Olivar

Visited again April 2014 when I learned they would be closing soon.
Ordered the chefs choice and wasn’t disappointed.
A challenging menu was created (celery root soup, pork liver pâté, endive salad, scallops over parsnip purée, brussel sprouts, squid and rissoto with squid ink, chocolate crème brûlée, etc.) which I and my companion found as delicious as it was iinteresting.
I look forward to whatever Chef/​Owner Philippe Thomelin comes up with next.
In the mean time I need to find a new «death row restaurant» (any suggestions?)

Went to this cozy little place in Capital Hill for a friend’s birthday and the atmosphere was really quiet and intimate. Our party ordered a tasty Pinot noir to share and ordered the chef’s tasting menu so we could try multiple courses family style. While somewhat pricey, this was by far the best option because we got to try pretty much everything on the menu, including items that probably wouldn’t have been my first choice from the menu but ended up being absolutely delicious.
For example, the Plato de Hamon Serrano with house pickle and mustard on crostini wouldn’t have been something I would have picked but ended up being a delicious first course! I also wouldn’t have picked the Brussels sprouts but those were absolutely amazing! I didn’t even think I liked Brussels sprouts! Haha The celery root soup is also not to be missed.
My favorites of the night were probably the seared scallops which were so mouthwatering and the sautéed potato gnocchi with wild mushroom which was probably the most filling of all the dishes.
Personally, my least favorite were the lamb meatballs. For lack of a better word they were just super «lamby» and had too heavy of a flavor for my taste. I think there was some herb in there that just didn’t sit right with me. But considering that was the only menu item I didn’t enjoy, I’m still super impressed with the food.
For dessert they brought out a tasty pineapple upside down cake with a cilantro drizzle (cilantro haters be warned) that was moist and delicious as well
Overall, it was a great restaurant. Be prepared to stay there for a three hours if you get the multi course option though and to get super duper full!

It was a spontaneous move to make reservations for a party of four this morning. I’m glad I did to finally visit Olivar. We were first in the door at 5:45pm Sunday evening. There was a sense of urgency since I’ve read via Capitol Hill News and Eater Seattle that the building/​restaurant was up for sale.
We were pleasantly greeted and seated near the back to enjoy the sunset through the stained glass window. I also enjoyed the surrounding original wall art Since it was the last week, we decided to focus on the Dine Around Seattle campaign. The regular menu and the specials on the chalkboard were tempting though.
Starters:
We shared a sliced baguette with an assortment of olives in an herb infused light olive oil — great way to anticipate the rest of the meal.
One had the Cream of Celery Root Soup topped with Sherry Wine Mushrooms.
It was velvety smooth, savory, complex, very satisfying and the mushrooms added the right amount of accent.
Two had the Plate de Embutidos which had thinly sliced Serrano ham, a generous grilled chorizo sausage, pickled vegies, cornichons, Dijon mustard, pork pâté, and accompanying crostini. That was a generous serving and I was lucky to have a taste of the pork pâté and pickled vegies.
Totally out of character, I selected the Belgian Endive and Herb Salad that was served chilled with ample citrus wedges and smoked trout. Again, a very generous portion and the flavors were balanced. Delicious!
Main Entrée:
All four of us selected the Braised Lamb Ragu Provençale with olives, spicy migas, and thin, delicate, handmade paparadelle. Most often I’ve had this type of pasta with a Bolognese. The lamb ragu Provençale worked well with the pasta. Perfection to me, however, the youngest of this party of four (a fifth grader) wished for more pasta. Yes, it was that good!
Dessert:
Two had a trio of Profiteroles (where tonight’s homemade ice cream was plum) and beautifully plated with a dark to bittersweet chocolate sauce (70%-plus perhaps?).
The other two had the Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Cilantro Crème Anglaise.
What caught my eye was the cilantro. Cilantro is one of those items that a little goes a long way. Or as our wait person mentioned, a nice touch similar to mint but without that cooling effect. I thoroughly enjoyed that the cake was served warm and the crème anglaise was on point. The cilantro was used with restraint. Again, this dessert was also plated very pleasing to the eyes.
We all passed on coffee service as we were all pleasantly full. On the way to the restaurant, I was pretty cranky and even crankier twirling around to find parking in the ever popular Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is a good sign that I left very relaxed, satisfied, and happy.
Overall, an outstanding experience! Tristanya who acted as both hostess and wait person was perfect. Knowledgeable, very pleasant, unobtrusive, and managed a seamless pace of how the courses were brought out, especially since the entire dining room filled up.
The items we had selected had generous servings and a great selection to choose from, all nicely prepared to appropriate temperature, flavor profiles, and beautifully plated. Kudos to both Chef Thomelin’s front of the house and back of the house/​kitchen staff that worked this evening.
I usually make it a goal to try someplace new to me during the many, many years of the Dine Around Seattle campaign. I prefer March because it is a signal that spring has arrived (loved the fresh flowers on the table). I hope that another future iteration of Olivar continues elsewhere. Tonight’s meal, for me personally, was worth the wait. In contrast to other recent Unilocal postings, our party of four had an excellent experience. Thank you!

