Roe Restaurant

Contributor

Citysearch

The Scene
Design-wise, the emphasis in the ground-floor main room is on patrons seeing themselves and others from a variety of angles: Large, rectangular mirrors dominate a long brick wall lined with plush, dark dinettes. A tiled bar backed by more mirrors commands the opposite side of the space, providing plenty of scoping opportunities for table diners and tipplers in the adjoining lounge area. Depending on the hour, the crowd ranges from after-work professionals to a clubbier set dressed to dance, enjoy a drink at the bars (one on each floor) or, again, just plain see and be seen.

The Food
Chef Alvin San's international menu leans toward Southeast Asia, from the trio-of-seaweed starter and the yellowfin tuna wellington entree to the green-tea-and-Coke ice cream float dessert. Alas, the seaweed, which comes in three different flavors, doesn't rise very much above the standard offering you might find next to an appetizer at a more moderately priced Japanese restaurant. And while the aforementioned wellington is somewhat adventurous in concept, in execution it comes in at about the same level of flavor as the more staid Niman Ranch ribeye, which is average at best.

Hits: The service is friendly and attentive, and dishes such as the quite tasty spicy-crab-and-tuna-roll starter demonstrate what the kitchen is capable of.

Misses: The standard for that roll should be applied to the bi plates, which aren't enough of an achievement to merit the higher-end prices.