So I've been here twice (summer 2019 and summer 2020). Pre-renovation, I would've given 5 stars. Post-renovations I'm bumping down to a 3. My photos are from both last year and this year, as a comparison.
Last summer my husband and I dined here while visiting the area. We did the incredible 6-course tasting menu, and had Stanton as our waiter, who eloquently described each dish and made us feel so welcome. The restaurant had an old charm to it and we couldn't wait to return this summer. It was one of the best meals we have ever had. I still remember the salmon amuse bouche, the leek soup with lobster, and sweet potato soufflé with ginger... UNBELIEVABLE. 5 stars.
Tonight, we attended again. We booked a reservation 2 weeks ago on OpenTable and were shocked to see that they had no tables except for random 9:30pm slots, so when an 8:45 popped up as a cancelation, we decided to take it. I booked the table and marked off that we'd be celebrating our anniversary. We knew the tasting menu was no longer an option, but we were excited to go again.
When we arrived, we were seated on the patio, which we requested due to COVID. The restaurant is completely renovated - I heard they spent $2M. While beautiful, I feel like it lost some of its charm, and had more of a modern farmhouse chic NYC vibe (a la Blue Hill, or a Jean-Georges restaurant).
We were seated in the corner of the patio and our server was Brad. He never told us his name, so I only know his name because it was on our check. He seemed to not want to be bothered with us. We ordered drinks: an old fashioned for my husband, and I ordered the High Summer Sour. I was excited about the chamomile in the drink.
Our appetizer arrived first - the fluke. It was delicious. Still no drinks. Then we received the complimentary bread and butter, and olives (I feel like this and our cocktails should've been out before the fluke).
Our drinks arrived and the man who brought them told me that tonight was the first night that they are offering the drink I ordered. Tonight they are doing it with sunflower, not chamomile, and he'd love to know what I think of it! (this might have been helpful to know before I ordered it in case I wanted to change my mind). Regardless, the drinks were good. (PS he never came back to find out what I thought of it).
It seemed everyone else around us had apertifs at their table - little glasses of a beautiful red liqueur with a green leaf (mint?) garnish. We never got them :( the couple next to us received an extra two, which were probably for us, but despite the couple declaring they already received theirs, the waiter said to keep them and drink them anyway.
Time went by... We finished our drinks.... Empty glasses... We'd like another round... No waiter...
Our entrees arrive: my husband ordered the duck and it was prepared perfectly. Since it was so late I decided to have an appetizer as my meal - the rigatoni cascio e pepe which was tasty. We had to ask someone to get our waiter so we could order more drinks.
Btw - all the runners seemed to be confused as to which tables were which. They'd often bring food to the wrong table or walk around with plates looking very confused. Remember those apertifs that went to the wrong table and was never remedied or even noticed...? I would've asked the beverage director about them but she seemed to go to every table but ours...
Brad, our waiter, brought us a dessert menu. We decided to go for the cheesecake sundae. I assumed it was cheesecake with ice cream on top (even though that sounds weird) but it was actually cheesecake-flavored ice cream. I enjoyed it, but the menu descriptions are vague, just basically listing ingredients. Either be more descriptive or have your waiters explain what they are. There were also seasonal ice creams but he didn't tell us what they were.
I had the Cardamaro Amaro (so good!) and my husband had a tawny port. We loved the little petit-fours at the end (a bite of chocolate, and a grapefruit gelee with fennel).
Overall, we felt like nobody gave a damn that we were there. We were hardly checked on (other than the sweet young man who kept refilling our water! Thank you!) Our anniversary was never acknowledged, we did not receive the same treatment as others regarding apertifs, we were not told of menu changes, we had to flag people down to order things... It was just really disappointing compared to last year. From a restaurant of such high caliber, I'd expect better. The food was good, but nowhere near last year's meal, and I'm not sure I'll return. I do not like feeling like an inconvenience. read more