Unfortunately, I don't have any pics to show you. I was not brave enough to take pictures of my food in a place like that. As nice as it was, it a "business casual" type of restaurant. After taking a look at their menu, you'd think otherwise. Believe it or not, it is small child friendly. We saw a family of 5 there having dinner. Sure it'll cost you an arm and a leg, but hey, that's why God gave us 2 of both. Right? So anyways. Let me start from the very beginning...
There is only valet parking. The restaurant is on Melrose and you'd be crazy to try and park yourself anyways. As we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by a handsome man with a beautiful accent. We were then walked to a table by some young guy wearing a suit that was way too small and the knot of his tie was way too big (is that really the trend these days?). Our waiter was a nice older gentleman, no accent, that was very knowledgable of the menu. We were handed menus and bread was brought to the table.
The bread was incredible. A brioche with bacon bits. Enough said. The other bread wasn't all that good. It was like a focacia with pureed seaweed or something like that. It was not to my liking. Next came the amuse bouche. It was a jellee and foam of something. I don't quite remember. It was tasty. That's all I remember. My wife and I started off with japanese kanpachi. I had never had sashimi before this night. It wasn't bad. Then came the foie gras ravioli. Decadent! Fresh summer truffles were sliced right over the raviolis. It was nutty and crunchy and soft all at the same time. It was beautiful. And for my entree.....drum roll please.....Japanese Kobe flown in from Japan. I had to try it right? How often do you actually find a restaurant that serves true Kobe beef. So I had 3 oz. of Kobe (ribeye for those of you that want to know). The waiter brought it to the table and assembled the plate tableside. You can tell the Kobe had ben resting a few minutes before they had brought it out. It was a perfect medium-rare to medium, beautifully marbled, and it just melted in my mouth. I was very satisfied. No wonder they won an award!
This is a place you have to try if the proper occasion comes your way. This is not good food. It was a dining experience. The restaurant is slightly modern I guess. I'm not an interior decorator so I wouldn't know what to call it. As long as it doesn't offend me, I'm ok with it. The service was excellent and the food was cooked to perfection. So what kind of score will they receive?
taste: 5/5 stars
service: 4/5 (I've had better)
ambiance: 4/5
perceived value: 4/5
Total score of: 4(5+4+4)=
52/60 stars
