| rev:text
| - We heard so many good things about this place, but were always forgetting to make reservations well in advance - this weekend, it was our anniversary, and we decided that the time was right. After reviewing the menu online, and really appreciating the hard work and organization that has gone into their slick website, we felt that it would good experience.
Unfortunately, the problems started as soon as we arrived - we were immediately told that the previous party had not vacated the table, and that we should sit at the bar. No problem; I can always appreciate some time to relax and chat with my wife - the problem was that we saw the people leave our table about 10 minutes before the table was bussed and ready for us... (I know that sounds really picky, but at their price point, they have to be held to a higher standard than your average smorgasbord...)
So, we sat down and it took about 10 more minutes for the waitress to come over and take some drink orders - no small talk, no discussion of the menu or the restaurant's philosophy; just straight up "whaddya want?" sort of conversation. We placed our drink orders and also ordered two "tapas" to start, and made sure to tell her that we wanted to look over the sushi part of the menu to make our main selections. Our two "tapas" (an order of average ceviche and lackluster yakitori and minute portion of grilled squid skewers) came about 15 minutes later. I will completely admit that I'm a bit demanding when ordering these types of foods, but they are not technichally challenging to execute at home, and again, at this price point, I expect lots of flavor and excellent presentation... It just wasn't there.
The ceviche came on a small piece of toast, and this sort of presentation basically makes them have to omit one of the best parts of ceviche - the "leche de tigre" (tiger's milk), which is the liquid mix of lime juice, fish liquid, and other goodies from the ceviche mix - in Peru, people will actually take shots of this as an aphrodisiac... but I digress. The ceviche dish was bland and boring, and our experience stagnated there...
I had to flag the bussing staff to ask them if they could take the rest of our order, as our server was nowhere to be found, and when she was in the dining room, she definitely wasn't checking in on us. I realize that we all have "off days," but my gripes with the service extend to the entire staff (except the bussing staff, who were very attentive and did everything they could to help us... they looked a little embarrassed) including the maitre, who seemed to ignore the fact that our meal had really stalled. Again, this may be passable in an inexpensive neighborhood restaurant, where the expectations are lower, but we ended up spending almost $150 for two people - service should be at least solid at that level.
Because of all the trouble with the service, we decided to only order 2 rolls, which are easier to prepare, and we figured would be reasonable. We also ordered the yellowtail sashimi and the kabocha tempura, which were our favorite items of the night and well worth ordering. The fish quality was excellent, and the sashimi was very flavorful. The rolls were OK at best - well constructed, but bland. The "Fall" roll had so much promise in its description - kabocha squash center, topped with "spicy crawfish", with wasabi aioli - it turned out really bland and the crawfish topping was very mealy and was too liberally applied. This roll could use some work - maybe migrate the topping into the roll itself and make it have less squash to reduce the mealiness?
Ambience was not good either - they need some acoustic tiles and better ambient music. We really did not appreciate the classic rock emanating from a radio in the kitchen. Come on, you can do better than that! It was hard to actually have a good conversation with my wife, and this probably just was the straw that broke the camel's back... I usually reserve judgement on a restaurant until we have tried it at least 3 or more times, but this experience was very lacking, we just figure there are lots of other places we can try and find more to our liking. Hopefully, others will have a better overall experience than we did.
PROS
Great concept - asian and latin fusion is a great idea, and can work well; just ask anyone from Peru (chifa is delicious!)
Website is informative and food pictures highlight nice presentations
CONS
Service was extremely off for our visit - where's the hospitality, guys?
Restaurant does not really live up to the "asian-latin fusion" concept. You have to do more than throw a few empanadas and quesadillas on the sushi menu to get credit for fusion cuisine in my opinion. Too many items on menu!!!
Restaurant space needs work. I love the kitchen bar concept, but this place does not get it right - cooks aren't interacting with the diners at the kitchen bar. Space is noisy and crowded.
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