I was there last weekend as well and had a great meal. We went there with some friends after Avec was over a 2hr wait. The Veal Chop at Sepia is ridiculous and the bacon flatbread simple yet awesome. Definitely will be back. I like the darkness.

Had lunch today at Sepia and I was dissapointed. Blackbird is my usual west loop "special" lunch destination. Because of the favorable reviews here I was anxious to try Sepia. I dined at Sepia keeping Blackbird in mind as a comparison for whatever reason (location, price point, local sourcing of ingredients, etc)

I started with the outstanding charred baby octopus which was served over a nice piece of toast with a very tasty tomato sauce. This appetizer is descriped uppost and I agree that it is very good.

The big letdown was the Steak Tartare with duck fat potatoes. I love steak tartare and this was a very poorly executed version. The beef appeared to be of a high enough quality, not overly lean. My problem was with the lack of seasoning, stingy use of onions and absence of capers. This dish fails because it didnt taste like anything but beef. What I like about Steak tartare is the contrast of flavors that occurs between the seasonings, onions and capers. This version missed the mark imho.

The duck fat potatoes were barely fried. Without some degree of crispyness they just tasted soggy and greasy.

The dish was served without a dark bread counterpoint. I didnt care for the baguette that they served along with the steak.

I wouldnt rush back here, i really prefer Blackbird (maybe it is unfair to compare the two) If you are going to have Steak Tartare on the menu you are making a statement and this one was not so good.

I went last night with my GF. I hadn't been for a few months, longer for her so overdue. About 8:30 on a Thu and we were able to get one of 2 empty tables in the dining room, but would've sat in the lounge if need-be.

We started with a glass of Cerdon Bugey sparkling rose for her, and a strawberry manhattan for me. Peter's latest was quite delicious, the strawberry infusion came through in the nose much more than on the tongue.

Appetizers: a little bacon/pear/bleu cheese flatbread, followed by watermelon/fennel/yogurt salad and whole wheat pasta with smoked duck breast carbonara style. All delish, the watermelon salad very refreshing and the pasta very rich - paired perfectly with a 2003 Foradori.

Entrees: our server talked us into the pork chop and the cod (I was going for the cod anyway) and she said the PC was the best in the city...I may have to agree with her! It had to be brined, very juicy double-cut with a rich red center, a bit of char on the exterior and served over arugula and apples - AND WRAPPED IN A STRIP OF BACON! The Georges Cod was equally tasty, moist and flaky over saffron wide noodles with cherry tomatoes and wild boar sausage.


Berkshire Pork Chop


Georges Roasted Cod

We didn't have room for dessert (leftover entrees are in the frig) but overall it was quite delicious.

Yes, that strawberry old-fashioned is good. It's a nice cocktail list.

I had that same cod dish. I usually don't order fish, but there's lots of it on the menu and the server was very enthusiastic and clearly knew a lot about the dishes. It was one of her favorites. I really, really liked it.

We were there Saturday with a group of 8 and I would give the place high marks, for all the reasons stated by others who have liked it, with only one "demerit." I very much enjoyed the bacon and mushroom flatbreads shared by the table, and my octopus starter and veal short rib entree. (My ordering was guided by comments here, which may have ensured my pleasure.) Our waitress managed to communicate the "ordering drill" re the flatbread without seeming the least bit pushy--the overall tone was one of advising us for the sake of our own best experience, rather than for the sake of conforming to the restaurant's m.o. Well done. Loved the decor and ambience, too.

The only demerit? With each of the courses after the shared flatbreads (starter, entree, coffee, dessert), our table had to play charades with the servers to get the right plates in front of the right people. Even with a party of eight, sheer random chance should have had the servers guessing right more often than they did. So batting pretty close to zero was impressive, in its own way. No big deal, really (it's not like it spoiled anybody's good time), but when you're paying upwards of a couple hundred bucks a couple, you expect better. Something for the place to work on.

I finally made it out to Sepia last night to take advantage of their Chicago Chefs week. I'm curious why they're not a part of the "official" Restaurant Week, but that's for another thread.

Same deal, though -- $32 prix fixe for starter, entree and dessert. I was early and started with a Dead Of Winter (Dewars, St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, rinse of Laphroig)at the bar. This was a fantastic drink. The Laphroig rinse gives it a great start with a powerfully peaty nose but the drink itself was much easier on the palate. The citrus worked really well with the Dewars. A great start!

