This was my third, Andrea’s second time dining here. Last time we were here, it was a wine maker dinner which was pretty mid in part because they essentially served all 20 of us banquet style, although the first time I ate here we had just ordered a la carte and it was fantastic which is why I had been trying to convince Andrea she had to go here (since her office is very close. So I finally scored a reservation for a reasonable time for us old folks.
We were seated in the main dining area as expected, although from the last time we know there is the seating over in the other room on the side, but it appeared to be all booked for a private event with the big sliding door separating the two sections being closed. We were fortunately seated at a table off to the side near a window. There are some tables right in the middle of things which would seem to me to much less desirable.
We, of course, started off with some cocktails. Of course I didn’t take a picture of the cocktail menu so I don’t remember what we ordered exactly, although I do remember them being a bit too sweet and not spirit forward enough, but they were quite well made and the flavors went together very well which is not a surprise in the least given how much we have enjoyed cocktails at their sister restaurants Cotogna (one of our favorites) and Quince (where we have had some of our best meals ever, although not so much as of late).
All the menu is up on the billboard. As much as we love French cuisine, it was pretty sad that we had to resort to looking up most of the dishes listed. For starters, we went with the Huitres and the Coquilles Saint-Jacques et Caviar. Since these were both cold seafood dishes they were served together. The scallops were delicate and delicious and served with a light creamy herbed sauce that you might think wouldn’t work with the fresh scallops, but it absolutely did. The oysters were Beau Soleil from BC and were also deliciously fresh.
We also ordered the Radis which we were given last time we were here and we forgot that they came in butter, so they asked if we wanted some bread to go with that, which we most definitely did. Radishes were simply, but crisp and fresh. I still don’t get them being served in the butter, but that certainly worked well with bread.
We also ordered the Pate en Croute which we also had last time (and Andrea wanted to get this again), but was served in small cut bite-sized pieces, but this time we received a full slice portion. This was served with some grainy mustard (we’re guessing our favorite Edmond Fallot).
We were debating on getting the Côte de Boeuf Pour Deux (and we’ve always passed on the beef entrees at Cotogna), but instead opted for another mid-sized dish, the Omelette Au Boursin, and one entrée sized dish, the Poulet Au Vin Jaune. I had the omelette when I was here the first time and thought it was fantastic and it was here once again. I make omelettes quite a lot at home, but they never turn out like this probably since I don’t use butter and I don’t strain the eggs, but it the technique did impress me. The omelette was stuffed with the Boursin cheese filling which Andrea said was the same flavor as was in the scallop appetizer although much thicker here. In any case, it was delicious once again. Chicken dish is not typically what I would order since I suspected it was going to be chicken breast and strongly prefer dark meat, but I was pleasantly surprised. The chicken was very moist and tender and the sauce was creamy, but not too heavy and flavorful.
Even though we were full, we had to try dessert because that’s the way we roll. The waitperson recommended the Pain Perdu (which I also had the first time I was here and greatly enjoyed it then). Andrea ordered a Chartreuse digestif. She went the middle one in the list, the Cuvee M.O.F. since we knew nothing about Chartreuse as a standalone drink and only as mixed into cocktails so we were definitely intrigued. The pain perdu is better than the best French toast you’ve ever had (and not made with cinnamon) made with a thick slice of brioche, custardy moist on the inside, nicely grilled/fried on the outside, topped with a caramel sauce and some vanilla bean ice cream. So good.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal with the food being well prepared and flavored. Drinks were quite good. Service was a bit uneven at times with some long waits at moments (e.g. to place our cocktail and first round of food and also waiting a long time to place order for dessert) although we were there at the peak time of Friday (which we don’t normally do). I can’t wait to go back again and try some of the other dishes and I’m so glad that this third time was so much better (as expected) than the wine maker dinner we went to last time here.
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