TLDR: Nice ambience, but service could use some significant improvement, especially when…read moreimplementing mandatory 20% gratuity on all checks. Overall, this place hypes itself up like their designer (check the guest guidelines on their website), but it's really just a Temu knockoff with a nice view.
Visiting from out of town, my husband and I came in around 9pm on a Friday evening for some late night bites and cocktails for our date night. I have an unwavering affliction for cute rooftop spots and the menu looked phenomenal, so it seemed like the perfect spot for an elevated night out.
We were warmly greeted upon entering by the hostess who recommended the rooftop patio, which was being handled by their amazing server Sebastian, so we took her up on the rec. We found a cozy spot with a great view and waited... After waiting for some time, Brook finally came by our table, took a card to preauthorize, and asked if we wanted menus.
My husband and I both ordered the samurai smoked old fashioned. Brook did give us a heads up that it contained sake and would be a variation of a traditional old fashioned, which we appreciated. It was ok.. a light version of the original, but probably not something we would order again.
As we were waiting for our food, Sebastian stopped by, said he was splitting the area with Brook, and told us that if we needed anything at all, to not hesitate to ask.
For food, we ordered a Renge roll, seared scallops (2 pc), Wagyu carpaccio (3pc) and 6 chilled oysters. Everything was good, but nothing really stood out and sounded much better on paper than it actually tasted. Again, it was good, but considering the price and the way the restaurant hypes itself up, I was expecting to be blown away. Unfortunately, it was very underwhelming. The oysters were probably the best, but their flavor was inconsistent, almost like someone just threw on the accompaniments without making sure they were even placed. The carpaccio was cut way thicker than what you would expect, and just made the dish seem heavy and like the flavors were competing with each other. The scallops were cooked well, but lacked any significant flavor.
Towards the end of the meal, we ordered another round of drinks, an espresso martini and traditional old fashioned. By the time we finished, Brook came and asked if we were interested in dessert. I was on the fence, so she said she would just bring the dessert menu anyways, and I also asked for the cocktail menu again. We planned on ordering one final round of drinks, but Brook never came back after she dropped off the menus.
By this time, it was around 10:30. The place was far from crowded.. there were numerous staff members hanging out on the patio and gathered at the end of the bar chatting, so it's not like she was as busy attending other tables. After about 20 minutes, we just decided to try and get our check. Since Brook never ever came back, we flagged down Sebastian and asked for it. Unfortunately, he proceeded to have about a 15 min convo with the two ladies at the table behind us before we decided to go inside and see if we could track down our check. There wasn't anyone at the host stand and the restaurant inside was a ghost town, except for the bar, so we asked the bartender for it. As we were waiting, we saw Brook at the other end of the bar chatting with another employee. Once she saw us, she went back out to the table and proceeded to start clearing it off, like it was no big deal that she ignored us for the last 45 min and never brought our check. I mean, they preauthorize the card in beginning and then charge 20% gratuity, so what's the point?
At the end of the day, we spent just under $250 for two people to have 4 drinks and 4 apps, which is pricey, but not something I would complain about if the service wasn't laughable.