Fine dining for reasonable prices. That's how I'd sum it up at least.
I paid $80 + a 20% tip that was included, so $96, for brunch for my girlfriend and I. A big brunch. I am a pig and it takes a lot to fill me up, but I was full before the end of the meal. We ordered two more dishes than the waitress recommended IIRC. Maybe three. So a more typical bill would probably be like $70-80 for two, or $35-40/person.
Which to be sure, is a lot of money. But the quality of food and service and atmosphere felt more like the $150-200/person range, and so it feels like a big bargain to me.
Without going through everything dish by dish, it was basically all just excellent. And I'm not the type of person to use that word lightly (check out my other reviews and star distribution). It really was all super high quality and well executed. A few things that stuck out to me:
- The bread was super awesome. Really fresh, good light and chewy sort of texture, and great sourdough type of flavor. It's hard to think of times I've had bread that I enjoyed more than this.
- I had this sweet pastry. I forget what it was called, but it's gotta have been my favorite part of the meal. It had this fancy fruit that had a really nice tart flavor to it. It would have been too tart on it's own, but that tartness was balanced perfectly by the flakey and buttery pastry, the powdered sugar, and the pistachio nuts. Incredible.
- The texture of the quiche was crazy.
- The novelty of the non-standard ingredients was really fun. I got a salad that had this other fruit I've never heard of before. The waitress said you can't eat it raw, it has to be cooked, and it's something like a cross between a pear and an apple. Which is kinda accurate, but also undersells it.
The waitress was great too. I'm usually underwhelmed by servers tbh, but this server was good. She knew the details of every dish, which I think enhanced our experience. The menu can be a little confusing, so it's nice to get those questions answered and hear the details of the dishes as you're served. She also really did a great job of treading the line between being conversational and friendly while also giving the customers space to spend time with each other. Idk. It just felt like high quality, step-above type of service.
And the atmosphere was really charming. It felt just like being in a hole in the wall cafe in France. Late 1800s France. Well, I've never been to France, nor have I lived in the late 1800s, but, I guess it's what I'd imagine late 1800s France to be like.
My girlfriend and I will definitely be back periodically. When we're feeling a little fancy, and to try new things on the menu. read more