Wow, wow, wow. Idk where to start. My friends walked by this place the other day and really wanted to try this place, we happened to be going to Chinatown that night and decided to do dinner there. They were able to find a reservation on I think open table and it worked out perfectly. This was my first time sitting back in such a packed restaurant, it felt a little weird at first, but I quickly adjusted, it felt much more like old times. I want to start off by saying, everything was excellent, the food, the service, the atmosphere, soooooo good!
As for the food, the menu has a good mix of items, including some boujie little appetizers, and a very fun mix of Asian fusion, American, and best of all, they support working with local farmers, artisans, etc. they list all of the local community that their business supports and uses in their restaurant, LOVE IT. I was so excited to know that the food we were having was made fresh with local ingredients that support our local community. There were a bunch of things that looked amazing on the menu but my appetite had been soooo off and I have a hard time picking foods but I was instantly drawn to the Korean fried chicken sandwich or the risotto. Lucky for me my friends decided they were going to share some dishes between the two of them and let me try some of their risotto. The Korean fried chicken sandwich does come a la carte so if you wanted fries or a salad you would have to order that separately (I knew I wasn't hungry enough to eat fries so it worked out, but I'll probably order fries next time if I share with the hubby). The service was pretty quick and despite a super packed restaurant, the food came out in a reasonable amount of time and looked as good as it tasted. The Korean fried chicken sandwich comes with a refreshing Asian pear slaw in it that pairs perfectly with the very slightly sweet, salty, super crispy, and PERFECTLY cooked chicken. YUM. The chicken was perfectly crispy while still sooooo tender and juicy. Seriously some of the best cooked fried chicken I've had in a very long time. The sandwich was a good sized sandwich and if you wanted to share with someone and order a few things like my friends did I would totally recommend this sandwich (or you could eat the entire thing by yourself like I did). As for the risotto with the crispy prosciutto, SOOOOOO GOOD. That is also something I could totally see myself ordering again next time as my main meal. It was sooo creamy, and the crispy prosciutto add on was exactly what that baby needed (they do also make this in a vegan version if you wanted to try that). Everything about it was delicious and I really enjoyed all the peas in the risotto, ughhh I'll be thinking about that risotto for a long time lol and hopefully I can get my hubby to come with me again. My friends also had the oysters and enjoyed the two sauces it came with (a peppery yuzu, and a Sriracha cocktail sauce). As for dessert we couldn't just choose one thing so I got a double scoop of the rocky road to share, we got the olive oil cake, and the sorbet. The rocky road was everything I hoped for and more, the chocolate was soooo good, decadent, but not too sickly sweet or rich, the marshmallows were slightly fluffy but had some chew since it was in the frozen ice cream lol, and the candied Mac nuts were soooo good and gave it a little elevated flavor and texture rather than just throwing in some roasted Mac nuts. 12/10 I will have to get this again. The sorbet was a raspberry, rose, lychee and it was delish ! Sooo tart but quite refreshing, this was a nice lighter and brighter note at the end of the meal. As for the olive oil cake, oh my goodness, soooo delicious and I would also highly recommend this, too. The calamansi they cook down into a syrup to drizzle over the cake is also sooo good and pairs so well with the cake. Seriously everything we ate was phenomenal.
As for the service, every staff member we interacted with was sooo kind, well informed, and super helpful. Our server, Josh, was knowledgeable, friendly, and funny. He helped make our first experience there an excellent one. I for the life of me cannot remember the hostess name, but she was super sweet and helpful, too. We were missing a dish and asked if she could get our server but she was eager to help and resolve the issue. It was so minor and it didn't hinder the experience at all.
Overall, I looooved my experience here and can't wait to go back again, hopefully with the hubby next time. The atmosphere is gorgeous and would make for an excellent date night spot. It's a little loud because it's so tight in there and there are a ton of tables, but it's definitely worth checking out. The food alone was an excellent selling point, but the cute plant wall, brick interior and the whole vibe take it to another level. read more