$$$$Price: Very Expensive • Steak • Ashburn
Food was outstanding - even in the greater Washington Metro area where there are multiple Michelin Star restaurants. Everything was prepared with high-quality ingredients and seasoned just perfectly (well, except for the over-saucing of the appetizer sampler tray). The carpaccio was my favorite dish: melt-in-you-mouth, thinly sliced steak minimally seasoned and garnished with toasted baguette slices... I could have had just that for the entire meal.
All of our entrees were done just perfectly -- my smart-assed son cut his fake wagyu from Australia with a butter knife and then his fork just to show us how tender it was. The more traditional, American-bred filet mignon I had was prepared absolutely perfectly -- not overly done, not too raw. My wife's seabass was seasoned with perfection.
The desserts were all phenomenal -- from the mango sorbet to the carrot cake to the turtle cheesecake, all the dishes were "seasoned" just right for us. We usually HATE the typical American-style of over-sweetening desserts with tenfold amounts of the sugar that should go into any sweets, but this is one of the less than handful of restaurants in the States that does their dessert just perfectly from what we experienced at dinner last night.
The only food critique was that the kitchen over-did it on the salty sauce for the appetizer tray we ordered. The bites themselves were outstanding... they were dragged down by over-saucing. Even my 16-year-old son commented that the apps on the tray would have been perfect if the sauce had either been on the side or more sparingly drizzled on instead of flooding the dish.
The wine list is a bit limited but good enough for a nice dinner.
The best part of the evening was the service. Simon was so friendly, welcoming, and attentive, he made a special birthday dinner feel even more special for us. Thanks to Simon, an outstanding dinner turned out to be one of our most exceptional evenings out.
