Connie L.
Yelp
I came here for dinner with a friend this evening (a Thursday). I think overall my experience was a 3.5, but I had a lovely dinner and would be happy to come back, so I went with 4 stars rather than 3. This was my 1st time here, but my friend had previously come for breakfast and recommended it.
I'd made a reservation for 6 pm about a week in advance. The restaurant called me around 3:30 pm the day of to confirm my reservation. It wasn't too busy when we arrived; they were at about half capacity. We were seated immediately at the 2nd 2-person table from the front door. Usually I prefer to be seated a bit farther in, but there wasn't any draught from the entrance and we had a nice view of the front of the restaurant, so I wound up being satisfied with our table. Most of the tables looked to be 2-seaters, although there was at least 1 larger table in the back of the restaurant, near the toilets.
Our server was a nice lady who patiently answered my friend's questions about the menu (which included "how big is the salmon toast," "what are the autumn vegetables in the harvest bowl," and "what is kale falafel"). We took rather a long time to order but she checked in on us a few times as we were deciding on what to get and offered drinks (though we stuck with water). We noticed that the diners at the table right next to us were having some trouble deciding on drinks and our server brought 1 of them a small sample of 1 of the drinks before they ordered a full-size one, which was kind.
We ordered the ricotta & squash fritters as a starter. For mains, my friend ordered the harvest bowl (the salmon toast sounded like too small a portion for dinner, and the vegetables and the kale falafel in the harvest bowl sounded like they would be good). I ordered the duck breast, which was probably 1 of the more expensive things on the menu at $32. We were then served the complimentary bread, which was served with honey whipped butter. The butter was pretty heavenly, but the bread was sort of average. It was nice that it was served warm and the pot was a cute idea that went with the theme of the restaurant, but overall I wasn't a fan of the texture or taste of the bread. That did not keep me from finishing my half of the loaf, however.
The ricotta & squash fritters were served with the maple glaze poured right on; I'm not sure if we could've gotten the sauce on the side if we'd asked. I loved the fritters; they were probably the highlight of the meal for me. They were served piping hot and reminded me of beignets (only a bit softer and denser), and I really enjoyed the sauce. However, my friend wasn't a big fan and only ate 1 of the 6 (I wasn't complaining since that meant I got the other 5).
Our mains came out pretty quickly and the portions were larger than I'm used to seeing at fancy/photogenic restaurants, which was a nice surprise. The harvest bowl especially was pretty massive; my friend wound up taking a good 3rd of it home with her as leftovers. The duck breast was a generous portion and served with a nice pesto and some potato fingerlings. However, if I come back I probably wouldn't get it again, as it was quite expensive and as recently as last week I'd had better, more flavorful duck at a friend's home. I usually like pesto, but am more partial to traditional basil pesto, which I don't think this one was, so it didn't really stand out to me.
The harvest bowl, which I understood from our server was the most popular dish at the restaurant, was loaded with quinoa and vegetables, including brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and squash. It also came with falafel and tahini sauce. My friend gave me 2 of her falafels to try as well as the squash, and they were really delicious and flavorful. I would probably get this if I ever come back for dinner, although my friend thought the falafel was a bit too spicy for her. She really loved the squash, which I agreed was really great. Our server said most people got the harvest bowl with chicken or salmon (additional cost), but we thought the bowl was filling enough with just the falafel.
Our bill came out to be over $63 before tip but after tax; this included 2 mains and the fritters appetizer (we did not get drinks or dessert). This was pretty steep, but the portions were generous and the ingredients seemed to be high-quality. Our server was very kind and friendly, although sometimes a bit slow to refill our waters; we had to flag people down for the water pitcher twice during the meal. The restaurant was beautifully decorated, but the tables were very close together, so keep that in mind as it can be awkward getting in and out between tables. There were 2 unisex restrooms; I went twice during the meal and never had to wait in a queue. The restrooms were reasonably clean and well supplied, and had hand lotion in addition to soap, a nice touch.
There were some reasonably-priced parking garages a short walk away. The metro station is w/in walking distance too.