Gary J.
Yelp
Remarkably unremarkable, except for the ridiculously high prices.
The service is a bright spot. Though ordering at a counter is a bit lowbrow, the staff was informative and engaging. Make sure to print the receipt. We ordered a dessert that we realized wasn't entered and weren't charged. It ultimately wasn't a big deal and was quickly resolved at the table. One glaring pet peeve when ordering at a counter is the tip calculation. I DON'T like to tip in advance of services rendered. But unless you brought cash, you're stuck selecting an amount at checkout.
Now, about the food. I'm sorry to say this, but we were disappointed. Given the price point and the small portion sizes, there isn't value here. An argument might be made that we chose the wrong entrees and thus weren't impressed. The salmon taco dish and the hamburger might have saved the experience; they get rave reviews. Shouldn't our selections have been equally awesome? Here are our specific opinions of the foods we ordered.
The tea glasses are ridiculously tiny. The tea is an herbal blend, not standard black tea. If that's not your preference, stick with the water they bring to each table. There are alcoholic beverages offered, and many looked excellent, but tonight, we didn't order any.
The Crispy Chickpeas came highly recommended. They are flavored with rosemary and black salt. We found them bland, and they literally suck the moisture right out of your mouth, which, incidentally, brings us back to those tiny tea glasses. Not very ideal! We also thought the chickpeas were so lightly seasoned that you want to try to fix it. We added more salt, to no avail. We even added lemon to introduce some acidity to offset the tannins in the peas, but nothing helped.
Online reviews raved about the smoked carrot soup, but it left us wondering what happened to the carrots. Some patrons love this soup with its smoky, herbaceous tones. We were not impressed. If I were participating in a blind tasting, I wouldn't have guessed I was eating carrot soup. The other ingredients may be overpowering the base. We're still determining what the chef was going for with this soup. We also noticed the heavy-handed use of olive oil. There's an appropriate balance required to enhance a soup, but when the soup glides off the spoon instead of lightly coating it, too much oil is present. With our bowl of soup, there was way too much olive oil. We've had plenty of exciting soups and sometimes are pleasantly surprised, but not this time.
We ordered two entrées. The first was the All Day Eggs, with two crispy eggs, whipped ricotta, baby potatoes, bitter greens, and olive gremolata. The "bitter greens" are arugula. I guess it's not artsy enough to say "arugula." There's absolutely nothing wrong with this dish. Fortunately, we can eat this dish at any breakfast restaurant. The second dish we purchased was the Roasted Chicken Breast with fennel, radicchio + celery salad, herbs, and natural jus. The chicken is a young chicken, breast with wing, which accounts for its tiny size. There didn't seem to be any culinary genius behind an unseasoned, oven-baked piece of chicken with a dash of paprika added before serving for color. Sadly, I don't have anything good to say about it, and I certainly don't recommend it unless you're on a bland diet.
For dessert, we ordered the Fallen Chocolate Cake. Creativity named, it's a tiny pie wedge slice, more like a brownie, but is a simple flourless chocolate cake. If you like that, go for it. Again, the portion size is tiny, which is the recurring theme of the restaurant.
The ambiance is trendy and, quite frankly, the best part of our visit. The main dining area is smartly decorated and well-lit. Though you could bring kids, it's probably best not to bring them. There is a nice-sized patio for outside dining. A dog was accompanying one group, so the restaurant appears to be pet-friendly. The bathroom was smartly decorated and clean. We noticed some metal chairs at some of the tables. We have sat in these chairs at other places and found them uncomfortable. The noise level was not an issue during our visit.
Our bottom line is that no matter the arguments a chef may make to justify exorbitant prices for minuscule portions, the meal sizes will disappoint. Lofty, artistic descriptions of food are a poor substitute for flavor, so our praises are very muted.
