If I could give Flying Fig 3.5 stars I would. I feel like I am cheating the establishment a little only giving 3 stars, but given the choice of "A-OK" and "Yay! I'm a fan!" I lean toward A-OK.
First, I need to give the folks there major props for being so nice. Our reservation on Open Table never made it into their system and yet they were more than willing to accommodate us on a Friday night. I was honestly expecting to be told that we were SOL, but they were awesome.
The French 77 is a great cocktail. I drink St. G and 'pagne pretty regularly, but never with fresh lemon juice. It tasted like British lemonade. Yum. The small plates are really the stars here. The bacon wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo were phenomenal. The stuffed banana peppers were really amazing as well.
Entrees were a bit more "meh". The hangar steak was flavorful, but the chimicurri-style sauce overpowered the beef. The short rib was much better; it had a nice combination of caramelized exterior with tender beef flavored by fat renderings. Both the roasted potatoes with the hanger steak and the mashers with the short rib needed more salt. They were flat, bland.
Dessert was lovely: fresh, housemade doughnuts; two kinds served with an amazing fig compote. Perfect to split between two people to end the meal.
I think Flying Fig really wants to be a tapas style restaurant and offers entrees for those who aren't ready for tapas. Given that, I would stay away from the entrees and order up all of their small plates and sample and enjoy. It is a much more enjoyable experience than the normal courses, anyway!