Asturiano
Google
My wife and I recently visited this restaurant for lunch. I had been there at least a couple of times before, but unfortunately, my impression of it has diminished with each visit.
To start with the positives, the ambience is lovely, and we were greeted warmly and seated promptly. The service was a bit slow at first, but since we weren’t in a hurry, it wasn’t a major issue.
As for the food, perhaps we simply ordered the wrong dishes, but it fell short of expectations—especially considering the price. I ordered the seafood cioppino, while my wife chose the pappardelle with pomodoro sauce and chicken. My cioppino was overly salty, which says a lot coming from someone who typically enjoys a well-seasoned dish. Meanwhile, my wife’s pasta seemed to lack seasoning altogether, as if no salt had been added to the pasta water—a basic and essential step in cooking pasta properly. The sauce was quite thin and thus it really didn’t stick to the pasta at all. It’s hard to say if the sauce was cooked into the pasta as would be traditional with Italian cooking.
I was informed that the cioppino would be “brothy,” but what I received was more of a thick tomato-based sauce with very little brothiness at all. It would have been far more enjoyable with a lighter, more balanced broth rather than the overpowering, salty tomato sauce. The bread pieces added to the cioppino were very tough and hard, even after soaking in the sauce for a few minutes.
The chicken breast that came with my wife’s dish was so so. Parts of it were dry and stringy, but the center was more tender and juicy.
On the bright side, the caramelized Brussels sprouts we ordered as a side were delicious—flavorful and cooked to our liking.
The total bill, including a glass of wine and a draft beer, came to $75, and with a $15 tip, we spent $90 on a lunch that, unfortunately, did not feel worth the cost.
That said, I wouldn’t necessarily discourage others from trying this place. Many people seem to enjoy their meals here, and it’s possible we just happened to order the wrong dishes this time. However, based on this experience, the flavors lacked the sophistication and balance one would expect from a restaurant of this caliber.