I visited Olivar for an early Sunday meal. We ordered the celery root soup, scallops, and sardines. The food was true to the traditional Spanish style and quite tasty.
The atmosphere is darling, with custom stain glass windows of a harpie (half woman half bird) and candlelight. This is a perfect little spot for a quiet, romantic tapas dinner.
My only complaint is that the door does not shut automatically, and many customers were lazy enough to just walk in without closing it behind them– which made sitting near the front a little chilly.

Great service, great food. Ambience was good, although it was a bit quiet and felt a little too old for my girlfriend and I.
Regarding food:
We had clams for an appetizer, delicious. Main courses — a paella and the gnocchi. Paella was great, and the gnocchi, which we’d never normally order, was surprisingly light, makes my mouth water in recollection.
Service was attentive but not overly so — perfect for a romantic dinner.
We’ll be back, just hope the scene is a bit younger next time.

I was initially attracted here out of curiosity as I never been to a Tapas Bar before. Upon entering this venue from the brisk fall, with the sun giving way to the night, I find myself in a cozy, dark, warm atmosphere. The light is dim — the light diffusers are reminiscent of times past — producing the color of flame. While I can appreciate the ambiance, the lack of lighting can make it a challenge to read the tiny font menu for those who need corrective assistance for their ocular sensors.
Perusing the menu, I decided to try the sea scallops, with parsnip purée: the scallops were essentially seared. I wasn’t too drawn to the scallops — when I compare the scallops amongst my travels, it essentially lacked body, substance. I was debating on trying rabbit ragu, considering I never had rabbit before, but I wasn’t feeling adventurous that night. I may want to come visit here for the Rabbit — but I think I want to a more well-​known place for rabbit so I can get the best experience possible.
Service here was respectable, it was suited the needs for the night, but it was nothing to praise about.
While reservations are recommended — I think if walking by — popping in for a visit is worth it. I will visit them again if I’m in the area.

I think I am getting cranky in my old age. Olivar is a very nice restaurant, with an intriguing menu and an Old World European feel to the décor. My lamb meatballs were quite good, as was the butternut squash risotto they came with. But they didn’t wow me enough to justify the price and at $ 18 for a small plate (which was a perfectly adequate size), I expect to be knocked off of my chair.
The service struck me as a bit odd for some reason — I can’t quite put my finger on it but he seemed distracted and then someone else popped up partway through to refill the water and clear the dishes. It’s also fairly tight on space and I felt we were really close to the table next to us. I might consider coming back here for Restaurant Week or something similar where I could try a few more items at a discounted price and see if I can shake off my crabby mood.

Professional and relaxed service. Excellent food prep and interesting choices. A nice place for a date or dinner with friends.

Olivar… it looks like a house from the outside, kind of hard to find. Thanks to Unilocalers and their pictures, I was able to identify where Olivar was located.
When we walked in, no one greeted us, we were lucky enough that this restaurant was small an intimate so we spotted our party right away without any «guides». We had a set dinner menu, so there wasn’t much of a choice. When we were all set, the server told us the menu and asked if there was any dietary restrictions or anything that was not preferred. (I love that restaurants ask this… however…more on this in a bit) We had a couple of vegetarians and I personally do not prefer lamb (lamb meatballs were on the menu) and she said she will see what she can do about it. Okay… off to a great start.
The food came out as is, exotic and interesting mixture of ingredients, but to me, the food and flavours were a little underwhelming. First off, the set menu was served «family style» which I didn’t find appropriate, especially for prix-​fixe. the portions were super small so everyone literally had ONE bite. The kitchen did not deviate from their menu to accommodate for not preferring lamb and for the vegetarians. I believe our vegetarian friends were only able to eat about 3 dishes overall (which is the equivalent of 3 bites).
It is hard to talk about it because I felt that the dishes were well-​cooked, just not well flavoured. For the set menu of about 7 dishes, it was $ 40 per person, so not too bad. Regardless, I don’t think I will be coming back… although you may be better off ordering individual dishes.
Happy Eating!

