Prof M.
Yelp
Wandered in here with a friend from out of town because we saw it had great reviews...
Wandered out an hour or so later completely baffled as to why.
Unfortunately, our first impression was:
- Thoroughly disappointing food
- Grossly overpriced
- Forgettable decor
- Lackluster service
Getting more specific, the menu is limited, but varied, and everything is a la carte.
We ordered a cocktail, a tea, two appetizers, and two entrees; easy breezy lemon squeezy.
So what went wrong?
First, we sat chatting for a good 10 minutes while my friend watched my cocktail sit on the bar getting warmer and flatter.
The funny part was when the hostess wandered over and asked how we were enjoying our meal, I explained since we had only received half our drink order at that point, we could not yet offer an informed opinion.
This appeared to spark some recognition in her that things were not going great; however, things also did not improve.
Eventually, my cocktail came, along with everything else, all at once, so much so that we literally could not fit everything on the table.
It was like wait, wait, wait, wait, wait some more,....
NOW! Bring EVERYTHING to the table NOW!
Either the server or the kitchen did not grasp the concept of appetizers; either way, we decided to simply play tetris with our plates and move on.
Sadly, this is where things went from bad to downright awful.
On a happy note, both appetizers were good (capreze salad & spinach dip).
On a less happy note, both appetizers were fairly generic dishes you could order at at least 10 other restaurants in the city, where you are likely to pay half as much, for portions twice as large.
Regarding entrees, the pasta was extremely spicy, to the point that after the first bite, my friend put down her fork and never had a second.
She said "All heat, no flavor; I'm not ruining my tastes buds over this".
In stark contrast to her choice, my shrimp, which were large and fresh, had virtually no flavor.
It was literally over twenty dollars for six of the most bland shrimp I have tasted just sitting alone on a plate...
I ate three and took three home to my dog; how sad is that?
To give the restaurant credit, a manger or owner came and spoke to us AT LENGTH.
My friend and I have both worked in restaurants, so we were polite, specific, and direct with out comments.
He said he'd received similar feedback about the painfully hot pasta dish from others; which left us questioning why they chose not to do anything about it.
He also gave us a discount off the bill; of course, the fact that the discount did not even cover the cost of the one entree that was left on the table completely untouched seemed like a misstep to me, but at least some effort was made to acknowledge how observable negative our entire experience there was.
I refrained from giving this place one star, but I'm not going to lie, it's out of pity.
The individual who spoke to us seems to really want this place to succeed and I wish them well, but I will not be giving it a second change