Blair and I decided to have a date night and ended up at a place familiar to us both.
The House is, as it proclaims, a house situated on lower Kavanaugh. Revamped, cafe-esque decor and a menu featuring a mix of genre from around the world, The House is a good spot for a casual meal, a craft beer, or a cup of coffee.
I had the fish and chips on our voyage, and the fries are delectable. The Diamond Bear Beer Battered grouper was good, though a touch underdone and in desperate need of seasoning (Channel Gordon Ramsey: "It's Bland!"). The tartar sauce was little more than mayonaise. Blair ended up with a Thai Curry bowl that seemed a bit confused as to whether it wanted to be a salad, a soup, or a curry. The sauce was delicious with a good amount of heat (about a 6/10 on the Chang's scale, more on that in the future). All in all, we had a pleasant time, but whether it was simply the company overpowering the food we will have to figure out with a future visit.
Fish and Chips on the Left, Thai Curry bowl on the Right
Menu: ★★★☆☆
A little scattered, but plenty of selection. No apparent theme, but due to its gastropub billing has a good offering of beer pairings for your meal. It's wide variety can appeal to just about anyone. The burgers are really quite good.
Food: ★★★☆☆
Food is consistently good. Nothing particularly outstanding, and often under-seasoned (if you are confident enough to take the salt shakers off the table, you better be dang sure you got it right). The appetizers are a bit lacking, and for a place where tapas could be the rule, a little disappointing. We had the hearts of palm dip, which was scarse in its namesake but overpowering with bitter spinach. A hit of citrus could have gone a long way.
Atmosphere: ★★★★☆
Clearly the strong suit of this pub. Lots of local art, an intimate feel owing to its house layout, and well lit. Has a side porch for outside dining and casual conversation. The central location and classic neighborhood make this a local favorite for a good hangout.
Service: ★★☆☆☆
A friendly wait staff, but serious lack of communication. We waited 10 minutes after seating to get a glass of water, another 10 minutes for a drink and app order, and another 30 minutes for our app. While we enjoyed spending a nice, long, casual evening together, a serious eating experience would have been frustrating. Service is spotty, which drops it another star, but can be quite excellent.