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| - Very interesting menu, good tasting food, but poor service and shabby decor.
This place is run by a chef who is focused on sustainable food choices (hence the crickets on the menu). I can see how his ingredients can turn some people off but if you have an open mind about food, I think this place can be a very enjoyable experience.
When I came here on a Wed night, we ended up just getting a fixed tasting menu for $70 (for 2 people plus drinks). There was enough food to feed us both but I could have probably eaten more if given the option. The portions are small so rethink this option if you are looking for a traditionally large meal.
Everything we had was good (summer gazpacho, quinoa salad, ash gnudi with beet greens, smoked trout with potatoes, and chorizo "paella" made with barley/farro and served with 2 roasted quails). By far the gnudi was our favorite dish (see pics)- perfect texture, taste, excellent sauce). The paella was my least favorite dish because it was very, very dry and chewy and I just prefer traditional rice in this dish. The birds were good though.
The tobacco crème brulee they usually have on the menu didn't set properly that night- the waitress apologized on behalf of the chef and offered us to taste it before committing...the taste was great so we kept it; just a very runny texture. I also didn't taste any tobacco but maybe the whole dish was off that night.
The service was lacking because our waitress was brand new and didn't have any help. Drinks took forever, we never got water refills, and she unfortunately had no knowledge of the menu or the chef's concept. I give them a break on this one though because they were actually holding a private function in the back that night and weren't going to open at all.
Decor here is nothing worth mentioning really- a dark blue, shabby room with some nautical references in need of renovation. Not a bad place for a casual night but not somewhere you want to hold a birthday/other celebration in my opinion.
Overall, I think the food made up for the lack of attentive service. The chef's creativity would have me coming back at least once more.
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