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| - Note: I went with a group of people. One is a fellow Yelper, and I very much got the impression that he'd give SOTE a 4 if not 5. So take what I say with that grain of, well, salt...
The menu was... difficult. (1) The menu was DIFFICULT TO READ--sitting on a large chalkboard on a corner of the room. (2) The menu was DIFFICULT TO DECODE--the menu items were pared down so greatly that you could have no concept of what a dish was actually like until you asked about it or ordered it. Further, sometimes the menu left off parts that were important to some of us, like the "hanger" (aka steak) be loaded with bacon. (3) The menu was DIFFICULT TO GET INSPIRED BY--each dish had something bleh sounding in it. (4) The menu was DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH--Can I get the hanger without the bacon? No. Can I get the halibut without the shellfish? No. So they do not seem to do substitutions.
As a result, there was only one main dish on the entire list of six or seven dishes that I could eat, and it did not appeal to me. But that is what I got. And indeed I didn't love it. Tofu (pan fried very briefly, it seemed) with a dusting of something unrecognizable on top, on a bed of meh sauerkraut, with a few potatoes (simple and good), a few dollops of whole-grain mustard (standard stuff), and a few gherkins (severely out of place). Not one of the better meals I've eaten--just warm and dull with notes of sourness.
I did taste a bit of the steak part of the bacon-filled hanger steak and thought it was incredible; too bad I don't eat bacon. I also tasted a small bite of the seitan and thought it was incredible, as well; too bad I didn't want to eat fried gluten.
The appetizers were interesting--salmon with caviar on a bed of gelified celery, and then lamb and steak tartare with something crunchy/poppy in there.
The desserts, like everything else here, were trying a little too hard. Gelified rhubarb, shaved cheese over bitter marmalade, etc.
The drinks, again, like everything else here, were trying a little too hard.
The atmosphere was okay. There are two floors--downstairs has big, bench-style tables (I never like these). Upstairs has private tables. We were a group of 7, and so were put upstairs where we indeed had privacy. For a while. Because soon another big group came in and they were sat next to us. Big groups are loud, so it felt lame to put the two groups in the same room and so affect our good time (their conversation drowning out ours). Especially because we were there for a celebration, and the other group looked to be there for the same.
So overall, I just was not wowed. The whole thing was trying a bit hard and it felt like often the presentation was more important to SOTE than the taste or price, when most diners want good taste and price over presentation.
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