This is the kind of restaurant with a style that immediately when you walk in reminds you of a…read moreclassic neighborhood bistro with an owner that knows the people and greets them on a first name basis. Their own statement is that the place is supposed to be reminiscent of the Montmartre neighborhood in north Paris with its variety of peacefulness, loudness, charm and beauty - a place that is the soul of the city (Paris). While I appreciate metaphors, they do incite a certain "danger" if the restaurant isn't up to par with their statement.
We went here, three adults and three kids (age 7, 10, 13), and we were immediately greeted by the owner and seated at our reserved table. We were quite quickly given menus. All of the adults ordered pesto gratin clams with butter, lemon, herb salad. Perfectly cooked! Rich in flavor, buttery, slightly acidic from the lemon that just cut through the butter without over-powering the delicate clams. I had a glass of white wine, Hidden Rock, a chardonnay from Australia. Despite the severe complexity of pairing wine with acid/lemon, this really did the trick. For main my son had the beef tenderloin Black Angus, Bearnaise sauce, onion rings, and tomato. He cleaned the plate. So happy with his dish. My daughter and youngest son split a Vesuvio pizza. It had thin and crispy crust, tangy cheese, and a tomato sauce both rich and deep in flavor without being sweet. They were happy! For main two of us had the lightly salt cured cod with prawns, broccoli and horse radish butter. It was soft, moist, and flaky. Just delicious. I had the pepper beef tenderloin, brandy-flambé cream sauce, baby vegetables, herb oil and roasted potatoes. Ordered my meat rare and it came perfectly rare. Good and crispy char with the ruby red center. It just melted on my palate. I had a glass of wine, a red Sangiovese. It was good, big lingonberry flavour, but unfortunately too light to handle the pepper in my dish. For dessert my kids had the sticky chocolate cake with miniature merengue, raspberry coulis and whipped cream. I myself had a Toblerone parfait, chocolate- and nougat sauce, mango sorbet, and whipped cream. To this a nice cup of coffee. Tasty and rich but too big in size. Half would have been more than enough.
In all, this place is a friendly neighborhood gem. Forget fine-style dining, this is straight forward well-cooked food with a heartwarming touch of home. Friendly, attentive and accommodating serving-staff. It's not without flaws of course. Menus in plastic covered pages I could do without, genuine paper oozes a bit more quality. Sorely lacking cloth napkins, the only thing available were thin paper napkins. Also, a meager choice of one white and red wine on the glass is nowhere near acceptable. At least 3 of each are needed to accommodate the variety of dishes (as I personally experienced with my main). Lastly two things; portion control on the dessert. That amount of sweet isn't necessary. Scale back a bit, making it a bit more refined. And don't use "whipped" cream from a spray can, whip real cream! But really, I'm nitpicking here. This is a great place, friendly smiles, and above all tremendously well-cooked food that leaves you satisfied, happy and definitely with a desire to try more of their dishes at another time. Don't miss it!
