Bistrot Le Zinc

The owner of the restaurant was very rude when we took our 2 month old with us. He should know how to behave with his customers. Even the manager of the restaurant came over and apologized for his rude behavior. Looks like its not a kid friendly restaurant. Food was good though.

This was a great restaurant, with an interesting, superb menu. Service was incredible and so was the food. We were even told goodbye by the owner as we left. I highly recommend this little gem!

Before you’re greeted by Frumpy McBumblestick, this place has a lot of charm. After Frumpy dipleasingly seats you at one of the stochastically distributed bistro tables (you’ll have to squeeze, bump, and apologize your way through the dining room to your seats), you’ll be ignored by a waiter for half an hour while you wait for water. Frumpy, (having left you to return to the host stand to eat her dinner standing up and in front of the entire dining room), will need to be summoned to get service started — at least that’s what happened in our experience at BLZ.
We heard that people come here for mussels. Mussels we had. The mussels were good and fairly priced. The waiter was disinterested in our requests for clarification about menu items that, while prepared with different ingredients, were named the same thing. We got the wrong thing and we were told that the kitchen would not change the order. I had also complained that the bread we received was rock hard on one side and just plain ‘olé stale on the other. They waiter never brought us new bread so we sopped up the mussel broth with some fries (which were good).
During services, the mechanism that gives rise to the haphazard table layout became clear. At some point, another table and a few chairs were brought out or possibly split from a double-​up top. In an already crowded dining room, this caused a chain reaction (nearly a Markov process) in that every adjacent table had to make tiny adjustments in seemingly arbitrary directions — this rippled from the back to the front of the room. Interesting, if not really inconvenient for the waitstaff and customers.
At every step of our evening there, BLZ never faultered in saying «screw you, paying customers.» We won’t be back; not even for the mussels.

I really wanted to like this place, but we did not have a very good experience.
We went for dinner on a Sunday, and there was only one other couple in the entire restaurant (that should have been our first clue). After we ordered our drinks, our waitress informed us that they were out of a «few» items since their next delivery was Tuesday morning and they had underestimated for the week. Missing from the menu: fried oysters, scallops, mussels, skate, ribeye, and short ribs. Very disappointing since I was looking forward to moules and frites and my husband wanted to short ribs.
The beef carpaccio was completely flavorless, the spring pea soup was over salted (my tongue literally burned from salt), the sirloin was tough and under seasoned, the veal was over salted, and the apple tart was a thin piece of pastry with a few apple slices on top, tossed in the microwave. Way overpriced at $ 12 and not very good.
The only item we ordered that was worth recommending is the goat cheese salad … but it’s pretty hard to screw up fried cheese or salad.
I definitely recommend spending your money elsewhere.

