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| - Summerlicious visit after much debate on which restaurant to try this year and having heard about the place from a colleague. Overall my verdict is that I should trust my instincts, and regard my colleague's opinion with the same scrutiny as I regard their work - carefully and with a grain of salt. I arrived timely on a weekday evening and the place was bustling. The corner shop had all the windows and doors open for a covered patio feeling, the décor is somewhere between modern, vintage, ornate...think white-gray marble with gold accents and how that's coming back in style. My party of three sat on a white love seat with two round tables between us, and two average black plastic chairs on the other side. The setup was cozy, the music wasn't terribly loud, and the service arrived shortly.
The menu was short - seasonal I suppose? Most items were available as part of the Summerlicious menu, so it was the best deal for sure at $48. I went with the grilled octopus, Cornish hen, and chocolate cake. The open rosé had quite sweet notes which suited my palate, at $10. Plating and overall presentation of the food was great - so at least first impressions were promising.
The octopus came with a side of Caprese salad - the small portion of octopus tasted blanched then tossed on the grill, soft and fully cooked inside, but burnt on the outside. All I could taste was the charred outer - the ends were a bit crispy but the other pieces just tasted like blackened food.
The hen was well presented and not bad - crispy skin with sesame, flavourful inside, the asparagus and cauliflower purée added texture variance and made the dry parts better. The asparagus lattice had a similar texture as the octopus, which I didn't care for. The mixed grains went well with the chicken, though I'm not typically a fan.
Finally, time for dessert. Perhaps I didn't look closely enough into the menu but a sliver of mousse cake with a rice cracker base was presented. On the sweet side, but went nicely with my wine. There was a spoon of sorbet? Ice cream? It had an icy texture but appeared creamy, and melted rapidly. Either way, it went well with the cake, but everything melted quickly.
Overall, the service was timely and attentive and I had no major complaints - except our waiter never mentioned his name. Fortunately he was always only a step away so that compensated most of the time. The food didn't meet my expectations but matched to the average Yelp rating - I guess I should've known! The atmosphere would be great for a casual glass of wine and a chat, it didn't make for eating as much as I would've liked and the bartender was rowdier than I expected. At one point, odd smells came from somewhere, and the open concept brought in all the flies trying to sip my wine. Given the price point, I probably won't be back.
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