Since this is a newer restaurant, I set birthday reservations for a party of 4 at 4:15 pm on a Saturday. I was hoping for a smooth experience by beating the busyness of the dinner crowd. Unfortunately, the early dinner did not go as planned.
Parking was fine, with street parking and valet available. We arrived at the host stand and were seated almost immediately. Walking into the restaurant was a delight because of how cute it is inside. We were seated and quickly got our drink orders in. Then we ordered the tapas/plates at 4:25ish. Our initial order included the watermelon salad, corn, crudo, oyster mushroom, cigars, flat iron steak, sea bass, burger, pork belly, and asian pear & brie pizza. The server notified us that the asian pear pizza was sold out despite the restaurant just opening; we thought that was a bummer since that was what really caught our eye, so we went ahead with the margherita pizza.
Here's where it went wrong with the delay of these tapas arriving at the table... practically 1 plate at a time for a party of 4...
4:41pm Mediterranean corn, 4:45pm crudo, 5:04pm oyster mushroom flatbread, 5:20pm moroccan cigars, 5:23pm margherita pizza with salami, 5:24pm flat iron steak, 5:36pm comped fried chicken tapa + sea bass, 5:37pm burger, 5:42pm pork belly, 6:07pm best cake bday dessert, 6:08pm chocolate cake (we didn't even order it, just a random additional dessert), and 6:12pm rose dessert.
We basically had a 2-hour dinner for food that was honestly unimpressive. When we got maybe our third plate, we asked the server where the watermelon salad was since it's a cold item and figured it was quick and easy to make. She checked on it and then told us they were out of watermelon; to her defense, she said no one notified her about the 86'd item. But here's the gag.. As we were nearing the end, there was a party of 3 that were seated maybe an hour after us that looked like they had the asian pear pizza on their table. I asked, and it was indeed the pear pizza (they said it was delicious). Why weren't we notified about it being back in stock and given the option to order it? I think the lack of communication among server/kitchen/management needs major improvement. We voiced our concerns to Justin, the manager. Justin was hospitable, listened, and understood our frustration. I appreciate how he handled the situation.
Food review: The items I enjoyed were the fried chicken tapa courtesy of the manager, oyster mushroom flatbread, best cake, and rose dessert. The drinks were great. The corn was okay, the crudo had a questionable texture and was plain, the moroccan cigars were not even filled all the way and were basically 1/3 empty, the marg. pizza was basic, the flat iron steak was good, the sea bass was disappointing, the burger was okay, and the pork belly was overloaded with the hoison-y sauce they used.
Overall, I would love to return to try other tapas and drinks. I hope this experience does not repeat. read more