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Nit's Cafe
Categories: Restaurants Asian Fusion Restaurants Thai Asian Fusion, Thai [Edit]
322 N Main StFort Bragg, CA 95437
(707) 964-7187
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
27 reviews for Nit's Cafe
Review Highlights
27 reviews in English
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Review from Holly E.
San Francisco, CA
8/28/2011
All of you naysayers ought to give Nit's another chance for your own sakes. While sometimes quirky and shockingly eccentric, the lovely Nit is a veritable genius in the kitchen. She does play waitress, hostess, and chef all at the same time. She's only human so yes, on occasion, she forgets an order or two. However, I would put up with a lot worse to eat the stunning and creative dishes that are prepared by this talented chef.
I ordered the pineapple fried rice, which seems like a fairly predictable and unexciting entree. I asked Nit to omit the shrimp because I'm allergic, and she replaced it with a generous portion of moist, organic, marinated chicken that left me wondering what the heck she did to make it taste so good. The whole thing was served in a perfectly grilled pineapple, giving this dish a unique sweet and smokey flavor. The rice was accented by chunks of pineapple, lime wedges, toasted spices and a large sprig of fresh basil. Before I even sunk my fork in, I was delighted by Nit's bold and unconventional plating style. Everyone else at my table ordered the red curry, which was sweet, spicy, and sinfully rich but balanced expertly with the organic zucchini that had arrived only minutes before Nit started cooking. Afterwards, she surprised our table with some unbelievably sweet sloes picked from her own garden earlier that day.
If you get a chance to enjoy it, Nit's vibrant personality is one of the best features of the restaurant. Walk into this little gem with an open heart and an empty stomach and you will not be disappointed. -
Review from Kelvin Y.
Daly City, CA
10/15/2011
$25 for a pad thai? I looked at the menu and couldn't believe it, I thought it was a pad thai meal with appetizer and drinks!
I live in SF and there are plenty of high-end thai restaurants here, and I have never seen a $25 pad thai. I understand that it is a small town and it is the only Thai restaurant in town, but come on.
I ended up going to Mendo Bistro across the street, it's a much nicer and high end restaurant. Even their most expensive dish is around $30 with good quality.
I just think that they need to rethink their pricing. -
Review from David S.
Sea Ranch, CA
1/21/2012
We have gone to Nits for years and never had a bad meal. Her cooking delights us, and the local atmosphere, as well as her fresh personality always means a great dining experience. Her Pad Thai is to die for, and anything she does has her own unusual gormet flair to it. Would give it 10 stars if I could! By the way my wife is gluten intolerant, and the chef always comes up with great ways to alter her dishes to accominde.
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Review from r b.
Petaluma, CA
10/31/2011
Unbelievably bad experience, inedible dinner.
Went to this place after seeing decent reviews on Yelp and seeing an interesting menus. The owner hostess behaved very strangely when we arrived. Ordered Green Lamb Thai Curry and Crab Cakes and a bottle of Handley Saivignon Blanc. The wine arrived, she poured it without tasting. It was not what we ordered. "Handley is no longer in business" was the answer to our query. The Macfadden SB we received was mediocre at best. (we discovered later that this wine sells for $10 and Nits charged us $0! The Curry sauce tasted OK but the Lamb (Niman Ranch supposedly) was cut into huge chunks and tasteless. The Crab Cakes were literally inedible and consisted of burnt batter with little crab evident.We were the only people in the place besides a single drunk patron. We should have known.
Avoid this place is all I can say. -
Review from Mayu Y.
San Mateo, CA
9/16/2011
Yes, Nit is eccentric. BUT...her food is so delicious, NOTHING could hold me back from eating here whenever given the chance. I have had Thai food in LA, SF, up and down the peninsula and in the East Bay, but I have NEVER had Thai food as fresh and as flavorful as the food I have had at Nit's. Nit brought out a very, very fresh baguette and butter to start, which was so good, we had wolfed down the bread by the time our entrees arrived. I had red curry with chicken. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, juicy and fresh, in fact, the zucchini in my dish had just been harvested and delivered right after I put in my order. The chicken was amazing. Normally when I visit a run-of-the-mill Thai restaurant, the chicken in the curry comes in thin dry strips. The chicken in Nit's curry was tender and juicy, she must have marinated the chicken before even putting it into the curry. The curry itself had just the right amount of spice and was not laden with heavy cream. I wish I had had more bread to mop up the curry with when I had eaten all the vegetables and chicken. My friend ordered the pineapple fried rice and let me have a few bites. Okay, my curry was awesome, but her fried rice blew everything else out of the water. There were levels of flavor I could not identify and the freshly grilled pineapple provided a fresh explosion in my mouth to balance the savory rice.
Nit is a culinary genius and I would highly recommend giving her place a chance because it would be a shame to have such genius disappear from the culinary scene. -
Review from Marina C.
Vancouver, WA
12/30/2010
Goddess above, but this woman (the Lady Chef Nit) deserves to have her restaurant in the finest part of Montreal and charge accordingly. My fiancee Alexandria and I ate there just tonight with marvelously presented, cultured dishes of perfect elegance. This fine lady's presentation (kneeling at the table to take orders...) set out the finery of this place perfectly.... Let me know to simply tell her to make for us in her Seafood platter a choice of whatever seafood she wanted.
Let me tell you, when you walk into a resturant and quickly realize that the chef is of sufficient calibre that you can ask her to prepare whatever she thinks appropriate for you and your Dearheart, and she will do a perfect job of it--that anyone who cannot appreciate this food is nekulturny. The Lady Nit prepared in less time than it takes to throw together the slop at Denny's, a dish which was in every way exquisite, all handmade and every bite delectable in extremis. The dining experience was pleasant, the music vibrant and relaxing, and the atmosphere comfortable. Across the street is a restaurant filled with pretentious SUV drivers, the Mendo Bistro, which is as loud as a sports bar inside when you walk into it, and puts crayons on their tables while advertising themselves as fine dining.
We walked out, across the street, and into a quiet and serene place with food of exquisite fineness run by a truly talented woman. You will not regret it, and your tastebuds and sense of aesthetic will be raised wonderfully if you open your eyes to the way she takes simple local ingredients and crafts them so finely that for the first time in two years I ate at a restaurant without adding a single spice to the dishes. She made them perfectly, prepared our food with but a glance for us as she wished, and yet also as to make us enjoy every second. The Lady Nit has created an oasis of true class whose quality of ingredients and presentation are, indeed, worthy of any finest restaurant in a grand city. She deserves all the accolades she can be given. -
Review from Art O.
San Francisco, CA
4/20/2009
Sorry but no thanks, Nit. We really tried to like the place but, alas, it was to no avail.
The first dish was a huge spinach salad with giant chunks of bacon and even bigger chunks of cheese. Seriously, she basically threw in the whole block on that dish. One star for that.
The other two dishes - the chicken alfredo and the lamb kebab - were just plain nasty. The sauce on the pasta dish tasted like it'd been in the refrigerator for weeks and the lamb was not flavorful at all. Plus the polenta was burnt on the bottom. And I'm talking like full scorched, a quarter inch thick of burnt nastiness.
We like to support little places like Nit's but with those prices and that level of food...we'll have to pass.
Yeah, and that $22 pad thai dish?! Nit better put plenty of that Mendo magic stuff I hear about in there. -
Review from Parke K.
Newark, CA
11/23/2010
Beware - do not be fooled by the menu - what's for dinner is whatever is available that night.
We were looking for some local fare in Fort Bragg - found Nit's - a small restaurant on the main drag (Hwy 1), in the downtown historic district. We were drawn in by the Tom Kha Gai and the Boat Scallops with Panang Curry listed on the menu.
The owner came by quickly to tell us the specials for the night - Pumpkin Curry soup and Ono. We told her we already had made our selections and that we wanted the Tom Kha Gai and Scallops/Panang Curry. Shortly after we ordered, she returned and told us the Scallops and Panang Curry were not available and that the Ono would be a good choice, so we reluctantly agreed.
Dinner arrived in about 10 minutes - first the 'Tom Kha Gai'... a thickish clump of pasty broth (from a can?), in which there were chunks of chicken... never have I had Tom Khai Gai in which the broth was so thick, so cold and had less of the flavorings one would expect - coconut, lemon, basil, etc... The broth was cooler than lukewarm, bordering on cold.
After we choked down the thick unappealing soup (could it be that it was an abomination of pumpkin curry soup?), we were given our Ono entree. The portion was generous, the presention appealing, but the fish was chewy and bland.
We found pictures in the window in which the owner is shown preparing a huge fish from 2008 - was it the same Ono we were eating that night, over 2 years later? Surely not, but it would not suprise me if that was the only fish the owner knows how to prepare.
Now, on to service - the waiter did not understand when we asked for brown rice, so we repeated the request to the owner who brought us a small bown of white rice. The bowls we were given were dirty and we had to wipe them out with our napkins. The check came about 5 minutes after the Ono - never once were we asked how the food was.
The BILL? A heckuva a lot more than you would want to pay for this meal that you never wanted in the first place - $59 and some change for a cold paste masquerading as Tom Kha Gai, a tasteless fish entree and a glass of wine. -
Review from Wella A.
Eugene, OR
2/28/2009
I need a sugar daddy. Well, no, not really. But dining at Nit's Cafe is nonsense to me because it costs a fortune. I seriously tried to justify the cost of my $22 pad thai with $9 glass of wine. Seriously? Pad thai?! From a "Cafe"?! In Fort Bragg?!
Anyhow, the noodle dish was presented beautifully and creatively, most of the veggies were organic, and it came with 5 plump and delectable prawns. And even though the little restaurant was unpretentious with mass-produced vintage art covered walls, the casual ambiance alone doesn't warrant my argument...or should it?
Maybe I'm being too frugal or maybe because I've had phenomenal pad thai from other places for much less, but regardless of those "excuses", Nit (the chef and owner) made an attractive and delicious pad thai. It just cost more like market-price fresh lobster from a fancy restaurant in a major metropolis.
FYI: bring out the Benjis, because it's CA$H ONLY!Listed in: WTF?
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Review from Lira K.
Mountain View, CA
6/8/2011
This is an amazing place. Warning: it's not cheap. But you won't care. Nit will serve you the best Thai food you've ever eaten in your life, served up on huge white plates, gorgeously presented. I found out about Nit's when a friend and I were shopping in Fort Bragg in the middle of the day and asked someone on the sidewalk what was good. He pointed to Nit's, a little hole in the wall, and we said, "What the heck, we'll try it." Who knew it was so good? I always try to work a visit to Nit's into a visit to Mendocino/Fort Bragg.
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Review from Kaycie L.
Sacramento, CA
10/30/2007 3 photos
Ever walked by a cafe and wondered, "Dang, is this cafe THAT good that it's only opened a few days out of the week AND only for a few hours for lunch and dinner???"
Initially, we thought it was because they were targeting tourists and what not, but after reviewing the menu, we thought it would be a nice place to try.. and because we didn't find other places that seemed... worth trying...
We ordered fried rice (in case the other dish sucked) and fish of the day which was a halibut. The presentation of the food was indeed fabulous.. we were like.. wow.. for a dish that was in the mid 20s, it looks pretty. =) Both the dishes were delicious and tasteful. It's like a fusion of Thai and American.
I've tried other places that had Asian Fusion but it was rather strong. But this place was indeed worth going.
They also have a simple variety of wine to choose from.
Oh, I thought this place was trying to attract tourists, but really, locals go there regularly. Perhaps it's because they're rich and living off the beach, but I think the food and service also has something to do with it.
As for the chef, she looks young with interesting make up. Didn't really bother me because her cooking was THAT GOOD.
WHY HERE? Was curious why the dishes cost in the mid 20s.. luckily and gratefully, the food was DELICIOUS. -
Review from David P.
Olympia, WA
2/24/2010
I at at Nit's right before closing on a February Wednesday and it was killer. Nit did it all... she was hostess, server and chef. The food was superb and I was shocked to find Nit's to be perhaps the best Thai inspired food I have ever had.
I must admit that the food is surprisingly expensive for the location. Must be all the disposable cash income that is generated around here.
I had the Tom Kha made with pumpkin which was excellent and a Caesar which was truly superb.
I will also say that Nit has good taste in music and her choices on the stereo were very lively and fun.
I highly recommend this restaurant. -
Review from Flavia S.
Tahoe City, CA
3/15/2011
My boyfriend and myself came across this place a few years back on a birthday camping trip to the redwoods were we discovered the fruits of ab diving. While one evening we were looking for a place to sample local seafood cuisine and we found Nits Cafe. The menu looked good and the prices were reasonable compared to the upscale seafood restaurants in town and in the Village of Mendocino. We ordered the steamed mussels as an app, and it was enough to feed the two of us for dinner! De-lish!!! I ordered the special, scallops in a fab mac-&-cheese dish, And my bf ordered the green curry beef. Both dishes were fresh, tasted great, and were bigger then expected portions.
This is now one of our favorite spots in Ft. Bragg for dinner. -
Review from Benjamin S.
Redondo Beach, CA
8/6/2011
Okay. We've been coming to Mendocino for several years and always attempted to try Nit's. With so much fanfare and high praise we were delighted to have finally found our way there this evening. Talk about disappointment. To begin with we had reservations for 7:00. The door was locked and we could see Nit in the kitchen. We pounded on the door to no avail. We finally called her and asked to be let in. It took her several minutes to find her keys and open the door. We ordered and explained there were food allergies and we couldn't have shell fish. A couple of other clients came in. Nit took their order, forgot what we had ordered and had to confirm. Since she is literally the chief cook and bottle washer, once she entered the kitchen subsequent guests had to wait until she was finished cooking before they were acknowledged. Our order finally came and as we dug in we realized that there was shrimp at the bottom of the phad Thai. The big catch of the day, wild salmon, was dry and tasteless. The spring rolls we ordered as an appetizer never appeared. After the second time Nit commented that she was sorry about the spring rolls, which she still hadn't started to cook, we told her to pass. We were so anxious to leave that when the bill came we laid down the cash and skeedaddled. One more comment. Two parties left before their order was taken because Nit was so disorganized.
We REALLY wanted to love this place in spite of the iffy atmosphere and quirky owner but alas, this has been the most disappointing dining experience in the five years we've been visiting this part of the coast. We're sticking with Cafe Beaujolais from now on! -
Review from jen d.
Brooklyn, NY
7/22/2010
Last week, I had another amazing meal at Nit's, and I have to say, if only I lived closer to Ft. Bragg than my current Brooklyn locale, I'd be there once a week.
The food is amazing, full stop. Fresher than fresh, all local and organic ingredients, huge portions of prawns and bouillabaisse and pad thai, and you could make a vegetarian meal on the garnishes alone. Last year, I had the bouillabaisse, my boyfriend had barbequed ribs, and they were both off the charts. This time I opted for the day boat scallops and he tried to conquer the pad thai. Even though he's a hungry 6'3", he couldn't finish off the pad thai - which meant leftovers for me the next day - I have to say I was thrilled.
Nit herself is something of a wonder. She's not only the chef, she's taking orders, and greeting & seating her customers. Her tiny frame is dynamic, and her homage-to-drag-queen makeup (long false eyelashes, bright eyeshadow, lots of base) almost masks the fact that she's a very young woman cooking like a seasoned pro.
You've got to see it, eat it, to believe it. But you'd better believe that as soon as I fly west again, I'll be there! -
Review from Marie F.
Eureka, CA
11/26/2010
Really a treat along the Coast. Fort Bragg is full of so-so restaurant's (as is Mendocino itself). But in spite of it's unfortunate name, Nit's has delicious food. Don't come in a rush unless you want your food to go.
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Review from Cynthia C.
Davis, CA
7/8/2008
My boyfriend and I had dinner at Nit's on Saturday on a suggestion from a local. We peered through the window and noticed the generic interior and cramped seating so we felt confident that it was indeed a "hole in the wall" Thai joint.
Once we were seated we ended up looking at the menu for 10 minutes trying to decide what to have because 1. only 1/4 of the menu was actually Thai and 2. the entrees averaged $22. $22 for a "cafe"? $22 for pad thai?? $15 for the spring roll appetizer??? We considered leaving but we decided to stick it out. Doh.
We ended up ordering the duck with roasted potatoes and vegetables ($20) and the short rib with creamy polenta and vegetables ($20). The portions were generous and came on gigantic platters. While I was mildly pleased that the portions were fair for the price, I would have much preferred a smaller portion for a few dollars less. Both dinners were ok but not really satisfying and unfortunately didn't justify the price. The duck and vegetables were overcooked and nothing was particularly flavorful. However, the service was fine and unobtrusive and admittedly, everything in Mendocino/Ft. Bragg is expensive- from pad thai to hamburgers, so Nit's isn't THAT out of the ordinary. -
Review from justen e.
San Francisco, CA
10/26/2008
a coin toss put us at nit's after a recomendation. it was incredible. best meal i've had in a long time. beautifully presented. only down side is that its not closer so i can go back!
its small and homey. and we talked about the meal the rest of the night. worth your time and money and your tastebuds will thank you. -
Review from Glenn S.
San Francisco, CA
7/28/2010
We discovered Nit's about 4 years ago, and have been there a dozen times or so. Nit uses the freshest seasonal ingredients and puts them together in creative and delicious ways. My favorite is the Fried Jasmine Rice with Crab, but the Catch of the Day is always great. The food presentation is whimsical (in a good way), and the portions are huge. Having lived (and eaten heartily) in San Francisco for decades, I can say that Nit's food is as good as any Thai place in The City.
The only downside is the ambience is, well, Spartan.
Update April 2010: The food is still good (not quite as good as before), but the service has gone totally to pot. We arrived at 6 one evening recently, and the door was locked, but there were people at one table inside. The music was blaring and Nit and her employee were dancing in the small dining room. They saw us at the door but ignored us for several minutes. Then eventually opened the door. We took a seat and ordered, but the music was obnoxiously loud. So we asked for our order to go. When the order arrived, we left our half glasses of wine behind. No apologies, nothing. We've been loyal customers for years, but we're not going back. -
Review from Martin R.
Union City, CA
1/27/2009
We got the recommendation from Andrea at Navarro's Winery when we went wine tasting there. Very good food, though initially we were expecting pricing in line with a typical Thai food place (maybe with a slight Ft. Bragg premium, so we were surprised by the pricing. In fairness though the portions are huge. I wish we'd been hungrier! We had the ginormous spring rolls and cioppino (Thai style). Both were served pretty quickly, were very tasty and well presented. Only downside (a nit - pun intended) was the plateware used to serve the food was a bit too big for the smallish tables. Food server was friendly and attentive. Would go again.
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Review from Cassandra L.
Santa Rosa, CA
9/18/2010 2 photos
I'm a vegan & 1 of my worries when I travel is always where I'll be able to eat. Not only eat but enjoy what I eat. Then add to that, my bf, is not a vegan. So finding a restaurant that we both enjoy all the way around can be...lets say challenging. But here, @ Nit's cafe we hit the jackpot. Nit was formerly a chef @ mousse cafe in Mendocino who ventured out to open her cafe in Ft. Bragg. So on our weekend stay in the area we decided to go for dinner. While we were waiting for our meal, which is cooked to order, we read the yelp reviews which just boosted our confidence. Then our artful, beautiful entrees arrived. Needless to say, we were very delighted with the presentation. Then after my first bite I was in heaven! There are only a few times I've been given a vegan meal that I couldn't stop raving about...this was definitely in my top 3! Service was equally great, thanks Nit. Just know, space is limited, reservations suggested & it's cash only. Other than that...I can't recommend this place enough!
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Review from Edward G.
Oakland, CA
10/4/2010
Fantastic! I've eaten at probably a dozen restaurants in the Ft. Bragg-Mendocino area and this is BY FAR the best. At least as good as any Thai/Asian fusion restaurant in San Francisco/Bay Area. We had the pad thai and a roasted chicken entree and both were exquisitely prepared with the freshest ingredients. A little pricey by Ft. Bragg standards but not at all incommensurate with the quality, presentation and friendly atmosphere.
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Review from Maria B.
