Neil M.
Yelp
Finally came here even though I've passed by this place numerous times, always waiting for a special occasion.
We were a group of three who came in well past official dinner time ( around 9:30 PM) and luckily for us most of the crowd had dwindled down. We went to a third floor outdoor table with a nice view of the lake and an almost full moon.
They started us off with two kinds of freshly baked warm bread. The specials sounded great, and most of our orders ended up being from that list (there were other items that were really interesting too, we just couldn't order enough of them; somebody please tell me how their sweet potato soup is!) -
1. Rosé Sangria : light, crisp, fruity, refreshing - we ended ordering one more later on ($15 for a half carafe). Off the specials
2. Artichoke stuffed with raisins, cheese, pesto: another special of the day, absolutely loved this! My girlfriend and I don't often order vegetarian appetizers (or anything, for that matter), but thanks to our vegetarian friend we got a chance to savor this delicacy. It came with a chipotle flavored smear which was finger licking good. My girlfriend made sure that nothing other than the outer leaves were left; she'd probably have given artichoke eating animals a run for their money (she'll probably kill me for this)
3. Mixed bruschetta: mix of white bean bruschetta and Sicilian eggplant ragout bruschetta. Definitely a good vegetarian choice
4. I ordered the fish special, branzino fillet with a cilantro salsa on a bed of almond wild rice and some grilled vegetables. The fillet was huge (wasn't expecting this size) and extremely well cooked. Great quality, delicious, soft with skin on one side (my favorite). The rice was a really weird accompaniment and could have been totally eliminated. The grilled vegetables were perfect ($32)
5. My girlfriend ordered another special, the rack of lamb crusted with mustard and tarragon. The medium cooked meat was great from what I sampled, but I wasn't in the mood for lamb to be honest. The accompanying jus was mildly sweet and didn't really do much for me. The mashed potatoes with caramelized onions were delicious though
6. Our friend ordered the Linguine al Pesto with some extra grilled vegetables. I didn't sample it but she was pleased with it
7. My girlfriend also ordered the bourbon cocktail (Kentucky something). It wasn't much to our liking
8. We ended with the apple crumble (or something similar named) for dessert, which again wasn't the best thought of dish. Tasted more like granola breakfast than dessert.
The server was extremely nice and accommodated my friend's request to put on a candle on our dessert (we were still celebrating my birthday week). The ambience was great, the view soothing and the company pleasant. I'd definitely recommend Moonstruck to people who are looking for a nice, quiet evening with some great options on the menu and some exciting specials!
Mostly five stars for the food minus the dessert and the lamb, and a perfect five for the ambience and hospitality.