Aaron D
Google
Went for Valentine’s Day and walked in expecting the cocktail menu to be the highlight — and it absolutely was. The drinks were creative, well-balanced, and beautifully presented in distinct glassware. Easily the strongest part of the experience. The ambience was also excellent: dim lighting, intimate vibe, great music. It’s a genuinely beautiful space and perfect for date night.
That said, the layout was a bit confusing. When I made the reservation, we discussed lounge vs. dining seating. Upon arrival, the space felt smaller than expected and the tables were quite close together and on the smaller side. For a menu structured around “small and large shareables,” the table size didn’t really support that experience. If additional dining space was under renovation or unavailable, it wasn’t communicated (even though our reservation was confirmed twice), which added to the confusion.
Food-wise, this is where things get nuanced. The menu reads ambitious and exciting — and you can absolutely taste the potential — but the execution didn’t consistently meet the vision.
We started with the Korean fried chicken wings, which were very good. Proper crunch, sticky smoky depth, nicely done.
For mains, we ordered the braised short rib jiajang and the strip loin ssamjang and ended up sharing both. The steak ssamjang was described as coming with a market wrapping kit, assorted banchan, sauce trio, and garlic rice. The sauce trio was excellent and the kimchi was solid, but the “wrapping kit” and assorted banchan were initially missing. After asking, three romaine hearts were brought out — nicely plated, but still not quite what was described or expected. When you market a ssam-style experience, the accompaniments are a major part of the dish, and that felt incomplete. The steak itself (ordered medium) was slightly tough for my partner but acceptable to me, though the cuts were fairly large and no steak knife was provided. The garlic rice was fine but leaned more subtle than flavorful.
The short rib jiajang was tender and enjoyable, with a pleasant sweetness from the banana component, but it didn’t quite have the depth or intensity you might expect from a dish like that. It felt like it was very close to being great, just not fully dialed in.
Dessert (coconut cassava cake roll with vanilla ice cream and passionfruit caramel) was good — dense, not overly sweet (which I appreciated), and the passionfruit element tied it together nicely — though more of a cream sauce not caramel and again, good but not particularly a standout moment.
To be fair, it was Valentine’s Day and clearly a busy service. There did appear to be a light time limit on reservations, which is understandable on a holiday. We likely would have stayed for more cocktails, but our reservation window was ending — even though there were still a few open tables visible. I’ll chalk some of that up to the nature of the evening.
Overall, cocktails and ambience were excellent. The menu shows real creativity and potential, but the food execution and some service details fell slightly short — especially at $100+ per person. With tighter consistency and better alignment between menu description and plate, this could easily be a 4.5-star experience.
We would absolutely love to see a happy hour here — the cocktails alone would make it worth returning for that. As it stands, though, while the drinks and vibe were excellent, the food isn’t quite calling us back just yet.