Wow! Food was amazing. Service was top notch. And the living wage / no-gratuity policy -- while requiring some getting used to -- makes me feel so 5 stars about this place.
The server really knew his stuff, probing our tastes to help recommend wine and then food. The sommelier came by to check how we liked the wine and was clearly smart and into his job. Both the server and the sommelier knew when to check in and when to leave us alone.
The gemelli beef sugo was rich and to die for. The pan seared chicken with the black beans was out of this world (and let's be honest, why order chicken when you're out at a nice place, right? It's usually gonna be dry and bland, but nooooo, this amazed. The beet greens with some sort of cheesy thing on top was delicious. And our dessert (chocolate + coffee, which sounds like just chocolate and coffee, but it's not!), which we split, was a perfect wrap up for the meal.
Not cheap but not too pricey. A little noisy and close to other customers (depending on your table) but the service and the food propped these issues up to 5 stars, no question. We'll be back.