First impression: this place would work in San Francisco! A restauranteur who seems to "get it" in the Asian Bistro niche. The Front St location is a good one, with lots of frontage, and a decent storefront. Entry is a little "Wow", with the exposed brick walls and wood floors that are part of the original building. The weakness though, is a lack of balance.
The finishes work well together, at first glance. It is a pleasing space, and the feel is very much a modern urban bistro. Open, with plenty of space between tables, good jazzy music in the background, and warm colors make you feel like this is a "find" on the peninsula. The restrooms are equal to the dining room, with nice touches. Closer inspection begins to entice dual feelings: on one hand, there is a lot of creative and tasteful decor "bang" derived from clearly economical investment. Kudos for a creative owner with taste. On the other hand, some things just don't wash, and you hope the restaurant will be so successful they can afford to complete the decor as you hope they would like to- for instance the tables are obviously used from other restaurants, and the out of place colors and formica tops are really not worthy.
The menu and great chalk board show food that is up to date Asian, from all the main cuisines of the East. The descriptions are tantalizing and well written. It is hard to decide. Clearly this place shows promise!
Then the service happens to you, and the misgivings begin. If you get one of the full time servers, you will experience competence. If you have one of those brought on for high volume periods, good luck. By that I mean, you may, like us have items dropped from the order, and no concern shown, or simply have a hard time communicating. In short, service is the flat spot on the wheel of this place. Be tolerant, for the food is the key here.
Everything we have had has been delightful. The theme is that the chef knows how to keep good, fresh ingredients from melding into Asian melange. Textures are right, crunchy when they should be, tender when they should be, and each flavor is present in sauces that are tasty and unique. The creativity of certain menu items stand out, like Lychee Prawns. Oh, and the food gets to the table fast!
In summary, go here for the food, the atmosphere is a bonus that works, but the balance is lacking due to some really poor service. A plague of the peninsula.
This review is posted on Trip Advisor as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment