When you pull up to this place, which is in some tiny tiny plaza in the middle of nowhere somewhere in San Jose (I live in SF, I know diddly squat about the map of SJ), don't be surprised if your initial reaction is: "What in the eff is this?" Because that certainly was mine. But once you step through those doors, lo and behold, a quaint little contemporary restaurant with moderate touches of Asian flair here and there. This is an Asian fusion restaurant, afterall. To the food! Their menu boasts MOSTLY seafood, with what appears to be Vietnamese and New Zealand influences. One friend ordered their Paella dish which is a kind of a seafood stew with rice. Another got their Fresh Scallop & Shrimp dish, which included a rice and herb infused cake to go along with the seafood. Then my other friend ordered the Garlic & Herbal Crusted Salmon dish, whose presentation and cream sauce was possibly the winning attribute. I ordered Chicken Satays and Clam Chowder as I wasn't too hungry at that moment. Pretty standard, nothing spectacular. Skewers were a bit too dry and burnt for my usual preference but it wasn't too bad with the peanut sauce. Overall, it's a nice little place to enjoy some quiet conversation with good company. We'll definitely be back! Special shout out to our awkwardly cute waiter :) read more

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came here for a date with Hubby on sat night. parking lot seems to be a dead zone but as soon as I walked in the restaurant, my mind set has changed. Dinning area was an open space with simple decoration and yet very cozy. waitress saw it was only two of us, she ask if we want to be other side so we can be more quiet and enjoy each other company instead of being in the crowd. - very thoughtful waitress. Now the food. it was DELIOUS. we order butternut squash soup, papaya salad, tea smoked duck break, and seafood paella. Dessert - Mango panna cotta butternut squash soup - it was simple but tasty Papaya salad with crispy prawns - sweet and sour, light yet open up your appetite . tea smoked duck breast - very Delicious. duck breast was moist and tender. spinach with taro on top make this dish very well balanced. Paella - I had better but still very good. Mango Panna cotta - YUM YUM YUM. Very pretty presentation, not too sweet but just sweet enough satisfy the sweet tooth from delicious dinner. read more

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Fantastic food, friendly , the ambiance is great. You cannot asked for more compare to another high end restaurant that I've been.

Sorry guys but I got pretty sick after eating just part of the Filet last week! My companion enjoyed her meal. I feel bad as a neighborhood restaurant I'd like them succees read more

Amazing taste food and wonderful servicehighly recommended for the family or any occacion

Warm, very professional, excellent customer service. Atmosphere is pleasant and welcoming. They handled a crowd, and waiting customers, with ease. We had the tea smoked duck, salmon Wellington and Vietnamese beef stew. Delicious. Succulent, well developed flavors, beautiful, delicate plating style. You could pick any of these and be very pleased with your meal. Nicely diverse wine list. The desserts looked wonderful, and I'll look forward to trying them next time when I'm not so full..in addition to coming back to this local gem and trying a few more tempting dishes. read more

My boyfriend made reservations for this place for Valentines day, and I'm so glad he did! This was the first time dining here for the both of us, and we were not disappointed! About the food: We started off with the vietnamese dumplings on rice crackers. This was probably my favorite dish of the night! Flavorful and delicious. Then we both got soup - the vietnamese purple yam soup for me, and the butternut squash for him. I am very picky about butternut squash soup, and I thought this one was amazing! Creamy, sweet, and not runny like some other restaurants'. For our entrees we got the shrimp and scallops, and the lemon crusted sea bass. Both were very good! The sea bass went really well with the curry sauce. For dessert we got the triple chocolate mousse. It came with a small scoop of ice cream and the plate was decorated nicely. Overall 5/5 for food. The reason I gave this place 4/5 is because of the wait time. We made reservations for 8 pm, and when we got there there were already at least 3 other couples waiting to be seated for their 8 pm reservations! And there weren't any open tables. Seems like they went a bit crazy with the reservations and overbooked themselves. They made up for the wait time with the food and the adorable free salt and pepper shakers they gave us as a valentines gift :) I would definitely go here again. read more