Very nostalgic to return to the ol’ Macomb Street neighborhood where I lived when I first came to D.C. as a young (er) and hopeful intern. Bistrot Le Zinc wasn’t there then, of course, nor could I have afforded at the time to even sit at their bar and enjoy a drink and an appetizer — but they’re obviously a fixture and beloved by the neighborhood now.
The husband took me here for a birthday dinner upon the recommendation of a friend who has, as it turns out, pretty darn good taste in restaurants. I had checked out the reviews on Unilocal prior and noticed a theme re., ‘a little snooty,’ ‘a little biased toward the local regulars,’ etc., so to prepare we wore our grown up dressy clothes to convey respect for the establishment and anticipated that a bit of that typical French reticence would just be part of the experience. We were greeted reasonably promptly in the tiny foyer entrance and asked where we’d care to sit; we explained we hadn’t been before and asked the (manager? owner?) what he suggested. He gave us a nice spot ‘in the middle of the action,’ as he put it. It should be noted that — true to the authentic European bistro dining experience — the tables are quite close together and I’d imagine the privacy level goes down as the noise level goes up during busy times. It wasn’t too bad on a Friday night for a 7pm reservation, though — we had no one on either side of us until the very end, which was nice.
I could go on about the décor and atmosphere, which is charming and very reminiscent of an actual bistro in, you know, France, but the food and service stole the show here for me:
— Starters were beef carpaccio and warm goat cheese salad — both fresh, and both offering an array of flavors from complex to subtle that raised them above the ordinary. Nice surprise was the tomato jam hidden under the chevre that added the most lovely sweet and savory notes to the dressing, salad and cheese.
— The signature Le Zinc martini tasted so light and faintly sweet and innocent, and yet snuck up on me suddenly and said, Bön jour! You are now lightly pickled! Sante!
— Main dishes: he had the veal scaloppini, I had the pan-​seared free range chicken. Now, I don’t know how the portion sizes are on the other dishes but these were surprisingly generous. For bistro fare I’m used to much smaller plates — even at these prices — but the quantity of chicken I received could have fed two people easily. More importantly: yum. The smoky avocado relish added a faint hint of creamy smokiness, every bite of chicken was moist and rich. We both cleaned our plates. Okay — to be honest I left a big chunk of chicken, but not because I wanted to. I just couldn’t eat anymore.
Service was prompt and pretty darn friendly. There was a little confusion on my part early on when I mistook the lady who seems to only refill water glasses with an actual waiter, and thus wondered why she took off and never came back to take our drink order and wouldn’t make eye contact (she probably felt my eyes burning a hole in the side of her head every time she walked by). Eventually someone came over to take our drink order and I realized my error, and then another someone came and took our main order. Food service after that was timed well.
At the end, the owner? manager? unexpectedly escorted us up to the little theater area where the open kitchen provides viewing entertainment for those seated in the elevated area, and we met the chef. It made me feel like a special princess, because I’m a big dork, essentially. No, really — it was nice, and they were, too.
I’m looking forward to trying more of the menu at Bistrot Le Zinc.

Overall: I am very surprised that this restaurant was listed on Washingtonian’s 2012 Best 100 list; the food was only a touch above mediocre and as a result, definitely overpriced.
Service: 4 stars — although our waiter forgot to bring our drinks until we asked for them about 15 – 20 minutes later, everything else was great. Not only was our waiter attentive, re-​filling our bread and genuinely being friendly/​patient, I noticed that a waiter at the table next to us brought an unhappy customer (more on this later) an entrée of their choice, on the house.
Ambience: 4 stars — cool space. It wasn’t too loud, has some cool pictures on the walls and a relic map in the front of the restaurant that my nerdy girlfriend and I stared at for 10 minutes. Might be an even better place to sit outside over the summer.
Food: 2 stars — overall, disappointing.
Drinks — pretty good. I had the Poire au Gingembre, which was a well-​mixed vodka cocktail that was clearly made with quality ingredients. Obviously no cocktail is REALLY worth $ 12, but comparatively to what I’ve had other places, this was more than satisfactory. My girlfriend got the Persephone’s Tears champagne cocktail, which was just okay (she didn’t finish it and I had to end up downing it before we left the restaurant).
Onion Soup — we were both really excited to order this, given this dish’s general likability, but were both underwhelmed and neither of us bothered to finish the soup. Although I didn’t find it as salty as some of the reviewers below did, I thought it was somewhat tasteless. You’d expect much better at a quality French bistro.
Halibut — my girlfriend ordered this dish and only ate about half of it. From what I could tell it was really just a basic piece of white fish. Fine for both of us… but not for $ 26.
Mussels in White Wine — really, really disappointing. The mussels were EXCEPTIONALLY small, and the sauce really didn’t have much zest or flavor. The woman at the table next to us (alluded to above) was so offended by her batch as well that she asked for a different entrée. I did not feel like waiting for another dish to come out and I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I did not do the same. While I understand that it may be out of season for mussels (not verified, I’m just guessing), I would expect a restaurant that considers itself a fine dining location and a classy establishment to inform restaurateurs about the size and quality of one of their so-​called signature dishes.
Frites — just fine. Kind of tasted like fries from Wendy’s.
Price: 1 – 2 stars — all in all, this meal came out to be $ 100 with tax and tip. Way overpriced for a mediocre meal.
I very likely won’t be going back unless it’s with a group and someone is insisting upon it.

