Rose E.
Yelp
I know this is considered one of the best restaurants in Charlotte, but I never found their menu too appealing...so I've turned down opportunities to go here for years...well, decades! However, recently, I checked out their fancy schmancy desserts on Yelp...and THIS is why I finally chose this place to celebrate our latest anniversary.
The place was exactly as I expected...Old fashioned, southern, and quaint. Nice, classic ambiance, but not really my cup of tea...in that I prefer more chic, stylish elegance OR modern and edgy. Their patio area was quite small and claustrophobic, but somewhat charming, so we chose to sit outside.
We didn't find any of their appetizers appetizing, so decided to have soup and salad instead. Their Soup of the Day (Poblano?) was surprisingly good. My husband had the basic House Salad, and I had Caesar Salad with Fried Calamari (5 bucks extra). Now, I REALLY liked this! Wondered why other restaurants haven't thought of this unique idea.
Truly, there weren't too many items on the entree menu that appealed to me...but we decided to go with fish. I chose their Salmon dish, and my husband had the NC Mountain Trout. Honestly, I wasn't blown over with its deliciousness, but it was better than I had expected. For some reason, I expected a super-skimpy portion...but it was fairly substantial. Also, my Salmon had a juicy, savory flavor. Think my husband felt the same about his dish. (but honestly? I thought his dish was ridiculously pricey for what it was...a thin portion of fish w/ veggies only, no carbs).
I tried their Pear Martini, and it was good...but nothing extraordinary.
BTW, I loved their smooth jazzy overhead music...but I just didn't understand why it was on so low. I wished it would drown out the traffic noise. I always wonder why so many restaurants in Charlotte are so conservative with the volume of the music. I personally think great overhead music can make or break the ambiance. In this case, their GREAT music did nothing...in that the volume was so low.
Now, here's where things got truly disappointing...their desserts. Especially so because I came expecting SO much better after browsing thru their nearly "food art" caliber pics on Yelp (like check out the OLD pictures of their Pavlova or Chevre Cheesecake).
For starters, they no longer serve the beautiful Pavlova dessert. After some indecisions, we decided to try the Chevre Cheesecake...with some expectations (again, I saw pictures beforehand!). Well, the dessert looked nothing like what I saw. In fact, it looked like a standard cheesecake, and the presentation was just not that "fancy" (honestly, it bordered on ugly). SO disappointing!! I mean, THIS is the reason I chose to come here...for their fancy desserts! I liked the small iced cream accompaniment more than the cheesecake itself. They did slap on "Happy Anniversary" on the plate, which was thoughtful...but it wasn't complimentary. They did, however, give us these 2 small balls (truffles?) of Pumpkin. Sweet gesture, but I was a bit surprised. At every "nice" restaurant in town, we always got complimentary dessert on our anniversaries. In fact, Steak 48 last year, we got an extravagant Beignet TREE...a HUGE gift! The year before at Eddie V, we not only got an amazing dessert with candles (and confetti?), they gave me a Rose flower!! But here, just 2 small truffle balls lol.
Overall, I had mixed feelings about this place...some good, some not so good. I thought their foods were solid, but I wasn't amazed by any of it. With such high ratings and the buzz over the years, I just expected MORE. From hostess to waitress and busboy, everything was quite smooth and seamless. No issues there. I guess my biggest issue was their changes in the dessert menu (a big drop in quality?)...and some other things mentioned above. NOT impressed. At least now I checked out this Charlotte staple, and saw a bit of what they had to offer. Think we'll be returning to Eddie V or Steak 48 several times before (if ever) returning here.