Jessica S.
Yelp
On a Tuesday night my boyfriend and I walked into this cozy establishment, ready to devour half the menu. The space feels like a miniature art exhibit and the menu supports this impression that the whole experience is meant to be elevated and classy. It does all this while still feeling home-y. "Bistro" is an accurate description for this place. Restaurant week was in full swing and we had to wait a while for our reservation date since it had been all booked up for the week. While our reservation day agonizingly approached, I would eye the menu continuously for those 2 weeks and my mouth would water each time I would skim it over and envision what each dish would taste like. So when we were greeted by Mikayla who was just as warm as the space was, I was ready to order and had no questions!
We started with an ahi tower and a crab puff. The ahi tower was just okay. It had overpowering amounts of wasabi and while the ahi was tender, it lacked in flavor. The dish was refreshing, but nearly every bite felt like a rude and painful awakening every time the wasabi would assault our sinuses. It doesn't help that it's an expensive starter. We definitely preferred the crab puff which was warm, flaky, and creamy. It was so good, we contemplated getting another but decided against it in order to save room for the other dishes.
The special soup of the night was a carrot Fuji apple coconut curry which was really unique. I really appreciated how willing the chef was to push boundaries with experimenting and this dish is a great example of that. While my boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed the soup, and I do agree that it was such a great flavor journey, it boiled down to what I imagine baby food puree would taste like.
Throughout the starters, I sipped on a total of two French Martinis which were Mikayla's recommendations. I couldn't thank her enough! They were delicious and I couldn't taste the alcohol at all, yet I felt warm and fuzzy the entire time we waited for our entrees till way after we left the restaurant.
We ordered the duck confit and medium cooked sirloin Wellington as our main courses. The presentation was absolutely beautiful for both dishes. The duck confit was a little salty for my liking but the Wellington was delicious. The puff pastry was cooked just right and the beef itself was tender and juicy. The side pairings of mashed potatoes and vegetables with the cranberry wine reduction took this dish to a whole new level. I felt like I was experiencing a story through food! I would highly recommend trying this and wish that I had this experience with all the dishes.
We settled with sharing a creme brûlée which was a classic safe bet for us. The torched top was partially covered with caramel and hadn't completely hardened, but I was surprised that I preferred this over a classic brûlée.
So after weeks waiting for our reservation date and staring hungrily at the menu on my phone, did Wiley's live up to my expectations? Sadly no, but I also can't exactly blame them when my "expectations" were more like wild fantasies at that point. Still, everything was delicious--just lacking that "WOW" factor. I think that it's the ambience, attentive and warm service, occasional experimental food item, and delicious drinks that make this place shine and made our bill hurt a little less.
Overall, I would still come back to Wiley's to give them another shot and try different menu items in hopes that I feel consistently amazed through each course. I'd also come back just to have drinks and enjoy the ambiance of the place.
One last note: we parked right across the street using a "call to park" lot and paid about $8 for two hours. This was the perfect amount of time to dine for us and I wouldn't recommend saving a spot for less time. Be prepared to have an account with Call to Park and have the app or website pulled up to pay. Otherwise, there is street parking, but we couldn't find an open stall otherwise we wouldn't have paid to park.