We came here again for dinner tonight and, again, enjoyed our experience. The weather was gorgeous today, so we sat outside on their lovely patio. We had it all to ourselves; for some reason all the other diners there chose to eat inside — weirdos! Anyway, I got the french onion soup again and it was as good as I remembered. They didn’t have my beloved mushroom ravioli on the menu anymore, but that’s ok because it forced me to try something new. The special tonight was monkfish served over a lemon risotto. I’d never had monkfish before, but I will order it again — it was excellent. The risotto was great, too. We also got the roasted salmon with gala apples. The combination was lovely and the salmon was very nicely cooked.
The service was great, again, as well. Our waiter was friendly and attentive. I think the restaurant’s owners were there tonight, as well. One of them noticed that I had my iPhone out and offered me the restaurant’s WIFI password (I was taking pictures of the food for Unilocal,of course!). Everyone made an effort to make our experience enjoyable. I will definitely be back to Le Zinc again.

I wrote a review for this restaurant a while ago but thought I would put in a little update. They have changed the menu and ambience a bit. They have a different chef (who is great and very nice). I love sitting where you can see the open kitchen. The risotto is still delicious.
I am a bit of a butternut squash soup freak, I have tried a million different kinds. Their butternut squash soup is the best I have ever had. You would be cheating yourself if you didn’t order it.

I bought a deal for this place and decided to try this place instead of my beloved Bistro La Bonne.
When we talked in we were seated at a small table by the server’s table, where they grabbed numerous objects from, which to us didn’t seem intimate and was very annoying. It seems to have a feel of a bit snooty regulars there as the man who seemed to be the owner was hugging and greeting people he knew, but did not pay us any attention. Throughout the meal no one even asked us how the food is, not even once! The service was friendly but I have never been to a restaurant that didn’t ask me how my food is tasting.
The three course meal in itself was not too special either for the prices they charge. The escargot was good, in its shell, tasted fresh, the dessert of cream brulee was also very good and rich, but the main entrée, which was steak was incredibly poor quality. The cut is something you would get at Giant for a few dollars, really shameful that dish cost $ 22. The wine is also pricey, our rose was $ 12 each.
Without the discount the price came to $ 122 without tip! That is a huge markup for the quality of food received, at Bistro La Bonne you can get all that food and drinks for way less and they will actually seat you in a comfortable table and ask you how everything tastes. It’s not a terrible place but I rather take my money elsewhere.

To start, Le Zinc has an intimate setting and I would definitely recommend it as a date night spot.
I almost had a rocky start with Le Zinc as the host tried to seat us at what I would consider the worst seats int he restaurant, right by the kitchen. I sat down and immediately asked to move. I didn’t want to have a beautiful dinner with one ear in the kitchen the whole time.
Once reseated in a much more amiable seat, I noticed we were the youngest people in the restaurant. Aged 23 and 31, respectively. Not a complaint, just an observation.
I had a glass of sauvignon blanc and I wish I remember which one it was because it was quite pleasing.
For dinner, I ordered Le Zinc’s Wienerschnitzel, which is breaded veal scallopini, potato gratin and seasonal vegetables. That night, I was given the option to have the meal come with a sunny side up egg on the veal along with prosciutto as well. Naturally, I accepted. Upon arrival, the ladies at the table next to you commented on how beautiful my dish look and that they wished they how ordered the same meal. The meal was extremely delicious. On the plate was also a serving of capers in a tomato-​based sauce. That is an excellent compliment to the veal dish. As far as the other sides went, they are alright but nothing special. The potato gratin and seasonal vegetables, which were steamed unseasoned potatoes, green beans and carrots, were barely touched. This was fine with me though as my serving a veal was more than enough.
I was very pleased with my experience at Le Zinc and was thankful for my Groupon there as the bill ended up being quite pricey.