There was a choice of two for each course. I started with a warm red kuri squash salad with ham, arugula, walnuts and parmiggiano reggiano while my friends each picked the wild mushroom soup with black truffles. I didn't get to taste their soup but they were very happy with it. I really enjoyed the squash salad, though it could have been a little over-dressed (I'm just nit-picking, really).

No differences on the entrees -- we all skipped the roasted cod option (hard to get excited about cod, if you ask me) and went with their flat iron steak, served with barley risotto and vegetables. The steak was very good, cooked nicely and to our specifications. It was a surprisingly large and filling portion, too. The risotto, though, was really surprising, and I mean that in a good way. It was more like oatmeal, but with much more toothsome grains. I really liked it and did my best to grab each grain short of using my fingers. They used a ton of butter in it, though, which isn't something I'd normally shy away from but really made this component quite rich. On top of the large amount of steak we also had, it was very filling, over all. The vegetables were fine -- you know, vegetables, lightly roasted.

For dessert, we split again -- they each got the caramel mascarpone bread pudding with brandied cherry ice cream and chocolate sauce while I opted for the malted milk chocolate mouse on peanut butter crunch with maple peanut sauce and pretzel bark. The bread pudding tasted a little dry, we all agreed, especially without tasting the ice cream with it (and the ice cream was the best part). I really liked my dessert though it really skirted the edge of tooth-achingly sweet. More than anything -- and I mean this in a good way -- it reminded me Reese's cereal. I had a lot of fun eating it.

We went with one bottle of wine, a Portuguese red blend priced at $37. We felt that was very fair and it was a very good wine, too. Most of their bottles were priced in the upper-40's and on up and it was nice to see this in their, too (there were maybe about a dozen other bottles in the upper-30's, too). Service was fine, though our waitress really, really tried to sell us on a round of cocktails and apps. We had barely sat down when she first came over and we felt it was abrupt. She also seemed pretty crestfallen that we were going with the "budget" menu that night. Also, our first courses came out pretty quickly, but then we had a long wait for the entrees. We didn't mind -- and it's not like they were desperate to turn over tables last night -- but I found it a little jarring. The busser's were also adept at removing plates as soon as one person was done, even if others were still working on their own (which, I know, most every restaurant does that, but it really annoys me).

We were really glad to get a chance to eat at Sepia. Normally, it's a little beyond my price range, but the prix fixe was too good to turn down. I look forward to going back sometime to check out their proper menu, or even just to grab a drink or two at their bar (the other cocktails looked excellent).

ETA: Big whoops on my part! HAH! I also blame their really annoying, flash- or java-driven website that makes it hard to cut & paste on the fly!

danimalarkey wrote:I was early and started with a at the bar. This was a fantastic drink.

I love starting with a at the bar, since a well-mixed is my favorite drink. I'll toast your health the next time I'm drinking a!

A requiem for the Kendal Duque era at Sepia, rendered lovingly in the worst photographs possible, taken in no light by a phonecam and then unoriginally run through the sepia render in IrfanView:



grilled berkshire pork chop, draped in bacon, on a salad of arugula and apples in cassis vinaigrette



slow roasted veal breast with mint noodles, cipollini onions and truffle butter



walleye pike with artichokes, peas, wild mushrooms, marcona almonds, and tart vinaigrette



apple crumble, chocolate pecan pie with honey, banana cake with cream cheese frosting

(I swear that I will replace these with shiny true-color Nikon pics if one of my dining companions gives them up, you know who you are)

I was at the farewall meal (billed as "The Last Dinner," somehow appropriate for Lent) for Kendal Duque at Sepia last night, and thought it ascendant. If they were this lavish with the ingredients, this generous with the portions, and this careful with cooking everything to a perfect crisp-moist every day, I'd be here far more often.

We started with a nice round of cocktails and scotches, moderately priced. They were out of the cocoa and buttered rum (which honestly would have been appropriate on this snowy March night), and my mule came in a tallboy instead of a copper mug (I covet Ronnie's at the Bristol as I type), but everything was just fine. Our server explained the menu - three passed courses of flatbreads, cold starters, hot starters, followed by choice of three entrees and then back to shared desserts - and some last-minute variations on the menu that had been published on the site:

Sepia's Original Plan wrote:the last dinner

flat breads served family style
market selection

to start served family style
roasted foie gras and spring vegetables with truffle and chicken jus,
grilled ham with creamy polenta, wild mushrooms and fried duck egg,
baby octopus and garbanzo bean salad,
steak tartare with sourdough bread and raw farm egg

entrees choice of one
walleye pike with artichokes, peas, wild mushrooms and cashew vinaigrette, or
grilled berkshire pork chop with arugula and apples, or
slow roasted veal breast with mint noodles, cipollini onions and truffle butter

sweets
selection of tarts, pies and cakes

The flatbreads were served piping hot and were rich and succulent. The first featured mushrooms and roasted garlic, the second, bacon, gorgonzola, and caramelized onion. The cold starters were solid, with the tartare outshining the octopus in mouthfeel and flavor since the latter was slightly under-tenderized and fishier than nutty, making up for it by virtue of the excellent garbanzos, olive oil, and tomato sauce.

The hot appetizers were remarkably generous and quite fantastic. The portions of foie gras were seared and melty, and richly flavored the stew of pearl onions, beets, and root veggies upon which they sat, which had been additionally annointed with truffle and chicken jus. No off (or offal) flavor whatsoever, just earthy goodness. The ham and creamy polenta arrived in two heaping mounds within a cast-iron skillet. The mushrooms in this dish reinforced those from the flatbread, and the fried duck egg played off the raw chicken egg from the tartare; flavors throughout the meal were tied to eachother in playful remembrance, which I found delightful.

The entrees were perfectly cooked, with the limp bacon on the pork chops the one point of debate at our table. I thought it worked since it was obviously house-cured and meant to provide most of its essence right before serving. The chop itself was moist and massive, nestled against a really nice salad dressed with currant vinegar and the bacon fat. The veal breast was very nicely done, with good briskety texture, and served on a bed of perfectly al-dente house-milled mint noodles. I'd had these with lamb at Sepia before, and they were more assertively minty and soggier the last time. I liked this muted and (fighting it, caving in, giving up) toothsome version. I've noted the very slight differences in accompaniment choices in the picture captions from the original menu above.

We closed with a trio of sweets which were short of spectacular, but quite satisfying. Some variation in temperature, or a jaunty savory element to better connect with the rest of the meal, would have gone a long way. As it was, though, the apple crumble was wedge-shaped, buttery and sweet, the honey-pecan-chocolate pie was triangular, buttery and sweet, and the banana cake in an inch of cream cheese frosting was, er, pyramidal, buttery and sweet. Not much to argue with.

Everything was clearly hand-picked by Kendal Duque from his list of favorites, whether to eat, or watch other people eat, I'm not sure, but it really worked. Flow and interplay of the meal was strong and rewarding and a unified experience under the sepia-casting chandeliers. I will miss Mr. Duque until his next spot opens. I will also look forward to seeing what Sepia will be like in other hands; I do really like the old printing space and table layout.

Santander-

I actually dig the sepia pics. Thanks for the review.

aschie30 wrote:Santander-

I actually dig the sepia pics.

Me too . . . definitely more than I enjoyed my one meal at Sepia.

=R=

We had a lovely meal at Sepia the other night. It was a special occasion--we had just gotten engaged earlier that day--and the experience could not have been better. We had a couple nice cocktails--though they were not quite to Violet Hour standards--and then a lovely bottle of L. Mawby Talismon, a sparkler from Michigan. Really delicious, with a body and nose unlike any bubbly I've had, presumably because of the vignoles grape they use in the blend. For appetizers we had the lamb tongue special, which was tender and smoky--the hit of the night, probably. The charcuterie platter was delicious as well: duck pate, rabbit rillettes, and mortadella. The mortadella wasn't anything special (though it's not my favorite kind of sausage to begin with) but the pate and, especially, the rillettes, were both sensational. The mustard really brought out the creaminess of the rabbit and the duck fat.

With our entrees we had a bottle of 2005 Francois Raquilet Les Vasees Mercurey 1er Cru, which was subtle, perfumed, and just earthy enough to stand up to the pork porterhouse and the rabbit with biscuits. The rabbit was perfectly cooked, the leg tender and meaty and the loin, which was lightly breaded and deep-fried, was one of the moister rabbit loins I've had. Plus, I'm always a sucker for rabbit served with carrots... The porterhouse was meaty and perfectly cooked, with quite a lot (but not too much) of delicious, melty fat. We finished up with three nice cheeses, whose names currently escape me.

The service throughout our meal was perfectly attentive and helpful without being at all overbearing or stuffy. They showed us a wonderful time, and it made our special night all the more perfect.

