I came to the Valentine because I'm an Amex Platinum card holder, and it's nearby and on Resy. We…read morehad a Resy credit expiring that night and were celebrating me and my lover's anniversary with a romantic dinner. Given the reviews, we were excited!
We booked for 7:30 P.M. It looked busy but not so busy, and we were seated immediately. We didn't get an introduction to a server. Our drinks were served right away, and a gentleman we thought was our server took our order. We told him we'd never been there, and he walked us through the menu, shared recommendations, and gave us a lot of attention. He brought our appetizers, checked how they tasted, and helped us order dinner. Someone else brought dinner, which was fine, though in hindsight we wondered where we'd done something wrong.
We enjoyed dinner and each other's company so much that we hadn't realized nobody had visited us for 51 minutes after dinner arrived. We thought our server had forgotten us, but we saw him covering nearby tables without making eye contact with us for the rest of the evening. The woman who'd taken our drink order and seated us cleared our plates. We asked for the bill. She said sure, made an awkward face (didn't seem pleased), nodded, and walked away. We watched her fill drinks and clear tables, but not get our bill. The gentleman continued servicing nearby tables without returning or looking our way, almost seeming to avoid eye contact. We were both staring, and not a peep in our direction.
He'd been attentive before dinner, but after that--nada. I have a time stamp because I photographed dinner when it arrived. We hoped to enjoy a sweet treat for our anniversary, but with no menu or attention, we figured we should go. We'd already been there an hour after dinner arrived. I finally stood at the counter, where we'd seen others get attention, and was ignored. After about two minutes, I stood next to the party being attended until "our" server looked at me.
I asked, "Aren't you our server?" He looked me directly in the eye and said, "no, I'm not." I was baffled, given he'd attended us all evening. He said, "tonight we're doing a Group service, so that's possibly why there was confusion."
I felt a little gaslit being told he wasn't our server when he had been. I said OK, no problem, we'd like our bill to head out, could he help? Only then did he apologize for missing the mark. He mentioned the team being busy and the printers not working, rambled, and apologized. The woman we'd asked almost 20 minutes earlier came to the host station, avoided eye contact, grabbed something, and stepped away.
He offered to remove our drinks--my partner had only a beer and sparkling water--saying, "maybe it can help soften the blow." I said that's all right, though he did not remove them. He gave us the bill. I think this was the first time I didn't leave a cash tip, regrettably. One of the worst service experiences I've had at dinner with my partner.
The ambience was nice--it's giving evening romance. It looked busy, but not so busy you couldn't attend a table. Nearby tables received service, check-ins, refills, and bussing. I had much higher hopes.
Let's talk food. I had the Hamachi. He might have tried to talk me out of it, to his credit, but my partner had tasty hamachi elsewhere and I was excited for good fish. The flavor was good, but it was overcooked and not as tender as it could've been. The dish was unique, but I don't think the flavors blended well: a slightly sweet vinegar salad, green chili sauce underneath, and a crispy shell on the fish. Together, they didn't complement well. I should've listened. He said other dishes were more preferred and ordered, and one guest had ordered it and left unpleased.
My partner's elote pasta we enjoyed. The crispy corn, the pasta texture, Parmesan, subtle flavors, and tasty sauce combined beautifully. The noodles were cooked perfectly, so that was finished.
We very much enjoyed the pretzel!! It was his suggestion, and we complimented it to him, talking about how delicious and magical it was: almost crispy outside, a teeny hint of sweet but savory, and so soft inside it almost melted in your mouth. The soft whipped butter and honeycomb square were delightful. All three together were delectable!
We also enjoyed the baby salad and baby radishes. The dressing was perfect, with a Caesar hint and some sweetness; the pepitas were yummy. My partner isn't a big salad fan, but tried it and said it was really good.
Dinner was $116. We were mostly happy with the meal. Service brings this review down. I'd rate food 3 1/2 stars; it wasn't out of this world.
I have no desire to return. I can't tell you if they offer dessert; perhaps there's another menu we weren't offered. The bar in back, 1912 - great drinks. We could've enjoyed liquid dessert but were done after being ignored.
The patio looks divine! Note how "busy" our photos look: plenty of empty spots and at least eight front-of-house staff who didn't help.