A solid neighborhood spot… I’ve dined at BLZ on a few occasions, some better than others, but overall I am really psyched to have a nice, cozy french bistro right near me. They’ve done a beautiful job remodeling this space and maximizing for capacity. It has a really nice french feel with black and white photos on the walls, the ceiling tiles and light fixtures… it all makes you feel cozy and the smells help set the mood too. Whether you’re doing straight-​up steak frites or getting your escargot on, they’ve got an appetizer, entrée and dessert to suit your craving.
Steak here is a solid choice. I’ve also had the scallop appetizer, which was quite good. The last time I went, we had to wait a little while, but the wait staff was super nice and brought our bottle of wine outside as we waited. He then secured us a great seat at the front window. The appetizer of this meal was the highlight because they omitted the bread for me, and split the serving in two for me and my date to share. It had been so long since I had a real french onion soup, and they were able to make it GF for me! Woo hoo — it was DELICIOUS. The dessert was good too — the sorbet flavors were unique and very good, and the crème brûlée was solid. My entrees here have been good, but that soup was the most memorable moment there for me by far.
Suggestion: Sit upstairs in the bar area so you can watch the cooks create their culinary creations for you!

Let me start this review with the fact that I will return to Bistrot Le Zinc very soon!
The ambiance is about what you would expect from a nice French bistro. It’s busy, vibrant, and upscale. The owner-​host will great you at the door and welcome you into the restaurant. Expect to see an open kitchen, a nicely designed interior, and a vibrant but romantic atmosphere. We’ve been on several occasions, and if you must wait, the owner will bring you a nice glass of champagne. A nice touch I must say — particularly since we made the mistake of not making reservations our first time!
For our meal this time (with advance reservations), we started with fried oysters and escargot. Both were amazing and arrived at a nice pace after our wine. We enjoyed glasses of red wine (grenache/​syrah blend) which were nicely pared with the food. Overall, the wine menu is reasonable and nicely selected to match the food. You won’t find any Californian wine, but alas this is a French bisto! You won’t have any trouble at all finding a nice glass/​bottle from Burgundy, Bordeaux, or Côtes du Rhôné. Or, for special occasions, they serve my favorite champagne, Bollinger 2002 Brut «La Grande Année». The service was very friendly and attentive. Clearly, the staff enjoy their jobs (as does the owner)!
For our entrees, we had the butternut squash ravioli and the lamb loin. Personally, this is one of the best pieces of lamb that I’ve had. The haricot verts, baby carrots, leeks, and potato gratin that accompanied the lamb loin were equally as good! The potato gratin, in particular, was cooked to perfection and almost melted in your mouth.
I consider myself a foodie. Having had a meal at the French Laundry earlier in November, I enjoyed this meal almost as much. It wasn’t 12 courses… or nearly as expensive, but there is a care that is present at this restaurant that makes everyone feel welcome. You can tell that the owner loves food and cares about the quality and service of his restaurant. It’s very evident in the preparation of the food and the wonderful service that is provided throughout the meal. I’m looking forward to becoming a «local» and spending more time here!
Tip: if you can manage to find the deal on Living Social, buy it! You can score $ 50 of food/​drink for $ 25. Also, don’t miss the chocolate hazelnut truffle torte for dessert. You’ll rediscover your love for chocolate… or hazelnut!

