Jardiniere

Good for pre-theater

by ohiochick at Citysearch

We went for our anniversary (we heard it was romantic)...and they gave us a lovely table near the railing. The service was excellent and the food was very good. The pasta (gnocchi) was excellent, as was the hen. The halibut was good, but not quite to the calibar of the other two dishes. It was a lively scene until the ballet started and the place completely cleared out, which made the scene pretty desolate. Both my husband and I are in our mid to late 30's, and the crowd was a little old for us.

I would probably only go back if I was going to the theater. Otherwise, there are other restaurants with comprable food for the price that offer a much more lively and/or romantic atmosphere

• Pros: food, service
• Cons: atmosphere after theater crowd leaves

Dining at Nordstrom's during their semi-annual sale; terrible service and cold food!

by scooterboy17 at Citysearch

The reviews sounded great, nice jazz paired with great food in a whimsical atmosphere. I thought what a great place to a good friend for her birthday.

WRONG!!! It was like dining at Nordstrom's during their semi-annual sale. Too crowded with too many tables crammed together for comfortable dining and LOUD. I remember distinctly hearing a lot of thumping feet, with a din of piano music in the background. The jazz? The "jazz" was more elevator muzak. Too bad since the pianist was actually good.

I lost count how many times our table was bumped by both diners and way too many staff members, considering it was hard to remember who our server was. Maybe, the wait staff should spend less time complaining about management issues instead of looking angry and busy. Yes, nothing worse than service by a bitchy, loud wait staff.

Our busboy was GREAT though, and more attentive than everyone combined (we tipped him privately as he deserved it).

Food wise, we ordered the six course tasting menu with the wine pairing. The food arrived lukewarm to cold, therefore, nothing was memorable. The foie gras was good. The fish was fishy and the meat course - definitely cold and congealed.

What was memorable was the portion sizes; they were tiny!! This is a example of presentation taking precedence over the actual food. Needless to say, we actually ate several dinner rolls as we were hungry.

The price of this culinary fiasco, well over $300; the time wasted - close to three hours.

Would I recommend this place?? HELL no! For this kind of experience, take a tuna sandwich to Nordstrom's, eat it next to the piano player, and give the rest of your money to the homeless people at the Powell St. turnaround. Now that would be more satisfying!

• Pros: The busboy was nice. The foie gras tasted good.
• Cons: Everything else.

Stunning

by claremunn at Citysearch

Traci Des Jardins and her wonderful team could create a 7 star meal in a shack, however, this restaurant is romantic and gorgeous. I like the fact more jeans are seen sitting at the bar -- rather like another Zuni on early week day evenings. Eugenio understands wine so well, you can always count on him for fair guidance. And Thad will make you a non-headache yet fabulous cocktail. Management crew are always more than helpful, even on the oft crazy busy days. If you haven't been, try it.

• Pros: Food. Valet, plus parking lot around the corner. Service. Ambience. Crew.

The Supper Club experience at its best

by mcrich at Citysearch

We went Weds night (2/28) for my birthday. The best experience from the second we walked in the door to the moment the valet dropped off our car. The food was updated french with an incredible wine list. Loved the six course tasting menu and the wine pairings were perfect. The room is elegant without being stuffy, and the staff's infectious enthusiasm to be serving you made us thrilled to be there. We weren't the only ones having a great time. The tables around us were filled with lively and contented diners, young and old.

Avoid valet, if possible

by purplpetalz at Citysearch

I enjoyed the food and the service. I had the grapefruit salad with crab and aioli, which was tasty and blended an interesting flavor of citrus. The croutons were soggy; that could have been eliminated from the dish. The sole was saltier than my tastebuds were used to, but the fish was cooked perfectly. The evening was enjoyable for most parts, and the service was genuine...UNTIL I went to get my car from valet. I had waited quite awhile for my car to come..being the 1st to ask for my car, and waiting for 5 cars to come and go before mine came--that was odd to begin with. Then, when I had finally got my car, I noticed some black "leaves" stuck on the outside of my car, but decided to ignore it. When I got home, I noticed that my passenger side seat was wet, and looked down on the floor mat to find wet footprints along with sunflower seeds littered on the floor mat. I looked behind, and noticed the same! The "leaves" on the outside of the car were eaten sunflower seeds! I trusted them with my car, and to have it come back in such a poor condition--can you understand my anger!?! For a pleasant dinner, it ended in bad memories of the restaurant even though their valet service was really an outsourced service. It's just a shame that it tainted the whole evening! It's also a shame that it's difficult to find parking in that area!

• Pros: Service, Bar, Ambience
• Cons: Parking, Valet Service