Backbone

My husband and I went on a Saturday night date night and we could not have asked for better. The service was amazing and the food was spectacular! Our servers for the evening we’re extremely attentive and gave us the lay of the land and let us know what dishes they thought were the best when we asked for recommendations. I have a mustard allergy and they let me know what I could and could not eat and we’re very accommodating in letting me dress my salad with just lemon and olive oil instead of the standard vinaigrette it came with. We cannot thank them enough for such a lovely evening and spectacular food. We cannot wait to go back.

Stepping into this sleek, modern space, you might not know what to expect—but by the end of the meal, you’ll be completely blown away. Chef Nate McCall has crafted a restaurant that dazzles with both creativity and precision. The Beet salad is unforgettable, with horseradish crème fraîche and toasted candied nuts that elevate every bite. The New York strip paired with short rib is a revelation—the meat is incredibly tender, and the short rib burnt ends are some of the best I’ve ever tasted. To finish, his pastry chef wife’s deconstructed Key Lime Pie is pure genius. Though this is only my second visit, I’ve already found my new favorite restaurant.

I love this little restaurant! It is very warm and inviting, and the atmosphere calming. The food we had was fantastic. We started with the waffles topped with uni. It sounds odd, but the flavor combination was quite good. The barbarian, basically cheese, potato, and leek dumplings, were delicious! I shared an order of the chicken liver pate. It is topped with bits of crisychicken skin and served with an orange condiment on the side. Next time I am gets home one for myself. This was delicious! I decided to have the squash agnikitti for my main course. It is delicious, with a super buttery sauce. Yum. The mushroom risotto was delicious, and the larger size is great for a main course. The hangar steak and fries were perfectly cooked. The whole meal was delicious! For dessert we had the fanciful key lime "pie". It was actually a pie ball and quite lovely. They have an ample wine list as well as beer. The service is excellent as well. I can't wait to go back!!

What can I say I found this dining experience very disappointing. We ordered the Uni and the tuna tartere for starters. The Uni is a very strong, acquired taste that I personally didn't like but I also didn't experience any of the unique flavor profile the waitress described. The only thing you could taste is the Uni paste; no acidity, no sweetness and definitely not the meager little waffles cut into it. The tuna tartere was also tiny portion for the price but decent. We had the duck and the strip steak for entrees. The cook on the meat was correct, but again, not spectacular. The seasoning was, for a lack of better word, basic. We could also see the kitchen staff cut and throw away a lot of the "corner" pieces of the duck meat which just felt wrong. Only four little pieces of duck made it to our plate accompanied by a too sweet potato gratin or whatever that was. The steak/short rib dish was even more disappointing, the meat was cooked fine I guess but the whole dish and especially the puree reminded me of hospital food. The asparagus were not cooked properly. No spice, no acidity, no complexity, no depth in the flavor profile. Really regretting coming to this place. Lastly we had the brownie which was yummy, chocolaty and crunchy on top but was soaked in a mint paste that we had to scrape away to be able to taste anything else. The atmosphere is your average I-am-going-to-charge-double -for-no-reason. I personally do not enjoy when the waiter interrupts my meal to ask me how it is, especially when they don't offer to make it up to me when I say I don't like it. You are better off not asking then. All in all very disappointing. My son is a foodie and an aspiring chef so was hoping to give him an unforgettable meal. That was not it.