Another great deal find from LivingSocial
Dined here last weekend with my friend Nazia A. Located up on Wisconsin away from the noise of Georgetown in the smaller quiet neighborhoods, its really gave a much more cozy and intimate atmosphere. Close seating to other people and it would seem a lot of regulars come here since the dining staff and FOH manager seemed to know everyone.
We started off with a few drinks. I order the Sazerac, which was brandy, pernod, and peychaud bitters with sparking water. Not bad however I would’ve probably gone with a different drink. Nazia stated she liked her champagne cocktail.
For appetizers we order the escargot and the trio of tartares, which included ahi tuna, salmon with roe, and black angus beef. The escargot was delicious! The garlic butter really made the dish. Perfect amount, I could seriously eat it all day. The tartares were also delicious as well. The bread that they also give you here too was warm and flaky, perfect for the tartares.
For our entrees, I opted for the special seafood bouillabaisse, which included rock fish, shrimp, scallops, mussels, and claims served with garlic bread. My friend ordered the sirloin steak served on a bed of rosti potatoes. The bouillabaisse, although good, was not the best I’ve had. I think if I were to pay the full price of about $ 35 or so, it wouldn’t really be worth it. My friend Nazia said she loved the sirloin and potatoes.
For dessert, we finish with the Crepes Suzette, which came highly recommended. The vanilla ice cream went perfectly with the crepes, which wasn’t too sweet. Delicious.
Overall, before the deal the bill would have been about $ 120 or so. With the deal, it was only $ 70. The food I thought was great, but for French bistro fare, a bit expensive. However, that won’t sway a return visit.

Cute, cozy, intimate restaurant. If you can get over the fact that the tables are about 4 inches away from each other, you will enjoy your meal here.
The mussels, gnocchi and rib-​eye steak were favorites at our table. We stayed away from cocktails and got a bottle of wine instead (I see some reviews say their mixed drinks are watered down so I’m glad to have avoided that).
The service was attentive and very, very friendly. A gentleman (perhaps the owner?) was greeting patrons as they entered and thanking them after they left. I left my coat at my table and before I could turn around he was helping me put it on.
Overall great place for a date. Exceptional food and service.

Last night we returned to Le Zinc for the 2^nd time. My husband and I wonder what happened, since 10 months ago we loved our experience.
The maître d’ did not seat us but came over to speak to us after 10 minutes and told us they had just changed the menu. My husband asked him for a martini and he replied I’ll get your server to take your order. After another 10 minutes we finally got the attention of a waiter and asked if we could order drinks (the restaurant was possibly only half full). They were out of the Malbec we wanted so I decided to try a speciality drink — the Poire Au Gingembre. It didn’t mention that it came w/​sugar around the rim which was unnecessary since the drink was already too sweet.
We finally ordered after another 10 minutes when our waiter finally returned. He had the Skate — tasteless and overcooked. I had the french onion soup which was not edible. The broth was extremely sweet which could only be caused by (again more) sugar. Unfortunately, I also ordered the Mussels w/​smoked tomato-​leek fondue. OMG, it tasted like a bottle of liquid smoke.
We told the watier when he took away the soup that was hardly touched that we couldn’t eat it because it was cloyingly sweet. He also had to have noticed that my husband ate only a small portion of his dinner and I ate none of my mussels and I told him why.
So my dinner at the cost of $ 80 a person, consisted of bread and butter (which we had to request after noticing that every other table had a bread basket) and frites. There was no mention by our waiter of not charging us for either the soup or the mussles!
We are so disappointed with our dinner last night that we are going out to dinner again tonight to a restaurant that has never failed us. The whole experience left a BAD TASTE IN OUR MOUTH!
The one star is for the atmosphere!

Charming. So, so charming and adorable.
Situated in a cute little neighborhood near the National Cathedral, Bistrot Le Zinc isn’t a spot for tourists because it’s a bit away from the National Mall, White House, etc. We made reservations for 6 PM on a Saturday night, and when we walked in, there were only a few tables occupied. It’s a cozy, clean, warm restaurant, perfect for a date.
Friendly host, courteous wait staff, and decent French food. I ordered the risotto of the day, which was shrimp, and a French onion soup, and Boyfriend ordered the chicken. He said it was his favorite thing he ate during our time in DC. I, however, had different feelings about the food. The French onion soup was nothing special (in fact, I asked for just a wee bit of cheese, and it took up about 40% of my soup). Everything about my risotto screamed BLAND!
Dessert redeemed the food portion: the lemon tart was the perfect amount of tartness, and it had a pretty solid crust. Boyfriend had the chocolate mousse, and I only snuck in a bite before he finished it all. So, yes, it was good.
This place really is more like 3 stars for me. Maybe I ordered the wrong things, but I would definitely give this place another chance (well, once I try all the good restaurants in DC.). I’m throwing in another star for the staff and the ambiance.