My girlfriends and I went here last night to celebrate a couple of our birthdays. First impression, super cute and cozy. We started off with a bottle of wine and although they did not have any Pinot Grigio the recommended wine from our server was just what we wanted. I think I drank my first glass even before our server had the chance to come back to take our orders. I was a little disappointed however that our server did not come back around to pour us another glass of wine when our glasses were clearly emptied. This is definitely not a must but in my experiences of ordering wine the servers have usually been very efficient on making sure the glass was never emptied when wine was available.
As for the food, I went with very high expectations and I am happy to report it definitely met them all. The girls and I all ordered off the restaurant week menu and 3 of us started with the spinach and pear salad. It was just delightful! It was fresh and flavorful and all 3 of our plates were completely cleaned off. For our main course, all 4 of us got the Trout. At first the skin of the trout look liked it was brunt and thought maybe it would be dry but it was the exact opposite. The fish was so good that I found myself looking around to see if any of my other friends left any untouched, unfortunately for me, just like the salad our plates were completely cleaned off. Before ordering my dessert, i pondered which dessert to get for awhile and although I really liked my choice of the Pumpkin Crème Brulee I wish I went for the Profiteroles with Ice Cream.
I am giving them a 4 out of 5 because I found our server a little annoying. He blabbered on about the specials and about their menu. He came to our table at awkward times and talked a little too much when my girlfriends and I were in the middle of a conversation. He didn’t notice when any of us had empty wine glasses and never came to offer to pour or even ask if we wanted anything else to drink when our bottle was empty. Sometimes its the little things that matter.
I was also «accidentally» charged twice on my card and although the charge was cancelled immediately the amount was still pending on my side of the bank. Our server never told me this and I wasn’t expecting to see an extra charge and only found out when I went to go look at my bank statement online. I called the restaurant right away to make sure it was voided and the manager in charge was incredibly nice. He apologized and was very polite. He confirmed that on his end it was voided and that the money should be refunded into my account within 3 business days but due to the inconvenience he offered to send me a gift card to the restaurant. Although he really did not have to do that his generosity alone was very sweet. He made up for my annoyance with our server.
I will definitely go back for the food.

On the outside this place looks like a hobbit hole, more like a rabbit hole actually because that’s exactly what we ordered off the special menu. I ate Peter Rabbit, at least his loin… It was crispy like a roasted pig, and succulent. Sadly, it was that dish and the red wine that stood out, the rest were unremarkable.
I was excited to try the potato gnocchi but it was a fail. Well prepared gnocchi is supposed to be slightly crispy on the outside yet soft and subtle on the inside. Instead, the second my serving spoon touched the dish, it turned into mashed potatoes.
I usually order things off the menu that I can’t conveniently make at home. We felt optimistic so we ordered some lamb meatballs which were rubbery. The paella which I very much was looking forward to turned out to be a miss guided adventure. I’ll just leave it at that.
I’m a bit picky but I prefer chefs to be in the kitchen cooking instead of hosting. That night the chef was a host and our group was seated at a table right next to the door. I thought I could get used to the draft as well as people entering and leaving, but it tainted my experience. There were so many open tables and I really should have spoke up but I didn’t want to be that type of patron.
This place deserves a second chance maybe in the future, on a night when the chef is actually cooking.

I had a very enjoyable experience at Olivar. My server was friendly without being overly present. He was also very knowledgable about the restaurant’s food and wine offerings, and willing to investigate questions to which he didn’t know the answers (I have multiple dietary restrictions).
Both my dishes were deliciously prepared and beautifully presented. The ingredients were fresh, and the portions reasonable. Recommended wine pairings were delightful.
The décor of Olivar is also very interesting. When you go, make sure to read the history on the back of the menu!

