There's absolutely nothing 'Simple' or 'Vietnamese' about this funky new joint at 385 S.Winchester Blvd. Perhaps being so close to Santana Row they felt compelled to have a chic, NYC-bar like ambience with contemporary art around the main restaurant area. The decor is fab & the music is perfectly in line with the mood they are trying to achieve. I was just a bit miffed as I was expecting something entirely different... still, we stayed & gave it a chance.
My next disappointment was discovering the state of the ladies room! I'm a big believer of - judging the class of an establishment by the way they maintain their restrooms. We had been informed that the restaurant was less than a week & a half old, so I was expecting to see a restroom that mirrored the brand new decor of the restaurant & bar. Unfortunately, there must have been some issues with the lighting and the moisture control, because of the two stalls in the ladies room, one was soaking wet (walls & floor) and the dingy lighting made it impossible to see where to tread. Not impressed!
My mood for the evening was set. The menu had to be AMAZING and the service even more so, for me to give these guys another chance! Sadly only one of those turned up trumps. The menu was indeed interesting, because of the lack of Vietnamese options & the plethora of Japanese variations. Plus there were no vietnamese noodle+soup bowls or dumplings in sight *shock*shock*horror*horror*!! Our server was fantastic however. Really well trained, he had the manners of a public school boy in England. Although his speech seemed very rehearsed and unnatural, the politeness did help to calm my nerves. On top of this, the management was very particular on checking on how things were going with the patrons (who were few & far between).
We ordered a soup (which turned out to have noodles - hooray), followed by broiled sea bass & some spicy chicken with onion thing. Really wasn't impressed with any of these dishes, especially considering the prices (main courses $17+). Still, the evening went off well and I'd probably go back there just to try out the bar area next time. I don't think I'd recommend it to too many people though, unless you want to be nice & help a start-up out. Give it a couple of months till they find their feet. I'm sure it'll be fab by then!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment