3 /5 임찬호: A beautiful restaurant with a wonderful ambience with so much potential but lacks detail.
This might be the first restaurant I write a review in Sonoma since there’s much potential with poor execution.
Ordered (party of 2):
1. Gnocchi - 4 would be perfect if the gnocchi was just a bit more chewy. Excellent use of gorgonzola.
2. Impepata - 5 fresh big clams and mussels. Beautiful tomato broth with parsley.
3. Frutti Di Mare - 3 keep your pasta water sodium lvl at 5 percent
4. Dry aged ny strip -3.5 Also the steak was cooked well but underseasoned. Not sure if it was on purpose as ifs served w jus, but still such a disgrace to silence the flavors of the meat by not seasoning it early enough.
It was a little surprising to have such delicious appetizers, and then a totally bland main course! All the ingredients were fresh and cooked very well with some under seasoned. I can maybe understand the reason the steak wasnt salted much, but really couldnt believe that the frutti di mare was so bland. It was as if something happened in the kitchen that night. There was a long wait between the main course and the appetizers. In fact, the two tables next to us couldnt wait any longer and left without getting their main course.
Overall, the menu and the recipes are curated well, but either some line chefs are messing up in the kitchen or something happened in the kitchen that night.
Service:
The servers need to be trained. Our server could not even remember the prices of the TWO specials and was never to be found after we ordered. I actually had to find the host to get my bill after waiting over 20 minutes. Just a little better staff training can go a long way at a restaurant like this.
The tables next to us never received their food for almost 45 minutes. We also waited about 30 min. When someone mentioned it to the waiter, he said “I know” instead of apologizing or explaining the cause of the delay.
The plates you guys use at this restaurant are all very large and the tables are tiny, yet the water & wine bottles stay on the table.
Atmosphere:
Reminds me of my classic new orleans restaurants. Beautiful classic home turned into a restaurant. The garden is beautiful too. I would highly recommend the owners to install sound dampeners on the ceiling or the corners of the wall and it will do wonders. Especially if you want to keep the table spacings this small, you dont want this much reverb from every table.
Its really minor adjustments that can make this place so much better. I hope that the service/ bland food was just a one time mistake. I forgot to mention that they have a small but a great wine list too. I will return for another experience.