231 Ellsworth - San Andreas

My husband and I went to 231 Ellsworth last night to celebrate my birthday. He knew I 'd been interested in going, so he surprised me with the reservation. What an evening! Everything seemed to come together to make this a memorable experience. We even enjoyed a brief respite from the intense rain we 've been having a light sprinkle when we walked into the restaurant, and it was dry when we left. There is valet parking in front but we parked across the street in the Walgreens parking lot. The outside of the restaurant is discreet, only a dark blue awning with the restaurants 's name to identify it. There is a nice bar by the windows to the left when you walk in. The dining room is very elegant, with a ceiling reminiscient of the Venetian Hotel 's sky. The service is superb, with a coat check as you walk in, and multiple waiters to make your experience the best it can be. The clientele is a mixture of ages although mostly an older crowd due to the elegance and high prices of the establishment. Most people our age are not fortunate enough to frequent such a place the one other couple that appeared to be in their early twenties seemed to be celebrating a special occasion as well. I did notice one charming elderly couple seated across from us, and I hope that will be Ray and I someday. And the food, oh my the food. Ray and I both had the tasting menu, here is what we had: Amuse bouche smoked salmon with fingerling potato 1st course Nantucket Bay scallops, mango foam, curry vinaigrette, baby beets 2nd course: Big eye tuna, foie gras, shabu shabu 3rd course: Baby red abalone, uni essence, celery tempura, vadouvan oil 4th course: Pomegranate glazed duck confit, almond crumble, parsnip milk, pomegranates 5th course: Squab breast and smoked legs, prunes steeped in Earl Grey tea, fingerling potato tostones 6th course: Beef short ribs, rutabaga confit, mustard caramel, parsley salt 7th course: Turtle tart of soft caramel, candied hazelnuts, Godiva chocolate ganache, bourbon ice cream I enjoyed a glass of champagne at the beginning since it was my birthday. We brought our own bottle of Sarah 's Vineyard Syrah which paired wonderfully with every dish. Each course was delicious, not a single one disappointed. Indeed, we had a hard time deciding which was our favorite because we enjoyed them all so much. Ray 's top choice was the squab breast, while I enjoyed the beef short ribs the most. The sweet salty mustard caramel was delectable (I mopped up the rest with some fruit and nut bread they brought to the table) and the beef was so tender you could cut it with a fork. We both enjoyed the turtle tart exceedingly so many desserts in restaurants disappoint but this one did not. Mine was brought with a tiny candle placed in a two bite almond cake, which was a nice touch. We were also given two glasses of champagne to celebrate my birthday how nice! The best part of this meal is that Ray enjoyed it just as much as I did we both agreed this was one of our best dining experiences together, and we 'll certainly return on another special occasion when we can splurge.

I really enjoy every meal at 231 Ellsworth and always ask myself why we don't go there more often. The service is great but still casual and not as stilted as so many top tier restaurants where you are dealing with robots vs real people. If you haven't been go and enjoy, don't set your expectations too high and you will love it. If it's been a while since you've been, go back soon and just sit back and enjoy.

I found the tasting menu with wine pairing delicious and good value. I would definitely return.

The food was ok... Not worth the price. Services was very good.

We dined early and enjoyed the ability to converse easily in the dark room on a busy street. Our waitress and the food were both commendable, and if the wine list were more reasonably priced our evening would have been even more enjoyable.