This place seemed promising for its intriguing menu options, respectable philosophy re: local and organic foods, good location, and good atmosphere. It turns out it's one of those places I will never go again and will tell all my friends to avoid. When we, a party of four, came in on a Friday night, we were told there was a long wait even though there were plenty of tables open and two two-party groups waltzed on in without apparent reservations. After a covert monetary exchange with the maitre'd, we were miraculously seated with no further delay. Huh.
Things were still promising when we got our wine, which gave off the most enticing smells, but forbode a bad night when we tasted it and found it tasted totally cheap and one-dimensional. We would have left then had we known the wine was an omen. My dinner was good. I liked my trout a lot, mostly because I have a thing for Meyer lemons and fennel and it came with a Meyer-lemon sauce and braised fennel. Sadly, no one else was particularly enthused about their food. The mushroom risotto was deemed un-risotto-like and very bland.
It was a Friday, but, as I said, the place was hardly full and stayed that way throughout our meal. The waitress was unable to competently answer most of our questions about the menu and then was completely MIA after dropping off our food. We were centrally located, but it seemed we were invisible to the other staff as well. We practically had to tackle someone who was not our waitress to ask for the bill after we sat there for who knows how long. The bill came, but no one was interested in picking up our cards.
In the end, the only thing going for it was the ambiance. The restaurant's designer was smart to bring in the outdoors with the high ceilings, big windows, and large ficus in the room, but ambiance is not enough to bring me back for a repeat of this.
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