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Wonderful upscale Asian-European fusion food! Good service. Chefs are willing and able to adjust their menu for you if needed (which sometimes upscale restaurants refuse to do). Appetizers that you have to get: 1. Grilled beef with Asparagus roll. The marinated high quality, soft beef wrapped around a stick of Asparagus with crispy noodle crepe wrapped around it. SOOOO yummy! (my first choice appetizer) 2. Rotisserie Chicken and Crab Napolean with terriyaki honey glaze on layers of wonton tortilla (my second choice appetizer. Warning: the sweet glaze is slightly similar to the grilled beef with asparagus roll's marination) The Salads were mediocre. You can skip if you want. 1.The Green Papaya salad's mango dressing was too thick and sweet, but the fried prawn was HUGE and awesome 2.The Garden Mixed Green Salad in orange dressing was good but not memorable. Dinner to try: Tea Smoked Duck with Taro Au Gratin. I LOVED the moist, but not fatty pieces of tea smoked duck. Filled with flavor in every bite and complemented well with the Taro Au Gratin with the cranberry reduction sauce. Not too heavy on the stomach either. Apparently, this dish is the Customer Favorite at Elements Restaurant. Dinners with pros and cons: 1.As an Asian, I would avoid their soup dishes which had average tasting broth. However, I will have to let you yelpers know that my Spanish step-mother-in-law LOVES their Sea Food Noodles in soup. You get a ton of fresh seafood in a clear broth. 2.The Filet Mignon with mushroom and black truffle sauce was cooked to a perfect medium rare as asked with decent meat quality. But the sauce did not marinate all the way through; The dish was good but not outstanding. 3.Salmon Wellington with Beurre Blanc Sauce. For me, the salmon filet was too thick for the amount of puffy pastry. Great for diners that love a hearty piece of fish. This dish also went well with their delicious Pea Beurre Sauce. My husband thought this dish was wonderful. Overall, I think Elements Restaurant is definitely worth trying, esp. if you live in the San Jose area. No, there is no comparison to the upscale restaurants with stiff culinary competition in San Francisco, but San Francisco is such a far drive when my relatives live in San Jose. Hence, Elements Restaurant gets a solid 4 stars instead of 5. read more

Super cute date place awkwardly located in an area that looks like it would be a Raley's-type shopping center. You can see it's nice on the inside though. The food was delicious, we got the filet mignon, wine, and an appetizer. The dish came with gravy, fries, veggies, and filet mignon. It was perfectly cooked to medium rare. The service was great, people often came back to refill water, take away dishes, and ask if everything was okay. This place, however, was horrible with their reservation system. Yes, it was Vday, but you'd think they'd accommodate for the extra time people probably take at dinners on Vday, especially since this is not their first year open. NOPE, they decided to accept a full list of reservations up to the point where we waited an HOUR to be seated at 9pm among other people. If people say it's busy on the weekends, I would question their reservation system then too. When calling other restaurants to get a reservation, they had mentioned their list was full. Why couldn't this restaurant do the same? We were not comped on anything, and the hostess apologized with a "sorry for the long wait" like it was supposed to be okay with us. One man even asked for bread and butter to be sent to the chairs while him and his date waited. If bread is complimentary with the dinner, then the restaurant definitely wasn't prepared for the amount of people they needed to serve, despite knowing how many to expect via their reservation system. read more

Freaking out over Mother's Day dinner options a few days ago, I came across Elements on Yelp and quickly made reservations. We arrived early and were quickly shown to our table. For appetizers we ordered calamari and spring rolls which seemed a little standard compared to the price. The other adults at our table ordered the tea-soaked duck while I ordered the salmon Wellington. The two kids ordered chicken and pasta. Everything was delicious! But the star... Is the bread! I loved the little round ones. The presentation and plating was beautiful, especially the dessert! The service was average but overall good experience. read more

