Ed T.
Yelp
First, I grew up in the restaurant business so know something about it--which is why I don't own a restaurant--it's hard. I live on the hill over this place and have been watching them work on it for what seems like well over a year. I visited their first week. I'm excited to welcome a new business like this and wish them great success.
My first visit was in the early afternoon when it was the café. It switches to a bar after 4pm, an interesting dual-use idea I hope works for them. I had a chai and avocado toast. The chai is "house made" and had some interesting flavor notes that were unique and delicious. Best chai downtown. The avocado toast was very good, but not quite as good as Palm & Boy Coffee on Main St. It's not served with steel flatware, but rather a plastic/compost fork and knife (which I had to ask for as they didn't provide one when served). The bread was well toasted, so trying to cut through it was flimsy plastic utensils wasn't pleasant. I had to eat it with my hands, which was a bit awkward.
The furnishings are light and beachy, but oddly uncomfortable. I first tried sitting in their wicker clam chairs. I guess these were designed for very small people, because I had a hard time finding a comfortable spot, and my head kept hitting the top. So, I moved to a sofa near the fireplace. Again, this looked good and might be "Instagramable," but the seats were uncomfortable and felt close to a wooden bench. So, so far, both seats looked great but didn't perform in practice. I eventually moved outside to a bench, which was pleasant (but missing a back pillow). Palm St. is quiet, and it was a nice sunny day, so all good out there--except for their two signs banging the hell out of a tower heater in the corner. Luckily, it wasn't evening, and the heater was off, but...they need to either move the heater or anchor the signs from the wind.
The staff was super friendly and helpful in the morning, although it was clear many of the nighttime staff at bar time hadn't ever worked in a restaurant before. For example, they served the food with no plates or flatware, they didn't tell us where they were, so we had to find them on our own. They're still learning the menu, but that's expected this early on.
The music. Well, they need to rethink it. For the morning crowd, they play this too-hip club music you might hear in a bar trying too hard to be cool in LA or Manhattan. You're in Ventura, a laid-back surf-rodeo town. Embrace our identify and ditch this music--especially in the morning. No one wants to hear that when drinking coffee at the beach. And the interior is LOUD. There was a manager apparently training new staff who was talking louder than necessary, but then again, the kitchen extends into the eating area, so there's just lots of noise. Most of the interior surfaces are hard, so it's going to be noisy. Better to sit outside, weather permitting.
I returned with my husband that evening to experience the "10 Tigers" bar. The place was packed--good for them! You order your drinks and food at the counter, which for a place portending cool wasn't. I'd be better if they had QR code menus or tablets to order at the table. There was a line, and no one likes a line when they're trying to relax on a night out. The crowed was very "date night." No judgement, just that way.
The drinks were good, but not as tasteful or sophisticated as described in the drink menu, which bordered on Shakespearean in its ingredients list. We started with a Mai Tai and White Tiger Margaritta. Like the furniture, they looked good but tasted only marginally better than a regular bar as the sophisticated ingredients were difficult to spot.
Foodwise, we ordered lamb sliders, Spanish potatoes, ceviche and fish tacos. The potatoes' tomato sauce was wonderfully rich and potatoes cooked well. Fish tacos were good. The sliders where juicy, but there was something pedestrian about the Persian sauce, which lacked punch. I think we enjoyed the ceviche most of all: a nice simple dish with just the right mix of flavor notes--although the fish was a bit overwhelmed by the sauce, which made it difficult to savor (or even see, being a big jumble of green sauce...better to toss the ingredients first and lay the Hamachi on top, IMO).
Bottom line: shows promise, just has a few things to work on to make it sing. Give it a try.
