I want to like The Penny, which is why we have gone there about 8 times. But unfortunately the food is just not very good. We have tried so many dishes, and they all sound better than they are. I could overlook the often spotty service if the food even approached greatness. But alas... We have frequently and mostly happily patronized its sister restaurants since each opened, and we loved the idea of a more casual option from the same great team. But so far it is just not all coming together. The one dish I can cautiously recommend is the soupy beans and rice, which really was very good the first time I had it, but the second time it was honestly like 1/3 whole olives, which was just off-putting, even for an olive lover (they were castelvetranos, so delightful olives but just way too many and I personally also did not like that they were whole). We recently went for brunch, as we thought maybe that would go more smoothly than dinner had, but the bloody marys got sent back by the rest of the table because they were so smoky (tasted like liquid smoke?) that no one was willing to drink them other than me. I choked mine down just because I hate wasting things, but I would not order one again. We surveyed our guests, who were first-timers, about the food afterward, and one gave it a 3, while the other gave it a 2.5. The charted kale salad also tasted quite smoky, which none of us liked, and the mushroom pizza was just ok. I do love the atmosphere, and I think what they did with the bar was a great improvement from Early Terrible's setup. So maybe on a pretty evening it would still be ok to go for a glass of wine. But I think I may give up on the food now, at least for the time being. read more