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This place is one of the South Bay's best kept secrets! Definitely wouldn't have come here if not for Yelp. First thing you notice about this place is that it's a lot nicer than the surroundings would suggest. Here's what my girlfriend and I ordered: -Shrimp Mousse with Quail Eggs - Fried to crispy perfection. Loved the quail egg inside! -Paella - This actually was more like jambalaya. All the seafood was flavorful. Probably should have gone with the spicy option, but it was great nonetheless. -Salmon Wellington - The best parts of this dish are the puff pastry and the incredible sauce. -Creme Brulee - It's creme brulee! This place is a great place to take a date. The service is good and the food is awesome! Summary: 4/5 stars +Nice atmosphere +Terrific service +Beautiful presentation -Bread wasn't great -Location is ehhh (were those kids having a rave in the parking lot?) read more

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Delicious complementary bread, so warm and and yummy. We had their papaya salad, tea smoked duck, five spices beef stew, and seafood paella. The papaya salad was light and refreshing and I love the basil flavor. The tea smoked duck was so moist and flavorful and the taro gratin was tasty as well. The paella and five spices beef stew was very good as well, but not as impressive as the tea smoked duck. Did I mention their dessert?! I love the mango panna cotta, the presentation was beautiful and the panna cotta was sweet and creamy- love it! Service was good, but they were a bit too attentive. They kept coming to clear the plates when we were still working on our food. Anyhow, I will definitely be coming back! read more

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We are using take out a couple of times a week! The food is excellent and ready to eat and some of the best dishes that you will taste. check out the specials..lovely sea bass with great sauces! Recommend that our local people continue to support Elements while we still have to shelter at home.....we look forward to the indoor restaurant being up and running again. read more

I went here on a Saturday night with my bf to try their food (given the rating is quite high). The place is pretty clean and well-lit, nice decoration, cozy atmosphere. It is definitely a good place for family dine-out, and not for a romantic date. It wasn't crowded when we arrived, so we were seated by the hostess right away. We didn't need to make a reservation. The staff were nice. Service was quick. I give them 5 stars for service. About the food: The bread and butter were good. The bread was soft, unlike other places whose breads are hard enough to be used as a weapon. We ordered BBQ New Zealand green mussels in tamarind essence ($8 - 6 pieces) for starter. The taste was a little bland for us. Since we are used to adding mixed fish sauce to BBQ mussels at home, we were expecting the taste of the restaurant's mussels to be a little more flavorful. I ordered the Roasted butternut squash soup ($7.5 soup of the day) - hot and creamy. I loved it! For entrees, my bf ordered the Stuffed Chicken Breast & Marsala au Jus (I'm not sure if that's the right name of the dish). I tried a piece of his chicken. The herbs (?!) stuffing was a little bitter if you bite it. The chicken meat is soft but not moist enough for my taste. The sauce was flavorful, but the curry taste was a little overwhelming. I ordered the tea smoked duck ($18) since it seems like the most favorite dish here. The duck breast was very lean and soft, but the smell was too strong. The mashed taro had a hint of cinnamon flavor to it. I definitely liked it better when I mixed the duck meat with the mashed taro so that the cinnamon flavor could somewhat mask the strong duck meat smell. The veggies were refreshing after consuming that much meat in one sitting. Overall, the portions are very decent. The Food was decorated nicely though the taste was only so-so. Too bad we were too full to try the dessert. I think we mostly pay for the service and the decoration. read more

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4 1/2* I found this restaurant by accident while looking for reservations on Valentine's Day. I will definitely be back, as the service and food were spot on! (Ambience) I deducted 1/2 a star in this category for the location bringing a strip mall and not very intimate if your seated facing the door. Away from the door is another story. However there were many positives! With a view of the restaurant I could see the wine cellar, bar, open style kitchen area, and the lovely tables with white tablecloth place setting. I love the use of colorful painting. If your views of the door you see the bright neon sign and what appears to be a fast food Chinese restaurant. They have outdoor patio seating with portable heaters , which I plan to take advantage of in the summer. (Service) I was pleasantly surprised as to how attentive, but overbearing or interrupting the service was. We were seated next to the host table and it was not loud or obnoxious. To date, it was one of the best service experiences I have had. I saw a mishap order at another table that was corrected flawlessly. The server apologized, made no excuse and said he would correct it. Seconds later the manager apologized and offered free appetizer while they waited to re-cook the entree. Then the entree came out moments later. 5* service! (Food) I ordered wine by the glass and the had Napa wines for $9. I was happily surprised and the wine was great. The table was provided a bread basket that contained pretzel rolls and sourdough rolls. They felt as if they were freshly baked. Warm, soft, and doughy goodness. Tea smoked duck - smoked duck that was a tad overdone but so tender I could barely notice. On a bed of perfectly cooked spinach that had no bitterness. Accompanied by potatoes Au gratin. It was a unique and very lovely dish. Dumplings - the perfect dim sum style dumpling with seafood. Chocolate Bomba - vanilla and chocolate gelato coated in chocolate egg shape and frozen. The dessert was light and very satisfying to the sweet tooth. I would expect to pay $175-200 for 2 people (to include appetizers, drinks, entree, dessert and coffee). We walked out paying $90; unreal. read more