I expected fantastic things from this place, but the food was pretty inconsistent. The ambience is very nice, but the people who work there can be a bit snooty even though the restaurant is pretty empty. The food came out well timed enough and the plates to share had pretty decent portions (I’d say about 3 dishes should be enough for two people). They kept the water flowing. However FYI — not much of a bar selection. No top shelf liquor.
We ordered the following dishes:
There was an anchovy, avocado, crostini special. We tried it even though the combination of fish and avocado sounded problematic outside of a fish taco format. But, why not, right? The problem with it was twofold: the proportions and the flavor profile were both off. The anchovy wasn’t acidic enough and the fish was simply a big slab of cold, smelly fish with pointy bones floating on two similarly bland foods. All you could taste was the fish even though there was a little tomato in there (somewhere). At least the bread added a bit of crunchy texture.
We also ordered the bread and olives. Those were great (pretty hard to mess up though)! The olives are delicious and flavorful and the oil is as well. Bravo on this one.
Plato de Embutidos (basically a meat plate)
Everything on this plate was pretty flavorful and what one would expect (most notably the Serrano Ham), with the exception of the chorizo which was extremely dry inside and out… and also the pork rillettes which were simultaneously runny, stringy and too salty. Ick.
Albondigas de Cordero con Almendras (Lamb meatballs)
Delicious! Also, the sauce was good. This was easily the best dish we had here.
Lemon & Herb Marinated Tuna
At this point, we were full so we weren’t able to finish, but from what we could tell, it was pretty decent. The chard was flavorful and tender, while the fish was good quality (maybe a little too raw on the inside).
All in all, it was just OK. Too bad because it’s such a cute place in a good location!

I am sorry but when it comes down to it, there is no absolutely no reason to eat here over Harvest Vine. Harvest Vine is leaps and bounds better in every conceivable way. It’s good to have competition to elevate our dining options but when it comes down to it, this is not in same league at all.
Sure, you can say most of the menu items are different and you can’t really compare that. You can even say perhaps they over seasoned and over salted every single dish that came out that night. You can even say the pasta is supposed to be undercooked. You can even make an excuse to say it’s not different «bad», but just different.
HOWEVER, you cannot say for the same amount of money, the cured meats (mind you those only require slicing) are of similar quality. I tried to give all the dishes a chance, and it’s alright when it came down to it but for the price, the quality of the ingredients and the preparation seemed wholly elementary compared to the master level of skill and exquisite quality of the dishes at HV.
Back to the cured meats platter, I felt like I just purchased and opened a pack of cured meats from Costco. You know, the $ 14.99 pack of prosciutto that taste like salt and non-​favor cured pork, not bad to bring on a road trip, better than eating at Denny’s but I don’t expect to be served that caliber of cured meats at a 3 $ Spanish restaurant, American 3 $ franchise restaurant maybe but not here and not like this. Hence, that is what bothered me, you cannot it’s a fair price to charge for something that is of that level of quality. Also, why would you overcharge on crappy cured meats, for god’s sakes you are a Spanish restaurant (or so I thought?)
It’s almost like buying crappy low grade tea leaves to serve at a tea house? I feel like if you are going to gouge people on prices, do it on the alcohol. Serving crappy cured pork at an unreasonable price point at a Spanish restaurant is blasphemy.
The staff was kind and very accommodating to our requests, the food however is simply not up to par. Do yourself a favor and go to HV instead.

Simple. Subtle. Perfect.
And this is only based off Olivar’s Restaurant Week menu.
I knew I’d enjoy my visit from the moment I walked in the door. Dim, golden lighting… the beautiful paintings on the wall (and it’s story to tell!). The friendly and super professional wait-​staff who seemed genuinely concerned I had a great time from the second the door closed. Atmosphere — romantic, welcoming, comfortable. I loved it.
Our three courses were decided on, an order of bread and olives placed… and we sipped on a ~very~ dry sherry while we waited. Food takes a little bit of time — whether that is the kitchen or just Olivar giving you room to enjoy your meal and company I don’t know, but the pacing was just right for a special night out. I’m not the biggest fan of olives, texture and taste both get me. But the plate they served us were delicious! Swimming in copious amounts of lightly herbed, perfect olive oil. Our lips and fingertips were glossy, and I was happy with my meal before the first course even came.
Frisee with a poached egg and a smoked tomato vinaigrette. Simple. Delicious.
A «charcuterie» plate with a light and decadent duck terrine, a surprisingly delicious pork pâté, and probably the best house made chorizo I’ve ever eaten. Firm casing properly chared — with an almost fluffy, spicy interior. Far too good.
My main entrée of trout with potatoes and green beans was again simple yet extravagant. More of that perfect olive oil used, fried capers which didn’t overpower but made my perfectly cooked fish pop… amazing. Plus those green beans. The best i’ve had ever. Cw’s pork lasagna was spicy, chock full of meat, and again rather delicious.
I couldn’t say «no» to the chocolate crème brûlée for dessert. Perfectly crisp sugar topping, decadent dark chocolate custard, with a delicious soft, and subtly almond madeleine to enjoy with. While eye-​rollingly good, the pineapple upside down cake with cilantro crema Chris got was divine. Buttery, moist, caramelized pineapple with the bright herbal cream. Incredible.
Restaurant Week introduced me to Olivar, but I will (Must!) return often for special occasions or just a romantic meal out.

