03/23/08

ok food- tiny portions

by philli1

i went with my parents and brother for easter dinner. my brother had the only vegetarian option- an eggplant dish- which for $25 was 2 pieces of eggplant, yogurt sauce, and a tiny pile of lentils. my dad had the lamb, 4 small pieces which were overly salty, and my mom and i had the colbi which was by far the best entree but again, the portion was tiny for the price- a small piece of fish with 5 baby carrots. for dessert we had the apple tart, which was tasty but nothing spectacular. overall the restaurant was overrated and expensive.

• Cons: $200 later, still hungry

12/18/07

Unexpectedly lukewarm service and food

by ismaelq

I took a dear friend to Annisa for a special occasion. Our first impression: the place was loud. We got a nice table, but it wasn't until a few of them emptied that conversing ceased to feel like an unnecessarily loud indulgence. Annisa seems to have an acoustics problem. The good news is: acoustics may be the least solvable of its ambiance-related problems. The restaurant has surprisingly dirty--in some areas filthy--walls that dim lighting does very little to hide and the quality of the food not enough to help one forget. It only takes a short round-trip to the bathroom to notice the magnitude of the problem. I find it simply unnacceptable that an otherwise decent restaurant, Michelin-starred no less, let itself go like this. Decorator/painter needed!!!!

Some people assume, often correctly, that a restaurant's physical exterior reflects its interior, namely the kitchen. I tend to agree; moreover, I believe that it affects staff morale, as in our waitress, who rarely cracked a welcoming, I-like-my-job, tip-me-well, come-again smile--not a hypocrite, I guess.

For appetizers, we had the seared foie gras with soup dumplings and the scallops with sea urchin. Since my friend had had the original Chinese soup dumplings hot, Annisa's version seemed cold and unremarkable to her. I'd say they were room-temperature dumplings a foie-gras slice above the rest. My scallops, on the other hand, resembled a lotus flower in presentation and mythological effect: a plesant drowsiness catalyzed by the silky freshness of a Pinot Nero, an excellent red to start and match light seafood with. However, I must say that this dish in particular could reach new heights if served at least warm. For entrees, my friend had the skate and I the lamb (matched w/ a full-bodied Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon). Both offered simple yet refined textures that formed the idealized memories of home-made classics. Our dessert was a well-balanced chocolate biscuit w/banana mousse.

• Pros: Above-average food. Excellent wines
• Cons: Ambience, Service

12/09/07

Gracious service, helpful waitstaff, Very good food

by johnjohn88

12/8/07 dinner at 8. Made convenient online reservation. Took female friend out to dinner. Seated w/i 2 minutes of arrival. Never heard of this place until I the day before I had dinner here. Selected this place based on the positive citysearch reviews here. These positive reviews are all on the money as I agree w/ them.

Relaxing place w/o being pretentious. Waitstaff helped us select a very good wine. Nice wine list. The food is a given. That is, the food is very good. The menu is short: about 8-10 appetizers & 8-10 main courses. Thus. I don't think u can go wrong. The highest compliment I can pay is that I would bring a date to Annisa. Yeah, this is from a guy's perspective. Female friend also liked Annisa too.

Good crowd. Had a good time.

• Pros: Gracious service, helpful waitstaff, very good food
• Cons: none