Ruxbin

I literally just got home from this restaurant, and not only am I happily intoxicated, but I was SO satisfied with my meal.  First off, it's byob, so it gets at least 3 stars to begin with.  Next, instead of the boring old break basket, you get POPCORN. Yummy popcorn with some kind of furikake (seaweed) seasoning. YUM.

My date and I both got the oysters for appetizers, and they were delish, but then again... we loooove oysters. Like, LOVE oysters. FYI, if you get to try the oysters, and it has the one that is being "lightly smoked" whilst you eat the first two, do not lift up the cup and inhale deeply into the cup. Unless, of course, you like the taste of camp fire.

We also got the pork belly (when is pork belly not good?!?), the steak (perfectly done), and the shrimp and grits (the sauce is a little salty, but also so complex in it's flavors).  And despite being full up to our necks, we ordered both desserts because when someone says "rocky road, caramel, fluff, something, something" and "pineapple, coconut, something, cumin, something" you do not refuse.  We literally inhaled the chocolate dessert in less than 15 seconds.  It was that good.  And the pineapple dish with the cumin... cumin, in a dessert... CUMIN.  Totally changed my life (in a good way).

It's a small (very small), intimate place with great service.  The ambiance is great, the background music is not too loud.  Just go.  I'm not entirely sure if this review is cohesive/coherent, but you should go.  Just make a reservation and go.

This is a super late review.... I was there with 2 friends for my birthday last year in May. I had read all of the reviews before hand and got there at 5p on a Sunday. We were seated right away. The food was amazing! I fell in love with the garlic fries :) and the lavender drink!

I would have given them 5 stars but the waitress that we had, was not so friendly. When we finished with our dinner, she was quick to bring the check. My friends and I hadn't even had had desert or finished our wine. She kept coming to the table every couple of minutes to see if were ready to pay, I would have understood if there was a long line for people to be seated, we would of left. BUT, it was a Sunday evening, and there were pleanty of tables open.

I will be back, the food was amazing, I just hope that waitress isn't there.

I went with a party of four last night. We arrived around 7:45 and were told there would be a 45 minute wait, but that we were welcome to wait at their communal table, so we did. They popped open our first bottle, brought us some stemless wine glasses, and we got cozy with the group already seated up there. As it turned out, they were ready for us within more like 30 minutes (though I'll admit time does fly with good company and wine).

FOOD: They start you off with popcorn. YUM and really a fun twist on the bread-as-carbs-before-dinner thing. Kind of wish they gave more. GARLIC FRIES WERE SO GOOD. Between the 4 of us we devoured two bowls. I had the hanger steak and it was flavorful and DELICIOUS. So good. Two others had the shrimp and grits (looked good, she ate it all) and the pork loin. Everything was yummy. That said, while it was all delicious, it wasn't quite worth what we paid for it. I just don't think 8 bites of hanger steak is worth 28 bucks. It seems like they're compensating for not making money off of alcohol by over pricing all of their food.

PRICE: I'm not really sure why Yelpers have put this at "$$" when it should really, IMHO, be "$$$." To me, one dollar sign means cheap as f*ck, maybe 8-12 a plate. Two dollar signs means in the 15-25 range. But, when each entree is 25-30 (not including any appetizers, mind you), I think it really ought to be "$$$." No big deal... just a nit picky thing I noticed.

BATHROOMS: CRAP! I didn't try them. But I've read awesome things and it does look cool from the outside. It's like a spinning metal door. Looks like you're going down into a submarine.

Why isn't it 5 stars? I don't know. It's just not. A few things...
-It's VERY small. There is not a lot of room to move around and wait for your table.
-Kind of overpriced. The food is delicious, yes, but like I said, I think they're compensating for not being able to make money off of alcohol by making their food expensive.