Fabulous place, nice & quiet Cleveland park restaurant. Just had lobster risotto – out of this world! Plus, yummy Chocolate Mousse – to die for!
You won’t be disappointed!

The bottom line on this place is:
Service: Owner/​manager was gregarious and fun. Waiter was rude from the onset. We didn’t even have time to offend him — he started rude so maybe it was just a bad night. While clearing a dish he actually hit me in the head w/​it and didn’t bother to apologize — he just kept moving. There is no chance he didn’t know he cork’d me.
Food: The baked oysters were awesome. Everyone in our party seemed to like their dinner, but no tears of joy were shed. And no one said — you have to try this … I had a rockfish dish that was OK but ultimately wasn’t very interesting. The oysters give me hope. They were perfect.
Space: Feels like a neighborhood gem.
Noise: Somewhere between festive and loud.
It was better than «Meh… «but not as good as A-​OK. It was OK. I will definitely go back and try again. I know they were short-​staffed the night I was there so that may have played into the shortcomings.

I really wanted to like Le Zinc. Let me state the positives first.
The ambience and décor are impeccable. Other restaurant owners take your cues.
Our service was spot on. Peter, I believe, was highly efficient, reserved, business-​like, maybe a bit too much like a german train conductor for some, but I appreciated the no-​nonsense care. He replenished water and bread without asking, fixed a misorder with a tiny apology, and moved us along at just the right speed.
My first course, the escargot, was phenomenal – a granny smith apple core, a divine gorgonzola-​infused sauce… perfect.
Yet.
The décor, the food, the whole experience were radically diminished by being packed in like sardines in economy class. The two-​top tables were literally two inches from other patrons. I had two backsides in my face, bumped elbows with the diner to my left, and felt like the communal table at Pain Quotidien affords me more privacy. There needs to be about 10% fewer seats. For the love of god, owners, put yourself in your patron’s seats for a second, try to enjoy your food, your conversation, your companions, while you’re almost in your neighbors’ laps.
I ordered the lamb shank. It came with what they call «Pommes Boulangère Potatoes,» a ratatouille sauce, and some peas. Having consumed a pasture of lamb, I can say I was rather surprised how bland this dish was. The peas were great, but the sauce was simply bland. The lamb shank tasted as if it had been perfectly braised, was perfectly tender and clearly a high quality piece of meat. Yet it came to me with all of the flavor sucked out of it. And the potatoes, while perfectly executed with a wonderful texture, also had about all the flavor of office paper. The cooking seemed to be overseen by someone attentive to executing technique very well, with perfect textures and creative (yet classic) presentation, and yet taste blind.
This carried over into the dessert. That server mistake was bringing the bread pudding instead of the hazelnut torte we ordered. He immediately offered us to keep the pudding. It was my preference, so I was delighted at their misfortune. Yet, it was the oddest thing. The anglaise was perfect, the bread pudding and chocolate was well done. Yet it had an odd collection of fruits that wrecked the flavor in my opinion. I couldn’t eat it. When the hazelnut torte came, well, it was all wrong in texture. Too much graininess in the body of the torte, almost tasted like eating dry cocoa powder (in spite of it being valrhona!).
I will be back to try this again, perhaps on a quieter night when I can have a few more inches of elbow room. I want this place to not only succeed, but to be a favorite. My first time here may have been a misfire. I’ll give it one more chance.

