I'd heard quite a bit about this place, so I was genuinely excited to finally give it a try. I happened to be in the area, called ahead, and was able to get a table. The restaurant itself has a cozy, intimate feel and was fairly busy, but we were seated right away. Service was excellent from start to finish: warm, attentive, and professional.
For the appetizer, we started with the foraged mushrooms, and this was probably my second favorite dish of the meal. The mushrooms were beautifully buttery and had a nice depth of flavor. My only criticism was the seasoning, the dish leaned noticeably salty, particularly when eaten on its own. A little more restraint with the salt would have let the natural earthiness of the mushrooms come through.
For dinner, I'm gonna start with from my least fav: the Alaskan Wild Caught Halibut (which was the chef's daily special). Unfortunately, this was the biggest disappointment of the meal. The description sounded excellent...parmesan crust, leaf spinach, blistered heirloom tomatoes, and a lobster cognac beurre blanc. The execution fell short. The halibut was quite dry and lacked the clean flavor I expect from a well-prepared piece of fish. The beurre blanc had potential, but the sauce didn't have the freshness or brightness I was hoping for, and overall the dish felt somewhat flat. Given that this was the chef's special, I expected much more.
The Poached Lobster & Truffle Pasta was better, but still not a standout. The combination of butter-poached lobster, capellini, lemon zest, English peas, Parmesan-Reggiano, capers, and Burgundy truffle sounds incredibly promising. There were definitely layers of flavor, but the dish itself felt drier than I expected. I was hoping for something more silky and cohesive, especially with the lobster and truffle. Instead, the individual elements didn't quite come together the way I expected.
My clear favorite was the Prime Steak Fillet. The steak had the most satisfying flavor of everything we ordered, and I particularly enjoyed the accompanying tomato!!! It had a really nice balance of acidity and seasoning that complemented the steak beautifully. This was the one dish that really delivered for me.
Overall, I really wanted to love this place. I came in with high expectations because of everything I'd heard, and while the service, atmosphere, and hospitality were all excellent, the food was inconsistent. The mushrooms and steak were enjoyable, but the two dinner entrées didn't quite hit the mark for me. read more