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| - I had the 6-course tasting menu and came on a week night when the restaurant was at about 25% capacity. For good reason.
First, the service. Nowhere near the quality of a three-star restaurant (Sorry, John P--you're wrong). Don't mention this restaurant in the same sentence as Per Se, French Laundry, Alinea, or Daniel--I've been to all of them and this place is nowhere near that kind of quality. We had to ask for drinks several times. Our food was awkwardly paced with 10 minute breaks between some dishes and then 2 minute breaks between other dishes. At best, this would be a one-star restaurant in terms of service.
Second, the food. It was ok. It wasn't great, and it wasn't bad. If I was staying at the St James and just needed a meal without leaving, I'd come here, but with all the alternatives around the neighborhood, forget it. Here's the difference between Per Se and French Laundry--they never repeat a single item on their (larger) tasting menu. In our six course menu, we had some form of curry twice (33% of the dishes), some form of chocolate three times (50% of the dishes), and everything was overly sweet. Each item by itself would have been good, but the point of a tasting menu is that dishes should interact and lead into each other.
Would I recommend this place for the food? No. Was I impressed by the wine list? Yes.
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