New York, NY
11/15/2009
Goodness gracious sakes alive! This Pad Thai was expensive! Was it worth it? The shrimps were a nice size, as was the serving size, but $25.00 for Pad Thai? The dish was presented as brightly and overdone as the owner/cooks makeup. The owner was also the cook, hostess and waitress and wrote nothing down. Despite the size of the shrimp, the pad thai was way too greasy for my liking. While this place comes with great reviews and recommendations from the locals in Fort Bragg,this place is nothin' to brag about! My friend ordered the seafood dish (the price tag on this was again, way out of range with the meal). The menu did not suggest what we received for unbeknownst to us, it was deep fried in a thick tasteless batter. It came with French fries, some sort of veggie, (we couldn't make it out,) and a wet slop of coleslaw. We were almost going to send the dish back, but the scallops were okay. We paid the high price and didn't bother to ask for a doggie bag. The place was a disappointment.
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Review from John E.
3/8/2010
We discovered Nit's while talking to a local at the Tattoo History Museum a few doors down. She said it was the best place to eat in town so we walked over and sat down. Nit's is a real conundrum. On the one hand, the decor is sorely lacking and the place could use a makeover. The walls were a bit dirty, the tables too small, the art prints too mundane, and the space heater looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a long while. But forget all of that because the food was out of this world and the service was wonderful. My girlfriend and I both tried the daily special, which was sea bass in a fabulous lemon sauce over a cheesy polenta. When I say that the flavors literally exploded in my mouth, I'm not kidding. I don't think I've ever had a dish that was so full of fresh and exciting flavors. This may not be "elegant" fare but it is certainly experimental and bold and celebratory of Nit's love of food. And I do believe it's mostly organic and sustainable. Nit does all of the cooking herself and has only one helper, a very nice gentleman who is very attentive. The locals swear by this place so I think you ought to try it. It's worth it just to meet this engaging woman and her friendly helper. It is really amazing to watch her prepare all of these wonderful meals by herself. This was definitely one of the best meals I've had in months.
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Review from Chris M.
Fremont, CA
11/3/2008
Don't let the looks fool you. From the outside this place looks small and uninteresting, but my goodnesss. There is one server and one chef who is the owner. She cooks everything to order and it is amazing. The best meal I have had in a long long time. If it was closer I would be quite the regular here. If you are ever in town this place is a must to dine at.
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Review from Steve W.
San Francisco, CA
8/17/2009
Here's the deal with Nit's - you're definitely in for a treat if you follow this lead. First off, don't be put off by the prices because the portions are extremely large, literally encouraging you to share everything with your partner, and saving you $$. Don't even think about getting your own anything - soup, app, entree - you must share it all. Have fun choosing together from the amazingly broad and creative menu and enjoy the thoughtful, artistic and delicious creations Nit makes to order. She's fantastic and eclectic, the food is truly great (it's organic, free range, local everything) and you get a deal on a wonderful experience. We got out of there for $36 sharing an amazing (and enormous) organic summer squash soup, a (also enormous) Vietnamese yellow curry lamb entree and beer/wine. We're in SF but will be back to Ft Bragg to see Nit again.
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Review from Booboo S.
Walnut Creek, CA
2/22/2010
Came here for Valentines Day dinner. That was my first mistake. The food here is hit or miss I think. I've been here twice and have gotten dishes that were okay to very good. However, the prices are outrageous. I guess they try to justify it by giving you huge proportions - which I don't need. I think the owner is just trying to keep overhead costs down so on Valentine's night - she is the only cook and then there is one waiter that speaks limited English. (Just two of them on a busy holiday Sunday night!) Poor thing is very efficient and working like death. I do appreciate it but when you are charging 4 star prices, I do expect 4 star service as well as food. She was so busy that we never got to hear the specials - she was so distracted - never told us. I saw some delicious clams at another table and wanted to inquire about them (not on menu) but felt bad and didn't because she couldn't even look at us long enough to take our order. She didn't tell the specials to the next three patrons but then near the end of our dinner when things are dying down - I heard her tell another table the specials. We didn't get any bread for a long time and felt totally neglected the whole time. Again, if she lowered the prices even if she gives us regular portions - I wouldn't feel so gouged. Not sure if I'll come back again.
