We were originally scheduled to dine at Michael Mina's RN74. However, an hour before our reservation the restaurant called to say there was a leak in the Millenium Tower where they are located and they had been forced to shut down for the night.
What's a committed (with babysitters in place) group to do???? Phu and Winnie to the rescue! The Phan's were quick to act and found us a suitable alternate restaurant - Chez Spencer near the Mission. A great big extra thank you to our fearless leaders for finding us a fun alternate home for the evening!!
In attendance - many of our usuals. . .the Phan's (last prego DASF for Winnie!), the Minn's (both Ken and Mo!), Lehmann (announcing a new home purchase - congrats!!), and the Carter's including our newest member, Zoë (who did very well sleeping to all the white noise and I think will be invited back!)
Overall, Chez Spencer was a pleasurable dining experience. The cozy atmosphere is where they out shined, while the food was quite good, but service lacking (maybe that was to be expected given the French theme!) I would recommend this restaurant as a quaint neighborhood establishment, with above average food.
The ratings (disclaimer - I again have mostly forgotten the exact ratings. . .so diners, please feel free to correct me!)
1. Food = 88
We chose the chef's tasting menu at $60/person - a good value (before you add drinks in of course!) They were flexible enough to substitute one of the dishes for those not eating shell fish or fois gras. The bouillabaisse soup started us off with a bang. A bit spicy and creamy. The 2nd course was a choice between Fois Gras - rich, with a nice blackberry accompaniment - and scallops - cooked perfectly with a nice green sauce (not sure what this sauce was, but very tasty!). The main courses were either the filet mignon (tender, tasty) and sturgeon - both served with tasty mushroom morsels. Finally, for dessert we had a strawberry granita (good, but average - not up to the lemon/mint granita served by the Carters a few weeks ago) and a chocolate cake/pudding - perfect for those needing a chocolate fix!
2. Atmosphere = 92
Small, a cozy romantic feel, a nice buzz without being too loud, subtle mood lighting - perfect!
3. Service = 82
The pace of the courses was extremely slow, which would have been ok if we hadn't started dinner after 9pm and then been hovered over to leave when we finally finished the meal around midnight. Staff lacked much personality, and a switch to the closing staff late in our meal felt very abrupt.
See you in September!
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