Homely, quaint, quiet and dimmed, Olivar is a great place to dine with family, friends, or a loved one. Situated right next to Joe Bar, this restaurant reminds me of a cottage where your sweet neighbor next door would walk out of, inviting you in for a glass of milk and cookies.
Being in for the first time, I enjoyed the instant greeting and «how was your day» conversation with our server. When everyone arrived, we repeatedly asked our server different questions about the specials and dishes on the menu. Our server, Jessica, was very prompt to find out answers she did not know, otherwise very on top of what was what. With keen ears, she was also able to answer a question we secretly asked one another. We applauded her at the end and she appreciated our tests of menu knowledge.
I would not categorize Olivar as Spanish tapas, but rather an Italian dining experience. Every dish was amazingly delicious, perfect in seasoning (nothing was too salty) and just the fairly portioned for dinner and perhaps lunch the next day.
We enjoyed our meal and it ended with a «goodbye» and ‘have a good evening.”

This is why Unilocal is such a great resource. We’ve been driving right by this restaurant for literally four years. Even had coffee at Joe Bar next door and never even noticed it.
I’m sad we’ve been missing out! It’s a wonderful place. Tucked away right across from the Harvard Exit theater. This is a small place. The night we were there, there was just one waiter and a very nice woman preparing all the food. And what food it was.
The butter nut squash Agnoletto was phenomenal. We are lucky the foodie folks next to us recommended it. It was a perfectly prepared bit of fresh pasta folded over and the butter nut waserfedt sweet, savory and buttery at the same time.
We also had the spicy mussels and it was really tasty and very different. There was cheese, mussels perfectly cooked and just the right amount of spice. It didn’t overwhelm the delicate flavor of the mussel but complimented them very well.
The Brussels sprouts with duck were terrific. It is hard to get Brussels sprouts right but they did a great job. Perfectly roasted and flavorful.
We probably had too many savory dishes, but the lobster ravioli promised so much but in the end, it was buttery and savory, the lobster flavor seemed to get lost. On the other hand, this might be just our personal opinions. We’ve always like our seafood prepared to show the natural flavor to the utmost so for instance everything about lobster is completely biased by a week we spent in Maine trying every lobster pound listed in Unilocal.The miracle of a fresh one pound chick just caught and just boiled in seawater is terrific and sadly far from this preparation.
Finally the dessert was just terrific. The crème brûlée was perfectly done. With the top just right in its density. And so flavorful!
Anyway a wonderful neighborhood place not to be missed!

For the finale of the man’s almost-​two years of endless work toward a new talent (and my not-​always-​graceful endless nights eating and falling asleep alone), I asked where he might want to go to finally unwind over some plates, a bottle of wine, and a tucked-​away corner to reacquaint.
Where else? In our several forays to this spot since my last written recount, Olivar continues to be a place that on one hand we don’t visit enough but on another is consistently worth waiting for. No gentle cheese plate entry for me tonight; instead, the lamb pancetta — deliciously fatty just-​crispy rounds — atop crostini laced with a white bean paste, and a bowl of what must be some of Seattle’s very best mussels clinking in their opened shells amidst a green pool of salsa verde and an addictive broth I finished all on its own. Lamb albondigas, slightly spicy and perfect atop a lemony gremolata, and seared scallops surrounding a cake of tiny diced potatoes and sweet meaty tomato ribbons followed. And Spanish wine surrounded and suffused it all.
Those are the delights that merely four small (or not-​so) plates can bring for an evening. Combine with Brandon’s understated and knowledgeable service (I think he’s been the only server working the room every time we’ve visited, which only adds to the feeling of coming home), and my consistent forgetfulness of where I am (Seattle, New York, Europe, anywhere dark with old windows and simply creative, exquisitely executive plates), and a magical restorative night always awaits.

a solid choice for Tapas in Seattle.
The menu is a bit limited, especially for a tapas restaurant, but everything we had was very good.
Cantoulope and Serrano Ham — yumm
Lamb meat balls
Paella — VERY good, I’ve had some bad paella in my day, this did not disapoint.

