We took a chance for our Valentine's dinner and although we had fun we were a little disappointed. They had a set menu for the holiday and an optional wine pairing. We loved the idea of a farm-to-table meal. We have been getting the Chow Locally farm boxes and were excited for some creativity and inspiration.
The restaurant was hard to find in the dark and we almost inadvertently crashed a wedding. A few strategic landscaping lights would have helped. When we approached the hostess station, we were five minutes early and the hostess made a comment about us being early, the waitress having another table and we might not be taken care of right away. Then she greeted the people standing behind us who were meeting another couple. For a moment, it appeared as though she was going to seat the four of us together but another staff member cleared up the confusion and told us our waitress was able to handle us.
We were seated in the back room adjacent to the patio. It smelled kind of mildewy like a cottage or cabin and the windows were dirty with tape residue on them. There were no fresh flowers on the table which seemed like a no brainer for a farm at Valentine's Day. We also saw no use of potted herbs or produce in the decor such as what True Foods does. (This may seem nit picky but for the price of this meal, details are important.) Overall, the decor was mediocre not what you'd expect for a $300 meal for two.
We chose opposite options for each of the 3 courses and I added the wine pairings which were delicious. I appreciated the deeper pours I got compared to the table next to us. The food was really good but not over the top. We were expecting T. Cooks or Binkley's quality and creativity but Quiessence fell short. They missed on service details as well such as giving us each other's courses every single time, not combing the crumbs off the table and not replacing cleared flat wear we still needed. With a surprise "house rule" 20% gratuity at the end, we were a little salty about the service experience.
We see potential but Quiessence should take a look at the competition.