This was recommended to me by a person at a winery whose father used to have a Michelin star, so…read moreclearly he knows what he is talking about. And I did very much like it. The ambiance is wonderful and the service was outstanding. There are two gentlemen that are twins and that was a fun aspect. I thought the view was just amazing. We went for lunch but decided to get the summer tasting menu. They don't necessarily have wine pairings but will make some for you if you request, so we did. We thought the pairings were decent, but for doing them on the fly they were quite good. It was a long lunch but didn't drag nor did we feel rushed. The seafood was extremely fresh. Overall, I thought the freshness and quality of the seafood was perfect but the flavors for me were a bit lacking. I just though almost every dish needed a bit more to really be a standout. I did really enjoy the use of red onion, which some chefs shy away from. That pop did help some of the dishes overall flavor, especially because some of the fish is not very flavorful.
The amuse bouche was a whitefish salad that was actually really good. It woke up the palate but was still light. Fresh whitefish on top of an heirloom tomato and red onion. They also gave us some bubbles for this, which was a nice pairing. The first course was mackerel. Saba is my favorite sashimi so I loved the mackerel. Everyone did, even though the other three had never had it. The cream that was with it was very nice and necessary to break up the flavor of the fish. Next we had a cuttlefish sandwich. All components individually were stellar but it just wasn't my favorite preparation. Cuttlefish (is like calamari) is difficult to each in a sandwich form because of its texture so you ended up with some only bread and some huge pieces of cuttlefish that wasn't a pleasing texture in your mouth when it was the only thing. I also thought it could use some sort of dressing on the bread to tie it all together a bit better. This was my least favorite dish. However, my favorite dish followed! It was a squid ink pasta with baby calamari. Sounds simple but the texture and flavors were on point. The calamari was literally the best grilled calamari I've ever had anywhere. I could eat this everyday! Next was my second favorite dish. It was a pasta with mixed seafood and tomatoes and radicchio. Very tasty! The pasta was cooked perfectly. Next was I believe a whitefish. It was one of the fishes I felt suffered from lack of flavors; but the fish itself was unbelievable. And I understand the chef was likely trying to let this awesome fish be the star, but then the dish was just a bit bland to me. This also had tomatoes and radicchio so I felt perhaps another flavor profile would have helped considering these were back to back dishes. Again, fish was succulent though. I personally just wanted a bit more going on. The last savory course was a langoustine that was lightly fried. I thought the frying of the langoustine was perfect but again, lacked seasoning. Perhaps if they put some spices in the batter? The fish itself was barely cooked and very tender. Because of the frying, I couldn't really get the brains out, which I think are the best part.
But overall, not bad. Just another dish that lacked some seasoning for me despite the fish itself being stellar. The dessert was kind of a coffee cream with a pistachio brittle. It was super good although at this point I was extremely full! There was nothing that was bad here at all, but for Michelin star I thought many of the dishes lacked flavor. That being said, it was some of the freshest seafood I've had anywhere. I also thought the service was outstanding. I would definitely go back if I were back in Italy. Also if you go and can get that calamari pasta, you'll thank me!
