Susan H.
Yelp
Before coming here, we made sure to make a reservation. Since it was for a Saturday night, it turned out to be a good idea, even though we were eating early (around 5 p.m.). The man working the host station, was polite and welcoming. We were taken to a table which was almost at the end of a very long banquette. The tables, which were 2 tops, were packed in tightly. It reminded us of dining in NYC. I sat at the banquette which turned out to be a good idea as I'm short and if I had chosen the seat at the table, it would have been too low.
Thankfully, at that time of day, the place hadn't filled up so we did have some privacy and room to spread out. Our server showed up not long after we were seated. She was friendly and efficient with a good sense of humor. One thing she did which I really appreciated --- She told us which items on the menu weren't available that night. I wish more places would do that. It turned out that everything we wanted to order was in stock.
For drinks, I chose the "Passion Potion" which consists of: "Fresno pepper infused Haku vodka, passion fruit puree, sugar rim". This turned out to be a good drink---not too strong with the passion fruit flavor coming through and just enough Fresno pepper to give it a little kick. My husband got a Heineken Zero.
For an appetizer, we chose "Grilled Spanish octopus" which consists of: "fingerling potato crisps, roasted peppers, cilantro, chili creme fraiche". The potatoes weren't "crisp" at all, the cilantro wasn't even noticeable. The red peppers were a good enough portion to taste them and the creme fraiche did have some kick to it. The octopus was properly cooked. That said, it was on the verge of entering into rubbery territory.
For my main course, I chose "Hanger Steak Diane" cooked medium rare. It consists of: "Smashed crispy fingerlings, garlic escarole, shallots, brandy mustard cream sauce". The steak was tender and properly cooked. The brandy mustard sauce had mustard as the dominant flavor with a hint of brandy. The escarole portion was small with the shallots and garlic flavors muted. Again, the fingerlings weren't crispy, only smashed.
My husband chose "Seared Sea Scallops". This dish has 3 very large grilled scallops in it. Plus, it also has "carrot-ginger puree, ginger glazed carrots, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, forbidden black rice". He said the scallops were properly cooked but arrived to the table on the lukewarm side. As for the sides, he said they were okay and the carrot-ginger flavor was very faint.
The dessert selection isn't very extensive (3 items) and there was nothing that appealed to us. So, we can't speak to whether they were good or not.
As for ambience---The lighting is very dim which often is done to evoke a romantic feel. The background is music from the 30s or 40s which most of the songs being remakes. When busy, it's rather noisy which kills any notions of romantic dining. So, if that's what you want, this isn't the place for it.
The kitchen was slow getting the food out. When the food came, it was warm, not hot. While we didn't hate the food, at the same time, we doubt we'll go back. On the positive side, all the staff we interacted with did their jobs well.