This restaurant sooo disappointed us. It's received glowing reviews since it opened a few months ago, but in my opinion those reviewers just saw in it what they wanted to see.
First, it's in a horrible location, right next door to the Tunnel Top bar on Bush Street, almost on top of the sleazy massage parlors below at the tunnel's entrance.
Second, it's tiny. That in itself shouldn't be a problem. But you push through the people sat at the downstairs bar, and go upstairs to 8 or 9 tightly-packed tables bereft of any light or atmosphere. That upstairs section seems so flimsy, that every time one of the staff used the stairs our table wobbled and creaked.
That would all have been OK if the food was as good as this French chef is alleged to be.
My duck confit starter had to be hunted under the salad with a microscope. When I did find it, it tasted fine, but there was only enough to whet the appetite. Pavey's sauted squid was only fair, and drew no gasps of delight when she ate it.
We both had the lamb shoulder, which tasted fine but left a hole where a satisfied experience should have been. The side order of spring onions looked like they had been dug up and dumped on the plate; and were a pain to eat.
We both felt cheated, and therefore had desserts, neither of which fulfilled the promise the "exciting chef, direct from France" could and should have delivered.
I rarely, if ever comment on the price. But all of this for $170, and we felt like we had overpaid and under-eaten. A rare experience for a restaurant in California, and not one that we intend revisiting.
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