Susan C.
Yelp
The good, the bad and the in between.
Good: the overall atmosphere walking in was gave off modern bistro vibes with black trim, dark wood chairs, Carmel leather banquettes, and a more private dining area in the back lined with glass paneled wine cabinets.
They have happy hour specials. (Although we arrived during happy hour but missed ordering during this period and went straight into apps and dinner.)
Food - good:
Prosciutto Buratta bruschetta $15: this comes with two pieces per plate, ordered two plates to share, creamy bursts of mild cheese tasted delicious with the salty cured meat. The crispy toasted French bread really held up to the moistness of the spread.
Saffron risotto w/scallop tartar $35: my friend really enjoyed this. Creamy, lovely scallops diced.
Tandoori chicken and Moroccan couscous $38: came recommended by our server as her favorite dish of the moment and didn't disappoint.
Black truffle gnocchi $39: pillowy pasta, the friend whose got this didn't have any specific comments though finished her entire dish which I'm taking as a sign it was good!
Wine: each person ordered a couple glasses and enjoyed!
Food - bad:
Mezze platter $25: this came with house-made hummus, muhammara (roasted red pepper dip), mini pitas and yellow squash, cucumber, and red carrot sticks. To be precise, three mini pitas about 2.5" in diameter and 4 very slim pieces of each vegetable with two pieces (total of two-thirds) of a radish, served on a plate the size of a teacup saucer. The dips were delicious, the pitas were warm. The five of us all looked at each other and wondered how to consume the mezze, simply because there wasn't enough dipping conduits to use the amount of dip provided. We basically slathered it on everything we were given which used up about 30% of the hummus and muhammara. We asked for some additional veggie sticks first, maybe some carrots or celery and were told they were not available. Then we asked if mini pitas were available and we were told they would be $1 per pita. This was rather frustrating since the ratio was off and there was no other way to consume the rest of the dip other than to eat it plain by itself which made no sense. Finally because we were all rather incredulous at this situation, the staff noticed and apologized and brought out 5 mini pitas. My recommendation here would've just been to reduce the amount of dip, maybe just go with one? and add a normal amount of dipping conduits to begin with, or forgo the veggies all together and just do a few normal size pitas, or vice versa.
Caesar salad $23: the amount of lettuce in this was pretty sad, I think maybe there were 3-4 leaves of lettuce mostly torn up in halves/thirds. The pieces were strangely sized, some too large to eat a single piece without cutting it, though not full-sized enough to seem intentional. The dressing tasted fresh and house-made although completely drenched the lettuce. Wished for more lettuce, less dressing here.
The octopus dish $45 I ordered--the octopus itself was delicious, one of the best preparations I've had the pleasure of tasting. Unfortunately the rest of the dish was just mushy, it was pureed potatoes and white beans and the texture was kinda more liquidy and slightly gummy to what I was expecting.
In between: made reservations a couple weeks in advance on Open Table for a Monday evening dinner and they had us in their system when we arrived. The restaurant wasn't too loud and our party was able to easily hear each other at our banquette booth, though I imagine this was because we were only one of a handful of parties in the main dining area.
There are some vegetarian dishes though only a couple vegan options. The lighting is pretty dim so better have a better camera if you're trying to take pics. Bathrooms were in decent shape.