It happened! I went last night and had a scrumptious dinner. The restaurant was booked so we grabbed one of the first come first serve high tables around the bar. The chairs have a low back so they weren't very comfortable but I was just glad we found a table for dinner. The ambiance was very airy but romantic with oversized chandeliers hanging above the bar surrounded by the large oak trees. They did a great job setting the scene. The wine wasn't overpriced and was smooth and just what we were looking for. If you're ordering a bottle, see if Lee (the restaurant's sommelier I think) is around to make a couple of recommendations. We had something that wasn't even on the menu and was only $30 a bottle.We started with an order of the fresh and fried calamari which was tossed in a light chili glaze accompanied with an aioli dipping sauce. It was good, but I probably would try something different next time. We proceeded onto our main courses which were suggested by Joe Rego their head chef, also the champion on Food Network's Chopped show. I was with a couple other ladies so we shared a few items off the menu for entrees.
The lobster cannelloni was lighter than I was expecting served with crisp asparagus and this delicious lobster sauce. Our other main course was the scallops and creamy risotto. These were the best scallops I've ever had, they were fresh and seared on either side just enough to form a light crust on either side of the scallop. I would have liked to see the scallops served with a more flavorful side but that's just me being picky. Onto dessert, which could have used a little help. They serve their tiramisu with soaked twinkies and call it the "Twinkimisu", which actually was a nice change but they needed to soak just a bit longer to taste the espresso more. The other dessert was the roasted apple with gelato, which had a tasty sauce but they could have dressed up the apple with a glaze or something. The gelato was more like ice cream than the creamy gooey I remembered from Europe. I'm not saying these desserts weren't delectable but I was disappointed that they didn't have the traditional key lime pie they had served at the grand opening or the flourless chocolate torte. Overall, I would give shining stars to the lobster entree, the scallops and the wine of course.
