Kseniya K.
Yelp
Make reservations! We were lucky to reserve a table for two for 7pm by calling on a Saturday at 6pm. When we arrived, we chose a table inside and were seated right away. The place filled up pretty quickly, and by 8pm there were no available tables, remaining that way late into the night. Most of the tables seat 4-6 people, so if you have a large party, you definitely need to plan ahead and reserve two tables that possibly might be joined together.
Outdoor seating is available, but it gets windy by the water, so we decided to stay warm inside. However, the AC/fans inside were working at a demon speed, so I had to put on my coat, tights, and scarf to keep warm. Bring something warm with you, just in case.
The ambiance is casual, old style American-Italian. A fireplace in the center of the room, dimmed lighting, white linens and live rose centerpieces on every table. Great for a casual friend/family outing or a relaxed date. The demographics of diners is predominantly white American and 40+. My bf and I were the only non-American couple in our 20's.
Our waiter seemed slightly uncomfortable serving us. He was way into his 60's, and seemed so friendly and warm with guests who were in his age group. To us, he was impatient and finicky. My bf couldn't understand his accent, so that visibly annoyed him. We were presented only with an expensive wine menu--no other alcoholic drinks were listed. When my bf asked for alcoholic selection beyond wine, our waiter didn't react. Did he expect us to go to the bar and get the drinks ourselves? My bf asked for any cocktails--the waiter remained unresponsive. Then my bf asked for beer. He was informed that draft beer was available. My bf ordered Stella, but some other draft beer was brought. My bf knows beer, so he tasted right away that the beer wasn't Stella. We called our waiter and told him of the difference and only then he said that they were out of Stella. So it was okay to serve us a random beer when we ordered Stella and not even inform us? Did he think that it didn't matter and that we wouldn't know the difference anyway? At least he didn't give us any issues over replacing the beer with Artois, which indeed was the correct beer. After that beer snafu and throughout our meal, our food was delivered by busboys, who were actually friendly. Our waiter didn't check in on us until we asked for the check. My bf was not happy with the service.
Now to the food. Yelpers were divided between those who really liked the food and those who thought it was mediocre. I was a bit anxious, but also very hopeful because I wanted our anniversary diner to be a positive experience.
The complementary bread was delicious! Freshly baked, still warm, served with sweet pepper and tomato paste. I devoured it all, I was so hungry and that was a perfect start of my meal. As always, I stuffed myself too full of delicious bread even before appetizers arrived, so strongly recommend to pace yourself, because you might be tempted to go heavy on the bread, but then you'll be too full to enjoy anything beyond appetizers.
Burrata ($15) served with sun dried tomatoes was too chilled for my liking. It was served straight out of the fridge/freezer, so all I could taste was the cold dairy. Maybe I was still too cold and was craving something warm to warm me up, but I did not enjoy this as much as I usually enjoy burrata.
Skip the Crab cake ($15). The portion was generous, and was even served with a side of greens, but the patty contained too little crab chunks and too much bread and stuffing. Forgettable and not worth the money or your stomach real estate.
My bf got the Chicken Valdostana ($23): stuffed breast of chicken with prosciutto, mozzarella, porcini mushroom sauce, truffle oil, served with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. Have to say the chicken breast was on point--tender, flavorful, and well-seasoned. Loved the stuffing--really great combination that I'd love to try at home. Two chicken breasts were served, the portion is definitely huge and enough to fill anyone up. The truffle and porcini mushroom sauce were to die for--serious standouts that I can still remember. A very unusual rendition of a simple classic done right. Definitely recommend!
I don't eat pasta except for squid ink linguine with seafood. Linguine Nero ($28) with white wine and plum tomato sauce did not disappoint. A humongous portion, with a good proportion of seafood to pasta. No fishy taste to it at all, like some Yelpers described. Took leftovers home, and they were surprisingly delicious three days later--now that's quality ingredients!
We were too stuffed for dessert. The bill came to $100 without the tip.
Their weekday Mon-Fri dinner price fix three course dinner for $25 looks like a great deal, so I'm hoping to return to try it out.