**This review is based stricly on the Pop-​Up Dinner hosted by Chef Irbille @ Irbille’s Edibles on 03−05−12**
***This will be long… VERY long… so be warned ;) ***
My friend, and sous chef @ Olivar, Irbille Tablang Donia hosted his first ever Pop-​up dinner last night — featuring Flilipino Foods with a modern culinary twist. It was my first time at Olivar but after last night, I can honestly say it will not be my last.
My wife and I were immediately greeted by our server and seated even though we were early for our reservation. Water was quickly served via glass bottle that was left for use to use throughout the evening.
The restaurant is small and very cozy. It’s a completely open floor plan that lets you look directly into the kitchen and see the organized chaos that takes place in a kitchen. Olivar gives you a «cottage-​like coziness» with its hard wood flooring, dim lighting and wood tables/​chairs throughout. There is a room in the back corner that could be used for a private party (sepertated by a curtain) that could probably accommodate a group of 10 – 12.
Our server (forgot her name unfortunately) was very attentive coming back a few minutes later to explain how the menu worked that particular evening and also told us the wine special. I’m not a wine connoisseur, but I ordered the special and alI can say this; it was a red wine from Spain and it was good! Nice mild flavor that went well with the meal.
Now, for the food:
We opted to have both the «small plates» and «large plates» come out at once, so we could sample everything together. The small plates were served Tapas style — enough on a plate to share amongst two or even five.
small plates:
* Kumamoto oysters with mango & shrimp mignonette (Kilawin Talaba)
* Braised Carlton Farms pork belly with sautéed brussels sprouts & tomato sauce (Afritada Baboy)
— large plate:
* Tempura Black Cod with tamarind risotto & green beans (Pritong Isda)
The Chef also gave us a complimentary dish: pork rillette with toasted baguette slices
The Oysters were smaller than I expected, but that didn’t matter at all. They were the perfect bite-​sized oysters with flavorful mango and shrimp mignonette. Each of the oysters were served on top of dash of salt and when u put a little salt on top — it made them that much better! My wife doesn’t even like oysters and as soon as she ate the first one, she said, «They really good!»
The Pork belly dish was also awesome. I’ve never had brussel sprouts before this meal, and sadly enough, if any future brussel sprout I eat isn’t prepared and served like this, there’s a high likelihood, I won’t enjoy them. The pork was cook pefectly with a nice crust on the outside and a delicious combination of tender meat and butter-​like fat on the inside. The tomato sauce added a perfect accent to both the vegetable and meat — a non-​overbearing sweetness. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say, one bite of this pork belly + brussel sprout + tomato sauce was one of the most flavorful and texturally delicious bites I’ve ever had!!!
The Pork rillette was also very tasty. Neither of us have ever had rillette before but we’re both glad we had it. It was nice spread that reminded me of another Filipino meat — longanisa! It went very well with the crunch of the baguette! The only down side of this dish was that there wasn’t enough baguette slices for all the spread!
Last but not least, the tempura cod and tamarind risotto. Now, I wouldn’t consider myself an expert in fried cod, but let me tell you, this cod was cook perfectly! It had a very nice crunch on the outside and super tender & perfectly cooked meat on the inside. It also had a hint of lemon in each bite. The risotto was delicious and very well cooked. The tamarind wasn’t overpowering at all. When you think tamarind, you usually think «mouth puckering» sourness, but it was not the case in this dish. It had a nice balance of sour and even a hint of sweetness to it. After speaking with the chef after the meal, he said his inspiration for this dish is the Filipino soup, sinigang (a very sour soup). The green beans were a nice side to this meal adding nice color to the overall presentation and firm texture to the risotto.
It was a great meal conceptualized and prepared by a great chef! I apologize for my essay of a review, but I feel I had to share my whole experience and this review is only the tip of the iceberg! Reading vs. experiencing something are two totally different things and I hope to have done Chef Irbille justice!
You know you’ve come across something special, when you can walk away from a meal feeling satisfied. not just physically from the food you ate, but both mentally and culturally from the food you experienced.