The experience from first to last was excellent. I was able to get a reservation on the patio on a Friday night with late notice. We showed up and there was plenty of free parking at the restaurant. We were greeted by a very friendly (but not obsequious) hostess and were seated immediately. The decor is very clean without feeling uptight -- crisp white table linens, minimal decorations, intimate feeling. We ate on the patio which was LOVELY -- quiet, nice trees and plants, fresh air, and relaxing. As for the food... this is where things got REALLY good. We started with the fried calamari: it was cooked to perfection -- just enough to be fully cooked and flavorful without getting rubbery and bland. There were subtle seasonings on the calamari itself and it was paired with a mustard aoili (tasty) and a spicy tomato sauce (so good that once we finished the calamari we started eating the sauce with bread). I also had a caesar salad - the Parmesan shavings on it were from a particularly good cheese, the creamy caesar dressing was also good, and my only slight reservation is that the greens had a lot of the tips of the romain (as opposed to the romain hearts)... but you can see I'm being pretty picky here :) My girlfriend had a bransiano fish served with a variety of mushrooms, spinach, and roasted potatoes. The overall combination of flavors was suprisingly hearty for a white fish and was delicious. I had sole served over a crispy butternut squash risotto cake and served with a white wine sauce with capers and grape tomatoes. This had such a delicate flavor that it made both me and my girlfriend pause to appreciate it. Great stuff! Bonus points go to the owner who served the wine himself because they had had a couple bad bottles of the wine that we chose and he really wanted to make sure it was good.\r
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Overall, this place is fantastic -- we'll definitely be going back. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Pros: Excellent food, great service, plenty of free parking, formal yet relaxing atmosphere, friendly owner
Cons: Can't think of any real negative... neon sign doesn't truly reflect how elegant, high-class, and personable this establishment really is.
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