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We went to Elements Vietnamese Restaurant to celebrate my birthday. At first I was concerned that there were so few people dining there but later found out the restaurant had relocated shortly before the pandemic. I had the tea smoked duck and it was outstanding. My friend and I split the green papaya salad and were both pleasantly surprised at the presentation and the flavor- a mango dressing that was delicious. The others in our party had a variety of selections and they were all pleased . We will definitely return for this upscale French Vietnamese menu. My husband said he wished he could cook fish as perfect as his entree was. The staff were attentive but not overbearing. Great restaurant. read more

Delectable food and excellent service. This small, unassuming restaurant was a bit difficult to find, tucked into a strip of businesses. But it was well worth the effort. The butternut squash soup was absolutely delicious, the herb encrusted salmon even better. Be sure to try the green papaya salad, too. Everything we ordered was unique, flavorful, and beautifully presented. The staff was highly attentive, and the casual atmosphere put us all at ease. I will definitely be back! read more

Good service and variety of dishes. Papaya salad, and spider rolls were really good this visit. Paid for some really garbage fried calamari though. Avoid like a bad mother in law... read more

My wife and I ordered take out for our anniversary (during these darn COVID times). We ordered the rack of lamb and the duck. Shucks - it was delicious! You get a little nervous paying that much for something and take it to go, but it was perfectly cooked and scrumptious!!! We loved it! And a complementary triple chocolate mouse cake came with it - also delicious! We hope this place can weather the COVID storm. Great job Elements! read more

Tried the tea smoked duck again, beautiful pieces of meat. Meatloaf - flavorful and tender. Beef stew - so so as compared to Chinese beef stews. The meat was kind of tough. Seared tuna - not too much flavor even though it's fresh. Filet mignon - surprisingly good for a non-steakhouse. read more

Been to Elements twice now. It is so good! Everything we have tried has been amazing! The staff is so polite. The pho is so good as well as the meatloaf and chicken! The cabbage salad with scallops and prawns is out of this world, and dessert is amazing! You need to give them a try, you won't be disappointed! read more

Have been going to Elements for years and it does not disappoint. I had the filet minion for the first time and it was delicious. It is our go to place in Almaden for consistently good food. read more

Elements, You have never dissapointed. In fact the sea bass that my wife ordered was the best cooked and tasting fish that I have ever eaten. I hope that it is available when I come back. They didn't have the paellea in a clay pot on the menu but I am glad that I asked for it because the chef nailed it once again. That is one of my favorites that I would highly recommend. Keep it up Elements! We will be back read more

Elements Restaurant - Try the sea bass - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

Pros: Went to new location for dinner. We had reservations for 6 people and seated on time. Staff was friendly and service was great. Food was delicious. We ordered Vietnamese egg rolls, chicken satay, filet mignon, and Vietnamese stewed beef...delicious! Our evening was topped off with dessert and they brought out a complimentary chocolate covered ice cream dessert for our birthday celebrant which was better than the desserts we ordered. So glad Elements reopened in Almaden area again. SERVICE = 10 FOOD = 10 LOCATION = 10 Ambiance = 7 Cons: Very minor ...Facilities is clean but the kitchen in the back is lit up so bright with fluorescent lighting that it over powers the rest of the room and loses the elegant calm vibe most prefer during dinner. Possibly putting up a smoked glass between the kitchen and dining area will help. Also real tablecloths rather than just butcher paper on the table will bump it up a notch. Elements is easy to get to and parking available. read more