I've came here for lunch twice, and we really enjoyed this restaurant. The waiter was very helpful, and the food was really good. All of the entrees we ordered were excellent, and the dessert was amazing. The decor is really neat, I look forward to coming here sometime to try it for dinner.

foodie44 wrote:I've came here for lunch twice, and we really enjoyed this restaurant. The waiter was very helpful, and the food was really good. All of the entrees we ordered were excellent, and the dessert was amazing. The decor is really neat, I look forward to coming here sometime to try it for dinner.

foodie-

Welcome to LTH! Can you give us some more insight on what you ate at Sepia that was so good?

-The GP

The GP wrote:

foodie44 wrote:I've came here for lunch twice, and we really enjoyed this restaurant. The waiter was very helpful, and the food was really good. All of the entrees we ordered were excellent, and the dessert was amazing. The decor is really neat, I look forward to coming here sometime to try it for dinner.

foodie-

Welcome to LTH! Can you give us some more insight on what you ate at Sepia that was so good?

-The GP

Thank you The GP,

I had the flat bread with smoked eggplant, mint and sausage and the porchetta sandwich with the fries, fried in duck fat. It was really good.

They had braised octopus a while back that was outstanding.

I love the menu at Sepia, like some of the food, and hate the prices. The menu's got it all, including house made charcuterie, house made pasta with simple ragus, seasonal vegetable preparations, lots of pig products and more. The food, at least tonight, was fair. Cotechino* was overnutmegged and served with the traditional lentils, but the lentils were studded with very untraditional bacon bits that overwhelmed the flavor of the sausage. Beautiful homemade pappardelle were served with a nice duck ragu, and this simple, warming dish would have been great had the kitchen remembered to salt it. Scallops too were beautifully seared, but the kitchen's failure to remove those abductor muscles led to that need-to-spit-it-out awkwardness at the dinner table. Prices at Sepia are very high: 30 bucks for 4 scallops with 2 chunks of blood sausage, 14 bucks for small slices of peasant sausage with lentils, and 12-15 bucks for ridiculously short pours of wine.


*Pronounced Co-Teh-Kee-No, despite the server's repeated attempt to correct my pronunciation to Co-Tay-Chee-No

I'm a little bummed by your report Kenny, as we have a reservation for tomorrow night. Fortunately for me, I'm attracted to the $20 chickpea crepes w/ swiss chard, pine nuts, and harissa chutney entree, perhaps mitigating the damage to the wallet. An expensive short pour glass of wine really irks me though! Good to know - we'll probably just get a bottle from the get-go.

LynnB wrote:I'm a little bummed by your report Kenny, as we have a reservation for tomorrow night. Fortunately for me, I'm attracted to the $20 chickpea crepes w/ swiss chard, pine nuts, and harissa chutney entree, perhaps mitigating the damage to the wallet. An expensive short pour glass of wine really irks me though! Good to know - we'll probably just get a bottle from the get-go.

actually, my wife and I shared those crepes a couple of months ago, and they were absolutely fantastic. I'd suggest sticking with cocktails to avoid the short wine pour frustration.

I too have been slightly underwhelmed by Sepia. There are some very good things on the menu, to be sure. The octopus appetizer is very good (don't know if it is still on the menu).

Darren72 wrote:I too have been slightly underwhelmed by Sepia. There are some very good things on the menu, to be sure. The octopus appetizer is very good (don't know if it is still on the menu).

As I posted upthread, my sole experience at Sepia was fairly annoying and unsatisfying but the charred octopus appetizer was fantastic, and it's the one dish that I still remember, even though the meal happened over 2 years ago.

At this point, the lure of quality cocktails is calling me back, so I think another trip to Sepia is probably in my future.

=R=

I'm looking forward to trying the short rib pot pie with root veggies that I just read about in their newsletter email. also mentioned is the "new world old fashioned" (which I have had and it's delicious) - butternut squash-infused 1792 bourbon, along with maple syrup and some chile and cocoa hints, if I remember correctly.

There are certain food critics that I find useful because their opinion is almost always exactly opposite mine. They say they hate a place, I'm gonna rush to get there. They love it, and I make sure to stay away. Phil Vettel gets added to the list.

About the chef's cotechino, Vettel writes:

Phil Vettel wrote:...subtly complex flavor profile, absent of any dominating flavors, and the fat sausage coins give the taste buds the same sensation as might a well-balanced stew.

