We have been wanting to visit this restaurant for awhile, and chose it for our anniversary dinner this year.
Booking on Open Table was super easy, and my husband added a note about our anniversary. We were greeted warmly and promptly given a complimentary glass of champagne and wished a very happy anniversary.
If you've read other reviews of mine, I eat 98% of the time gluten free. I'm not supposed to eat gluten because of health issues. Thankfully, I'm not celiac, so I can on rare occasions indulge. The freshly baked rolls here were the first of several great decisions. They were small (fine by me), but perfectly crunchy, with a bit of coarse salt, a lovely wash and great texture inside. Perfect for sopping up the delicious salsa on the asparagus appetizer we ordered.
They have a small, but interesting wine list with a nice range of prices. Mostly French, which we prefer. The waitress willingly gave us small samples of the syrah and bordeaux they offer by the glass. Both were good, but this was a special meal. My husband asked, "So, I'm guessing this Bordeaux by the bottle is going to be a whole lot better than this one by the glass? Is that probably true?" She smiled and nodded. She was spot on. We splurged (not a huge splurge, but yes, the bottle was more than four glasses of the other would have been $70 vs $40). It was so much better! A delicious Bordeaux. Not in our everyday wine budget, but we savored every drop.
I had a feeling about the beef short rib Bourgogne, and I'm glad I went with it. It was simply amazing. The beef was so tender, the sauce so flavorful, the vegetables perfectly steamed. My husband opted for the gnocchi and he was just as happy. He didn't want meat, and it was a perfect fit for him. The vegetables were again perfectly crisp and flavorful, the sauce delicious. I took a bite, and I can say the snap pea I ate was very good, but not enough to lure me away from my choice.
I was hoping for macaron on the dessert list, but no such luck. The strawberry granita with blackberries and buttermilk ice cream was happily separated so I could enjoy the non-dairy part of the dessert, and my husband enjoyed the ice cream. I did share a couple berries.
Unlike so many Portland restaurants these days, it was just the right volume of music. We could actually talk easily. Even more impressive since there's a lot of hard surfaces in this restaurant which can often make it really noisy. Maybe it was the fabric covered chairs, or something else, but we were delighted!
A wonderful restaurant and experience all the way around!