We tried the new location on a busy Friday night, but were seated right away. The place was hoppin' with most every table filled. We started with the 2016 Strasser Cabernet which was great! The service was great, and had a total family vibe. Butternut squash soup was great, ahi carpaccio was great and my meatloaf was very tasty. My husband had the filet mignon which was a little too well done. We suggest ordering medium rare. I'm rooting for these guys so give it a try. read more

Awful customer service! Me and my husband went there last night to support a new restaurant open in our neighborhood and unfortunately we were so disappointed! we waited standing 15 mins for someone to greet and gives us a table and they completely ignored us... read more

I LOVE this place and have been coming to Elements since they were located off Via Valente in the old PW shopping Center. Tristan is awesome and their food is unique and delicious! Their new menu is refreshing and wonderful. a few weeks ago, I ordered multiple items as kind of a taste test. I ordered the Spicy Pho Beef soup, the 5 spice Chicken Bento Box and the Vietnamese Beef stew. Everything was presented beautifully and tasted amazing. very fresh and spiced just right! Almaden Community, in these trying times for our local restaurants, I implore you to support Elements, Mr. Mojitos, Bamboo Fish, Benedicts, Bills, Black Angus and all of the other restaurants in 95120 or the surrounding area with our take out business. We owe it to these restaurateurs to help them stay in business! Kerry San Jose, California read more

After two visits to the new location for Elements, we are more than pleased. The food is as good as the old location, maybe better! And the service is really first class. Even though it's a strip mall location, the decor inside gives a feeling of a very classy location. It is quiet and comfortable. A great asset to the Almaden area. read more

In my opinion an average quality food with fair service and reasonable prices overall.

Great place, excellent food and customer service. Perfect fusion of French and Vietnamese food.

This was without a doubt the worst service I have ever experienced. Our reservation was for 6:30 p.m. There were at least 6 empty tables but they made us wait 20 minutes and even first sat a couple who walked in after us. The waiter brought us water and then totally ignored us while served other people who came in after we did. The couple next to us (who came in after we did) had their food and no one had even asked us for a drink order or offered to take our order. After 40 minutes of being ignored we got up and left. The gentlemen at the front watched us get up and actually thanked us for coming in. The service was horrible. Be prepared for some of the worst service you will ever experience. read more

We went there to celebrate Valentine's Day. Its true what they say about a restaurant's overall experience starts with the "feeling" that you get when you enter a restaurant. The hostess at Elements set us off on the wrong foot. We received a cold, non welcoming kind of treatment. We were seated at a table at the aisle where my glasses kept getting knocked off the table by the waitress and other guests. To make it worse, there was a noisy birthday party that evening. This is not Elements' fault; it took the romance out of the dinner as we could not hear ourselves talk. The ambience of the restaurant was modern with wood accents to add a touch of warmth, chic and sophsication. It reminded me of Bali with less green and no mosquitoes. The grilled beef and asparagus were tender and fragrant. Excellent! The herb crusted salmon was excellent too with the right crunchiness and sweetness of the fresh salmon. The tea smoked duck was a little disappointing as the tea smoked flavor was barely perceptible. The duck meat itself was a little on the dry side. Hate to say it. I had much better moist duck at Tai Pan restaurant. The creamy mashed taro that came with the duck was good with the right amount of sweetness. The meal portion size was large. I was told that the food was better at the old location. I wonder if our experience would have been better if we had got off on a better foot with the right hostess, no birthday party and better table location. These are not deal breakers and easily correctable. read more