Go try Sepia's cotechino, and you'll never believe Vettel again. It is LOADED with nutmeg, and you can barely taste anything else.

GF and I dined at Sepia last Saturday night and had a great meal, as usual. Some new items on the menu so we tried them (of course!).

Started with some lovely cocktails. I chose the "low flier" which is scotch, pear liqueur, chestnut orgeat syrup, lemon juice and bitters (very nice balance of smoky & sweet). She had "the thousand acre fizz" made of cranberry-infused reposado tequila, honey liqueur, cranberry syrup, lemon, egg white and soda (also very well balanced)

We chose the braised pork belly over Hon Shimeji mushrooms (yeah, had to ask for the spelling) and some other micro-greens and stuff, as well as the laughing bird shrimp with white cheddar grits, and the house green salad.


Pork Belly appetizer

Excellent appetizers, and the shrimp and grits were my favorite, so much so that I ate them all before snapping a pic with my phone. Super-sweet shrimp, light but savory grits and a roux-based sauce that brought a light earthy note to the dish.

We decided to steer clear of the red meat entrees due to our diet the whole week, and went for the grilled chicken and pan-roasted sturgeon.


Grilled Chicken with savory bread pudding and root vegetables


Pan Roasted Sturgeon with guanciale, brussel sprouts and red wine sauce

We thoroughly enjoyed both entrees, lovely balance of flavor on all. The "savory bread pudding" was a nice play on stuffing. Both went very well with a bottle of 2007 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Beaujolais (a steal at under $40, btw)

No time for dessert since we were going to a show, but the espresso was very well-made.

A recent trip to Sepia confirmed that I'm still not a fan.

I was a big fan of the pasta with pork sugo at the old Mado, so knowing that Mado's former chef had worked with Sepia's Andrew Zimmerman for quite some time, this dish on Sepia's menu called to me. A good sugo, imo, should be more about the concentrated meat flavor in the sauce than it is about the meat itself. In fact, in some of the best meat sugo's I've had, one does not detect any meat texture at all. At Sepia, this pasta dish had some nicely cooked noodles topped with large mounds of unpleasantly mushy meat.

Despite the recent Michelin Star, the bar at Sepia wasn't crowded, and I was able to belly up without a problem at prime time on a weekday. Having forgotten about the short wine pours from last time, I ordered a glass of red to pair with the sugo. This time the pour seemed reasonably generous.

we tried sepia for the first time last night. overall, it was an enjoyable meal - made even more so by the well-made cocktails we tried. between the two of us, we tried the:

boston martha (magnolia and oolong tea infused Bushmill's, honey, egg white, lemon juice, yellow Chartreuse, orange bitters)
r & r smash (templeton rye, carpana antica vermouth, cherry heering, brandied cherries, rosemary, lemon, old fashioned bitters).
french 75 (hendrick's, fresh lemon sour, orange bitters, and demi-sec sparkling rose)
pear in the pipe (sombra mezcal, walnut syrup, lemon, green chartreuse, angostura bitters, orange flower water, and bordelet poire cider)

there was not a miss among them. $12 each and well worth it. the flavors were complex and interesting, the various elements worked really well together, and the pours were generous. we would go back just to have a couple of cocktails at the bar.

with regard to the food menu, the flavors, ingredients, and plating were all at a high-level. my one criticism is that the apps were awfully pricey for the amount of food on the plate. i had the crispy sweetbreads with potato gnocchi and roasted mushrooms ($14) - the sweetbreads were fine, but the 5 pieces on the plate were the smallest i've ever seen, which made the crispy part the primary taste, rather than the sweetbread itself. the gnocchi were delicious - light and pillowy. i also had the app portion of the pheasant agnolotti w/ black trumpet shrooms, and grana padan as my entree - only 4 agnolotti at $14 seems pretty steep. but they did taste great - even one more would have made me happier. we also started with the sea scallops - two very large scallops were served with a celery root puree and black pudding. these were properly cleaned, no abducter muscles in sight, and tasted fantastic with the black pudding.

we shared the pork porterhouse entree - the pork chop was a huge, double rib portion that was served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and collard greens. this was a very generous entree that was more than sufficient for us to share. it was probably overcooked by about 10%, but still remained juicy throughout, the meat near the bone, however, was perfect. the buttery mashed potatoes and collards served as a nice counterpoint to the rich meaty bites.

we were pretty full, but upon hearing the sorbets included mango and raspberry, couldn't resist. the duo of sorbets was the perfect finish (and only 4 bucks - definitely a bargain!). the fruit flavors were luscious in every bite.

shyne

The portions are fine IMHO.