I’m sure this place will do well here. It’s not necessarily because the food is really all that good, but it helps that there are hordes of palateless people who line up every night to pack into Cactus Cantina every night, many of which have spilled over from the lack of desire to wait at 2 Amy’s, and will likely come here for the same reason. It’s amazing how a tiny pizza place can bolster the business of so many around it. Granted, this place is new, and the restaurant itself is very nice, but the food lacks flavor in such a drastic way, for relatively expensive «bistro» style French cuisine.
Supposedly the heads of this restaurant left Brasserie Beck, a fact I can somewhat believe, given how the food quality somewhat diminished there over the years since I originally loved it, but also surprised because it was still leagues ahead of what they put out on the plate here. Again, nothing was bad, or offensive, it just wasn’t remarkable in the slightest way. The two most appealing dishes of the night wound up being a salad and a half assed dessert.
We started with a couple cocktails, and luckily Foodie noticed right away how watered down her «Normandie» was, which for some reason goes on about Calvados and apples in the description, yet has neither in it. I tasted the same problem in my «Kumquat Knickerbocker», so we actually sent both drinks back to the bar, something I have almost never had to do. They did come back much better the second time around, but as the bartender put it he «asked him to make it stronger.» I can only imagine how dissatisfied the rest of the guests tonight must have been. Later I would try a «Lefebvre» as well, and it was OK, but it was drowning in lemon juice. It is nice that they use Citadelle gin in some of their cocktails, a fantastic French spirit, but I wish it was more present in the flavor. The wine by the glass options here are just flat out odd. While I appreciate them showcasing some very unconventional options, I am a bit surprised they don’t have a couple more prominent regions and varietals.
As I mentioned, of our appetizers the fried goat cheese salad with tomato chutney and walnut oil vinaigrette was definitely the standout, although still nothing worth making a special trip for. The poached egg with Yukon potatoes, speck, and Pinot Noir reduction was patently bland. I couldn’t believe the lack of flavor present in something so full of promising elements. Speck! How do you ruin speck? And there’s no way that egg was poached, it had to be pan fried. The sauce could have been there or not and I don’t think either of us would have noticed. The burgundy snails held some promise, but mainly because we’re both huge garlic fiends and they were covered in it. It says there are braised Granny Smith apples and Stilton cheese in the dish on the menu, but I swear I never got either of them, and there was some unknown cake thing in the middle that basically acted as a flavorless sponge of nothingness.
The entrees are the only thing keeping this review at a 3, and just by a sliver, as their price point nearly puts them over the edge of unacceptable quality. The red snapper dish was cooked well, but it was really the olive tapenade on top that added the most flavor, as the basil brioche crust did little but seem like Shake N Bake, and the red pepper reduction was more texture than flavor. The veal blanquette with mushrooms and onions reminded me of something grandma would make, and although it was described to us as a stew it lacked any sort of jus at the bottom. Luckily the veal was at least very tender, although I’m pretty sure they left out the mushrooms and instead put some weird tortilla strip like things across the top. The duo of duck was decent, aided by the hearty flavors of the lentils. The sausage part was really lacking in seasoning though, and the vegetables were tremendously undercooked, causing them to be quite stiff.
Dessert wound up being slightly better than the rest, although still with many obvious flaws. We went with the poached Bartlett pear baked in a puff pastry with a Kirsch sabayon and crème fraiche ice cream. Sounds fantastic right? Well many parts of the pastry were completely inedible they were so tough, and the sabayon covering it had an intense alcohol flavor. The ice cream did a good job masking some of these flaws, but it quickly ran out.
Service here was pretty good overall, especially for a new staff, except for the weird quirk of taking your bread away without asking after your appetizers, and obsessing over which side my water glass was on. I accidentally tipped the waiter much more than intended, I suppose I can blame it on the happy hour or being distracted by my company, but if anyone deserved it tonight it was the waiter and certainly not the chef. The restaurant itself is beautiful, but I would love to see less of those pretty pans hanging and more of them being used to make quality food.