We just moved to this area and had no groceries in our new fridge, so off to dinner we went. On Yelp recommendations we tried Elements Restaurant and it was a treat! In San Francisco, this place would have been packed with a line out the door on a Saturday night; in San Jose we were surprised to see most of the tables empty with the excess staff standing around. It really is a beautiful restaurant, I was a bit embarrassed we showed up in jeans until I saw people in shorts dining. Kids are very welcome and there are selections but there is no entertainment, so table manners are expected. We were seated and attended to immediately by no less than four people. We quickly ordered the vegetarian egg rolls (hot and delicious), the ravioli for my daughter, I chose Salmon Wellington and husband chose the Sea Bass. A warm bread basket was served and iced water. The ravioli were hand made as well as the tomato sauce, but my picky eater kid didn't like them. I loved my Salmon, my husband didn't like the Sea Bass as much as I did due to the heavy Asian infusion of flavors. With a generous tip, we paid less than $100 for all that food, top included - a real deal. We will be back again soon! read more

Elements Restaurant - Salmon Wellington - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

What an excellent welcome back!!! We had been to elements Via Valente deep in Almaden and are so excited they are closer on Camden! The filet, prawns, scallops and vegetables were very fresh and flavorful! However he chocolate bomba for dessert was my favorite!!!! read more

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Nice place with decent atmosphere and decent food. Wish the food came out slightly hotter, but otherwise was fine for a nice night out. Started with crab cake things and asparagus wrapped with beef. The asparagus was really cool and worth trying as it is wrapped quite cleverly. Rack of lamb was nice with some sort of citrus red sauce, but it was pricey so I probably would not get it again. Tea duck was also decent. Mango pannacotta was fine, but also a bit of the pricey end at $10. read more

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This is a nice cozy restaurant to bring your family to. The tea duck is my number one recommendation! The flavor was amazing and the taro and sweet potato mash in the middle is to die for. The beef asparagus rolls also had a unique Asian twist. The service was great and you also get free pretzel buns. Love this place! Must try read more

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I'm so lucky to have such fine dining close to home. The best cuisine from seafood to steaks. They know how to do it ,even the coffee is superb. Well done Elements hats off. read more

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Delicious food, beautiful presentation and wonderful staff. The tea smoked duck breast is great and consistent, love the squash soup and beef/asparagus appetizers, and the desserts are works of art. read more

I ate here last night with my husband and it was a wonderful experience! From the outside you wouldn't know what a nice restaurant it is, but as soon as you walk in the door you are in a fine dining establishment! The prices are reasonable and they have a great wine selection! The flavors are delicious and plated beautifully. The menu changes often so there is always new dishes to try. The staff are very friendly and take wonderful care of their customers. We will definitely be eating here often! read more

I love Elements. The concept of French-Vietnamese fusion is so wonderful. I LOVE Vietnamese flavors and the incorporation of them into fusion food is executed very well at Elements! I love the ambiance of this restaurant as well. It's very intimate and modern. The service is very polite. I am also obsessed with the paintings that they display in this restaurant. They are very simple, but use vivid primary colors. I've asked the owner where he purchased them and he got them in Vietnam -___-. I really want them in my house! Haha. ANYWAY, I have never had a bad dish at this restaurant. Seriously, everything here is flavorful and very well prepared and I think the prices and portions are just right. Tea Smoked Duck ($17) - served with taro au gratin, spinach, and a cranberry reduction sauce. This is my absolute favorite dish. If you don't like sweet and savory flavor combinations, you might not like this. However, I love the mixture of berry / citrus with duck. The taro au gratin is also delicious. I absolutely love savory taro. I think they top it with a beurre blanc sauce which adds wonderful flavor. This is apparently a customer favorite. I order it every single time I dine here :X. Scallops and Prawns Cappellini ($16) - huge, succulent grilled prawns with tender scallops, served with a flavorful tomato and olive sauce. If you like Mediterranean-style seafood pasta, you will love this. Paella in a Clay Pot ($17?) - I am obsessed with Vietnamese food that comes in a claypot. It just gives the food a warm, hearty, earthy flavor that I love. This paella is absolutely chock full of mussels, clams, fish, prawns, and calamari. The paella is very moist with a good tomato flavor. As for other entrees we have had, the Salmon Wellington, Stuffed Porkloin, and rack of lamb are also amazing. They also serve daily specials. Last time I went, they had a roasted butternut squash soup, a crab and asparagus soup, and a lemongrass encrusted sea bass (omg... I should have ordered that)! For dessert, their mango panna cotta was excellent. Very creamy and flavorful! read more