uneven meal and experience - Jônt Washington - Buy Reservations
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😒 3/5 - uneven meal and experience
By 👻 @Flyer, 10/31/2021 3:00 am
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A few friends and I ate at Bresca for a celebratory dinner, and overall, though some of my friends really enjoy this place, there were a few service and dish execution miscues that negatively colored this expensive dinner.
I was the first of my group to arrive, so I perused their rather small cocktail list. I heard that Bresca was known for its cocktail list, and the theme was "obscure movies" or something like that. I ordered the rum and egg cocktail, which was fine except for the coffee powder that was sprinkled on top. I do not drink coffee and do not enjoy bitter flavors, so I would have gone with a different drink had I known this one had coffee. But no one ever asked how my drink was and it wasn't objectively "bad," so I pawned it off on my husband when he arrived and ordered a glass of wine. I did think it was odd that these "signature cocktails" had Grey Goose and Johnny Walker Black as bases. Those are totally fine liquors for a general circumstance, but when the food menu has gimmicky caviar service and pressed duck and the cocktail list is chock full of obscure mixing ingredients, it did not fit. Would you pay $18 plus 30% tax and tip for Johnny Black? Not even Red?
We were celebrating so we opted for the 6-course menu, as well as the caviar and the pressed duck to share. The caviar was nice, but is sourced from China. Not that it wasn't tasty, but Asian seafood is notoriously hard to source sustainably, and to serve it without the container (even though it may come in huge tins and not 1-oz bits) was not my preference. The duck fat waffles were fine, and it was certainly a different type of presentation with just some type of pear butter(?). Not something I would order again for $80/oz, but not bad.
The first course of bluefin tuna crudo contained too much gelatin and puff rice but really only had three bites of tuna. The concord grape underneath was too sweet and looked like blood from the fish. The second dish of sweet potato was very acidic. The foie gras vinaigrette was there to bind it together, but overall not a memorable dish. The third dish of sunchoke agnolotti and scallop was delicious, and the best dish of the meal. However, there was a lack of consistency because my dish contained whole macadamia nuts, which were a bit discordant, but others at the table had no macadamia nuts, so I am unsure what the dish was supposed to have.
Moving to the meat courses, the quail was a fail for us. Two of the people at my table had to send the dish back because it was cold. My dish was lukewarm, and overall did not have much meat. When the new quail came, it was much better fresh and crispy. The fifth dish of wagyu brisket was very saucy and made the meat an afterthought. (I am not sure why they have Australian wagyu instead of Japanese? There were all these ingredient choices that really weren't explained when asked.) The bit of leaf in the brisket was gimmicky and not chewable. The pressed duck was nice -- a very elegant dish. For my table, the dessert was too much. A huge portion of madeleines with various cremes, which was heavy after other heavy dishes.
Overall, the meal was uneven. I did not understand the progression of the set menu. I get it is fish, vegetable, fish, meat, meat, dessert, but there were savory dishes all over the place, and the sweet ones were overly sweet that didn't whet your appetite for what came next. The wagyu was the biggest misfire for me, with such a heavy sauce over wagyu -- how can you see the marbling and appreciate the delicateness of the meat when it is covered in inky sauce in an already dark room? It's more about hiding something.
Service was also uneven. No one really asked us how our dishes were ...except for the time when the dish was cold and had to be sent back, so I'm sure that made us seem like finicky guests. The servers spoke way too fast in explaining these dishes, especially since half the ingredients are not on the menu or laid out on the first pass. Also, the dessert came with "chamomile" tea, but my guest was allergic to ragweed so could not partake. They came back five minutes later to say that it's actually not chamomile and it's cardamom tea so it was ok -- this is for the main dessert that they have served to every table in the restaurant, so I have a hard time believing it was just a misspeak since they went back and checked? Had this server been saying the tea wrong all night/week?
The wine pairing was nice, but the white wine was served very cold. Also, three of the whites were 2020 vintage. I would think that the beverage director has better access than just throwing 2020's at their signature pairing -- none of the dishes (especially the savory ones) could work with a high level oaked Chablis? The Sancerre I had By The Glass was the best wine.
Overall for the meal, I unfortunately would give Bresca 3.3/5 stars. The cocktail menu did not impress, the meal was uneven, and there were service issues. The vibe and interior design had the air of Michelin one-star, but it didn't hold up under scrutiny, especially for as big as this restaurant is.
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