We went for dinner here on a Thursday night. For the party of five that we had, we couldn't make reservations, though they might for larger parties. We put our names in, some of the members of the party went to get drinks from the bar. I waited outside.
There were several white rocking chairs, which were quite comfortable. There was a bench and a table for the empty drinks. The table was full of empty drink glasses! (ha ha)
We did have to wait over an hour to be seated. i understand why, however. There was a big gallery tour even the same evening. People were all out walking from gallery to gallery, perusing the art and drinking the free-flowing wine.
When we were seated, we were placed at two small tables pushed together. It would have been tight for four, but they added a chair on the end for Jeff. Barry and I are "men of size" but it wasn't too awful cramped. It was, however, in a high traffic area. Our table was located next to the computerized order system. It was also between two different areas of the dining room, so the wait staff was constantly passing behind my back and walking around Jeff. His chair did get kicked, at least once.
The decor is modest but classy. A few fabric accents and valances brought color to the areas around windows. The floors had either hard wood or a patterned tile. The bar area had low stools upholstered witha contemporary pattern. The bar seemed to be fully stocked. To the left of the bar is a prep area for the wait staff. This is the passage to the restrooms, located off of the lobby of the adjacent hotel. It was a bit strange to walk past the waiters, as they prepared drink orders.
My one complaint about this place is the noise. I have never been in a noisier restaurant. Every table shouts in order to be heard over the din. Two of the members of my party wore hearing aids. One of them actually put pieces of his napkin in his ears to block out the sound. The other turned down the volume. Neither of them were able to participate in any kind of dialogue, because of the noise. I have normal hearing and I couldn't hear Jeff, who was seated right on my knee. Adding some carpet or sound absorbing material on the walls would help. We heard echos from the kitchen, conversations from outside, all bounced off the bare walls. It really brought down the meal, socially.
We were served a basket of bread. Some of it was a multigrain and some was a lighter bread. it was served with some butter and a white bean spread. The spread was similar to hummus, but had a bit of parmesan and a hint of garlic. We had one of the wait staff bring us a bit more of it.
The food, on the other hand, was absolutely stupendous. Every single bite that I put in my mouth was excellent. I rarely have had meals like this one. We ordered the shrimp and crab cakes appetizer, a salad that had pears in it and a spinach salad with goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts. The spinach salad had a light raspberry vinaigrette, but the goat cheese and hazelnut accents really brought it to a whole new level of flavor. It was rich, but refreshing. Light but with some substance. I was loathe to share it with the table.
I didn't partake of the red wine, but the rest of the table polished off the bottle. It was an Italian wine that I hadn't heard of previously.
For each round of food, the wait staff would come and bring new utensils and clear out old plates. They were unobtrusive and polite. Our waitress was super intuitive and knew the right kinds of recommendations. I ordered an iced tea well into the meal. As soon as I had finished that glass, a new one replaced it. This, to me, is the ultimate in service.
I ordered the halibut, as did Barry . It was served in a light broth with white beans, red peppers and spinach. The halibut was perfectly browned on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside. It was a large piece of fish, too! Kara and Deb both ordered the sole. They both were served huge pieces of fish. I tasted a bit of it and it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Jeff ordered the lobster ravioli with scallops. I had a piece of scallop. It was perfectly seasoned and browned, but still juicy. The broth/sauce for his dish was light and flavorful. We tried to figure out what herbs/flavors were used to season it.
As if the wonderful food were not enough repast, we ordered two desserts to share. The warm berry custard was sweet, but not too sweet. The chocolate cake with ice cream was delightful. Since we were sharing, neither was too much. Just a taste was all that was necessary, though I would have loved to tackle one of them by myself!
The prices were higher than I normally pay, but I also don't often eat food of this caliber often. This was a special treat.
I would have given Chesca's 5 stars, but the noise factor was truly ridiculous. Otherwise, it was superior. read more