Friday evening in Iowa?s second-largest city and this place should be mobbed. It?s the only AAA3-diamond left since the flood of 2 years ago (2008.) Why are there only half a dozen parties here? Is the economy really that bad or it it just that this place is over-priced by a third?
The house salad that came with the dinner was adequate but it was served in a bowl about 6 inches in diameter by 4 inches deep which made it rather difficult to get a knife in there to cut the over-large pieces of greens. The pine nuts all settled to the bottom of the bowl and I picked them out with my fingers after finishing the rest of the salad. I mistook the 4 quarter-inch-thick slices of a baguette for something to munch with the salad. Nope, that was the entire bread serving. My entr?e was fillet of Scottish salmon served with couscous and a small dab of cauliflower-based sauce. Quite good though small for the price. The brief wine list didn?t have a single name I recognized. I had a couple of glasses of a Vinas San Pablo sauvignon blanc from Argentina. It was quite good. For dessert I had the Godiva chocolate cheesecake. That was very good.
The restaurant is housed in an 1880?s mansion but the interior is more of an east-coast seafood restaurant. Service was friendly and casual.
Bottom line: it was good but I could have had the same meal in New York City for 2/3 the price. If one is traveling in the area I recommend continuing south about 25 miles to Iowa City and eating at Joseph?s. There one will find an infinitely better salad, a more generous bread basket, a better wine list, a more generous slice of salmon and more professional service for about the same price.
Pros: No competition
Cons: Over priced
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