Shyne, I have had all of those cocktails except the French 75, and love them as well. Great flavor combos and the smokiness of the Pear in the Pipe is great. BTW, the Boston Martha is named after one of the hosts, who asked Josh "when are you going to make a drink for me?"

I recently had the app portion of the agnolotti and found it quite delicious and I feel that the portion sizes are fine for the price. They use high-quality ingredients and portions should be enough to sate your hunger, but not enough to make you feel terribly full.

I'm going back for dinner on Wed night and might try that porterhouse, sounds great!

Yep, went there last night and got the almighty pork porterhouse.



Outstanding. Tender, flavorful, and the greens were very Southern! You can't see them in this shot, but they are under the meaty goodness. Nice vinegar notes, slow-cooked like I used to have in North Carolina.

Our dining circle of four visited Sepia last night, taking advantage of the Chef's Week special menu, and as a whole, we now understand why they received a Michelin star - the kitchen and service staff deserve it!

Between the four of us, we sampled both appetizers, both main courses, and both desserts, and we discovered that chef Zimmerman uses a very deft hand in seasoning and preparing meals. What was so impressive was that each of the dishes had a small touch that transformed it from good to great.

For example, one of the main courses was a fresh grilled rainbow trout, served with a melange of thinly sliced fennel, kalamata olives, and citrus. On paper, that sounds a bit prosaic, but on the plate, the addition of perfectly sauteed spinach, with a hint of lemon and salt, put the dish into the realm of "best trout I've tasted in years."

And the pastry chef is doing good work too. The chocolate garam masala mousse over flourless chocolate cake was a revelation - the Indian spices (cardamom, allspice, mace, perhaps a hint of cinnamon) were tremendous in the mousse. Braised caramelized pears were a neat addition to the dish, providing a flavor and texture contrast. Again, a special touch put the dish over the top. We weren't certain whether there were cocoa nibs or just chocolate crisps as a garnish, but the crispy texture was perfect against the other components.

As for beverages, we agree with the folks who suggest that the cocktails are among the best in Chicago. One of our party had a concoction that featured pear cider, mescal, and green chartreuse - she was impressed by the smoky, yet subtle flavors. I asked for an Aviation, and it was quite good. The wine list was impressive in two ways, one very good, and another very bad. The list featured many wines from small, biodynamic wine producers that are difficult to find at retail, but also featured more than healthy markups. I'll never understand why wine pricing at good restaurants is so oppressive. I think that if I want wine with a meal there in the future, I'll pay the $25 corkage and bring something from my cellar, because I'll still save a bundle of money!

Service was incredibly attentive, and the staff handled the issues of handicapped access well. Many points were earned when one of us asked for lukewarm, rather than ice water, and the staff actually provided it! You'd be amazed at how many top tier restaurants cannot manage to give someone water at room temperature.r.

One thing that diners should know. The room, which is very modern in design, despite references to the 1890 print shop that first resided here, is very noisy. We were able to have a conversation, but it took some effort to make ourselves heard. There was a very live buzz to the room.

But to conclude, we agree with the previous posters who think the kitchen is doing marvelous things.

Visited Sepia for the first time yesterday and loved it. Can't wait to go back. Knowledgeable, friendly service. Fantastic cocktails. I love The Violet Hour and The Drawing Room and these seem to have as much thought and effort put into them. The food was executed on such a high level from the cooking of the proteins to the vegetables and the sauces. We were only able to reserve a dinner table in the lounge, but the hostess noted the noise level to be significantly less in the lounge than in the dining room. My friends and I were able to hear each other perfectly fine. Next time, I'd like to eat in the beautiful dining room.


South x Southwest cocktail.
Gosh, I loved the cocktails...


French 75 cocktail.


Warm bread is 10X better than room temperature bread!


Crispy sweetbreads, smoked potato gnocchi, roasted mushrooms.


Grilled quail, red kuri squash chutney, tamarind glaze.


Grilled whole rainbow trout, citrus segments, fennel, olives.


Slow cooked pork shoulder, sauerkraut, confit potato, sauce Robert.


Coffee cardamom caramelized custard tart with chocolate frangelico sauce.


Garam masala chocolate mousse, flourless chocolate cake, caramelized pears, yogurt cream.