Nick G.
Yelp
Right off the jump, very charming room to walk into but it felt maybe just a little cramped. The frilly lamps on the bar gave it some gilded age sheen and the piano player was great to hear, everybody likes live music as long as it isn't so loud you can't hear who you're with and this dude was perfect from the back room. Sitting at the table next to it would probably suck. The whiskey selection along the bar seemed pretty broad for a neighborhood spot, they had the big 3 Japanese distilleries up there which is kind of my barometer for that sort of thing.
We were sat in the second room along the wall, which was even more crowded and could probably use one or two fewer tables even though yes I did watch enough of The Bear to understand it's hard to sustain a restaurant. The wait staff kept telling guests "tight fit" as they guided them past our table, probably not a great sign. Our original table was so close to the service station (or whatever the little tablet is called where they put orders in and get the check) that there would pretty much be a butt hovering over our table when someone was using it. It really shouldn't be a spot. I like my face to be more than 18 inches from a stranger's pelvis when I eat, it's a quirk I have. But we asked to be moved and were moved and carried on.
This room was dark dark. I was straining hard to read the cocktail menu; it can't have been a font size higher than 5 and there was so much white space on the page to make it bigger. The supplemental light was this weird little candle lamp thing that didn't really do much and didn't look that elegant to be honest. Otherwise, the place looked great, the wallpaper, the tables, the tablecloths, the furniture, it all seemed very French and cozy, I just wish it was 5% brighter so I could read the menu. I'm 29 and I have 20/20 vision (flex), it shouldn't be hard for me.
For cocktails, my partner and I got a London Fog and a little mezcal drink I can't remember the name of, respectively. The mezcal was a tad sweet but otherwise lovely, but the London Fog had so much lavender in it it tasted a little soapy. She finished it, though, so it cleared that bar.
To start we got the escargot and the tartare. The escargot came in a pile on top of some puff pastry, which was odd, and it was hard to tell what the actual snail was in the pile, but it was rich, fatty, and delicious. The tartare had an uncooked egg yolk in it, which is how I learned that often comes with uncooked egg yolk in it. Both apps were great.
It was at this point we noticed that "Bread Service" cost five extra dollars. Don't do that. You're getting a couple hundred bucks from us. Just give us bread.
For entrees, we got the salmon wellington, chicken dish, and we split a mac & cheese. We also got green beans on the side. Overall, it was all fine. The salmon wellington was more interesting on paper than it was when I ate it, and I was informed by my better half that the chicken was a little overcooked/hard to cut. The green beans were good green beans, hard to mess up though if we're being real. The mac & cheese was tasty but should absolutely be a side instead of an entree. It's massive and literally just mac & cheese, but I guess they'd know better if people are actually getting it as their main dish and enjoying it. Nothing we got in the main course wowed either of us, but we finished it all and left full.
We got the pistachio ("Signature") crème brûlée for dessert, which was the least enjoyable crème brûlée I've had in recent memory. It's my go-to dessert, and this one just missed. It was heavy, the flavor was dull, the top crust wasn't that crisp, and the consistency was more like peanut butter than cream. I just don't think it worked.
The place was cute, the service was iffy, and the food was fine. Stop by if you live around here but don't make a trip for it.
