This place is in Baltimore? That is all that kept going through my mind as I entered the unassuming warehouse that opened up to the most sophisticated restaurant in this city. Its hip enough to come with friends and coworkers and yet offers private spots for a perfect evening with a loved one. They serve tapas (which you can also order as a big plate) as well as delicious pizza, and an extensive wine list. The lighting is kept dim, the paintings are somewhat renaissance-y, and the decorations are well thought out. The music was too loud at points in the night, but that was also because we were sitting two tables down from the DJ and speakers.
On to the food. I would suggest allowing someone else to pick for you, as I did, because I guarantee you won't know what to get. I am going to briefly comment on each tapas so that I do not overload you with information. I would also like to mention that we went in a group of 6 which explains the large quantity of tapas. However, I must explain that tapas are small plates of the following dishes and you barely get more than one bite of each.
The octopus salad (made with potato, herbs, and paprika) was liked throughout the table but I didn't find it so great because I just imagined an octopus with tentacles in my tummy the whole time. The grilled swordfish was outstanding which is confusing because last time I tried swordfish I swore never to have it again. The Halibut was one of my favorite dishes because of the green onions and chive sauce. The steak with scallions and romescu sauce was probably the best dish of the night. It was made to melt in your mouth. The grilled lamp chops were great of course because what is there not to love about lamb chops? Now the next item some people may be angry about, but the pasta filled with rabbit was probably my least favorite. This was partly due to the fact that I thought about Hazel with every bite and partly because I didn't like the consistency or taste of the meat. Another one of my favorites was the bruschetta served with shallots and goat cheese. WOH! What a combo. I thought that I was eating a fig instead of a shallot (similar to an onion) because it was so sweet from having caramelized. The rice balls were interesting but nothing spectacular. The tomato, basil, and mozzarella combo was definitely yummy, but somewhat overdone in my household this summer so it was nothing exciting for me. The tomatoes dish was delicious with the right amount of sea salt and probably olive oil. Finally the grilled mushrooms were really great!!!
The pizza we ordered (that we all surprisingly still ate) was the seafood pizza (made with shrimp, calamari, anchovies and mussels) and the white pizza (made with spinach and zucchini). I only tried the white pizza since I was weary about seafood with pizza, and I was delighted. I love white pizza so this also explains things.
Now let's talk about dessert, because quite frankly, the dessert was divine. I ordered the catalan mousse cake which reminded me of tiramisu but 100000x better. Fortunately for us we had two of these cakes at our table because one was for my sister's birthday that the waitress gave us. My sister ordered this chocolate torte that was intensely chocolate and rich which = everything great in this world. My mum ordered a fig dessert with some really yummy creamy sauce. YUM. However, their coffee was very weak, so that was a bummer.
OK, let's try and sum up before people start to fall asleep: THIS PLACE IS THE COOL PLACE TO BE. GO THERE.
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