread: Came in 2 large slices in halves in a bowl, with salted butter smeared on the inside of the bowl for scooping up. Was delicious and kind of a fun way to serve it. Felt a little pricey at $6, but there it is.
- Olives: Warmed up with oil and herbs, also yummy, but just on a single white side plate. Here starts the boring plating. Though we did receive a small metal pot/dish/flower pot to put our pits in?
- Scallops with corn, chicken skin, caviar: Raw dish, scallops were chopped and mixed, almost like a ceviche or a tartare. It was served in a circle, like a tartare, also on a boring white side plate. Nothing pops like white one white. :-| It was fine, but nothing to write home about - desperately needed seasoning.
- Artichoke special: Served with curry mayo and a crumb. Tasted fine, but plating was weird and it was hard to eat. Some of the leaves were cut off and drizzled with sauce, but the stem and heart were also there. It was very hard to eat. But when you did get some of the meat, it was roasted nicely and the mayo was yummy.
We probably would have ordered more starters, but since we had to order our mains, that's what happened.
- Main 1 - Lobster Risotto with Saffron ($30): Again served in a plain white dish, like a low bowl you would get at a diner. The risotto itself was cooked okay, but it was WAY too cheesey. Something a child might have described as Cheesy Rice. The lobster chunks on top were way overcooked and rubbery. It was tough to eat and we didn't finish it.
- Main 2 - Sea Bream with beurre blanc ($42): The best thing to be said about this was that the beurre blanc was delicious. However, it was a whole butterflied fish spread open on a plate with sauce and nothing else. It was overcooked, full of bones (but they gave us one of those metal tins again for the bones?). I don't mind paying $42 for a main, but it should come with some garnishes or be the best fish I've ever eaten - it was neither.
By this point, neither of us were very impressed. But decided to give them one last chance with dessert.
- Chamomile panna cotta with blueberry compote, strawberry jam and black sesame. Again in a white utilitarian bowl less than 1" deep. This white panna cotta had 2 circles of each fruit on it, and then a sprinkle of raw black sesame seeds. Not a paste or cookie or some kind of roasted something, just a sprinkle of seeds on the top of it all. What a disappointment. Oh and did I mention we weren't offered tea or coffee with it? #petpeeve
So all in all, we wouldn't recommend this restaurant. So unimpressed with mediocre service, expensive and ugly but not delicious dishes, and an environment that didn't know what it was. Take a pass on this one friends, it's not worth your time or money. Celebrity chef or not, poor food is poor food.
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