After a couple of visits, I'm going to give this place a solid 4 stars. The cocktails here are standout and the appetizers are delicious. The cocktails are truly inspired, with surprising names/concepts but a perfect balance of flavors each time. The brussels sprout appetizer is excellent, with a wide variety of flavors added while still allowing the brussels to shine through. There are TONS of great, interesting options for vegetarians, and they really seem to know, understand, and love vegetables here. It's great!!!!
The rest of the food is aaaaaaalmost there but not quite, for me. On the pro side, there are healthy options that are actually presented really flavorfully, which is lovely. On the down side, its' hard to know what you're going to receive when you order. Some dishes are really large (there's a pad thai that's really big and filling) and some that you'd think might be bigger are pretty small (the fish entree). The fish is cooked well and the umami sauce they add is really yummy. The fish is served on a bed of delicious mushrooms, but with that many expensive ingredients I guess they had to kind of skimp on volume and there is less than a thimbleful of actual sauce, which leads to a dish that is really delicious and varied, but overall actually a little dry and leaves you wanting a few more bites of food, which is a shame since it's one of the priciest dishes on the menu. These would both be solved by adding a little bit of another vegetable either under the fish or on the side, or just having an option of adding a little more sauce, or even a little bit of lemon. The pad thai is yummy and large and filling, but not perfectly balanced flavors, IMO. The "pesto" dish that's vegan tastes pretty good, but there is so very much of the vegan "pesto" included in order to keep the dish moist and flavorful that it's kind of overwhelming- the dish would be much improved by just having a little side or something to take a break from the one texture and flavor for a bit. The bok choy appetizer is really truly delicious, a perfect example of how this place elevates vegetables to a new level! Unfortunately it's served in a really awkward way with no instruction from the server. So it's these perfect, delicate bok choy sections that are so tender and lovely as to taste almost creamy served in a very thin brothy sauce, with enough spoons for the table... and little flat plates. So are you supposed to spoon the sauce over the vegetables, then try to cut the leaves with your knife and fork, spilling and dripping broth everywhere off the edges of the plate? And how to eat the delicious brothy- everyone dip your spoons in the same bowl, again and again? Pour it onto a flat plate little by little and intermittently somehow try to scoop it off of a plate with a spoon? Then there are the grain bowls- they're like 95% of the way to perfection! Lots of different grains included, lots of different flavors on top- a wide variety of crunchy, salty, cooked, and fresh things on each bowl. But the grains are just a little bit too crunchy (al dente) for my taste, which makes it a little bit of a chore to chew, and then there are just a little bit too few toppings so the balance is a bit off and you get more bland bites than you really want.
These critiques are just small things in the end- it's a nice place with good food and really professional service, but this place is SOOOOO close to incredible that I wish there were just these couple of little adjustments and I'd be recommending it to everyone I know.
Price wise, this place has variation. Some dishes, like the grain bowls, are really reasonably priced for a meal, but for some entrees, like the fish, you'll spend more than you might at 3rd and Hollywood (which is really outstanding for fish dishes), particularly if you order an appetizer or side to complement the serving size of the fish dish.
Overall: definitely give it a try! Cocktails are a must. read more