Jason Y.
Yelp
The first thing you pick up on as you walk in is the noise. For a party of two, it wasn't too big of a deal, however I could see how this could an issue for larger parties at a large table.
The decor is very nice. Old exposed brick, hardwood floors, and nice lighting. The open air garage doors are nice as they let the breeze through the restaurant. It does open up the dining area to the noise from W 6th as well, especially on the weekends. Additionally the kitchen is open to the dining room. Nice to see where the food is prepared, although there is shelving holding random knickknacks which is a bit odd to see in the dining room. Cleaning solution next to an ice cream maker, and everything in between.
Onto the food, the bread was very good. Soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside. The olive oil also had a little sugar which was different. We got the sea bass and gnocchi bolognese. The sea bass fagiolini was cooked well, but didn't have much seasoning or flavor. The bed of beans the sea bass was sitting on did however have a heavy dose of salt. I ended up drinking 4-5 glasses of water, likely related to the salt, over the 1.5 hour dinner. The gnocchi bolognese did taste good, although the texture of the gnocchi was a bit soggy and not the more chewy texture I would've expected. The tiramisu was probably the highlight of the meal. The flavors were well balanced and the lady fingers weren't soaked enough to get the right flavor but not so soaked as to by sopping with coffee/liquor.
The service was fine. The server was nice enough and came by to check in at the appropriate times. The manager also stopped by to see how things were going.
Overall, the food was alright. Definitely a little pricey given what you get and the quality. If you can get over the noise, the atmosphere is very nice with the exception of the knickknack shelf. They did also seem to have to squeeze every inch of space for tables. A lot of the two person tables were in somewhat quarters with the open kitchen indoors and wedged between the building and the railing outdoors. While we sat inside, some of the outdoor seating I could definitely see giving you the sense that you're isolated and just having an impromptu dinner on the sidewalk of St. Clair.
Also, the entrance isn't that apparent, it's on St. Clair, not on W. 6th or at the corner.