Central 214

Food:
5/5
Vibe:
5/5
Service:
5/5
Value:
3/5
Overall:
5/5

I've been to the Palomar twice for conferences, and was very pleasantly surprised at the food and service each time - I decided to go back to the restaurant - It was too crowded but the hostess told us we could sit at the bar and order there - First of all, my curiousity about the chunk of fresh ginger at the bar led my friend and I to trying "ginger Jacks" Whiskey, apple juice, and fresh ginger - YUM! When we got our food (herbed lamb and salmon sashimi) we switched to pinot noir - the cheapest glass was $14 each and the pour was small - I asked the bartender to "fill 'er up" and he did, but let me know that they have a strict 3 ounce pour. I don't know, sounds small to me. Anyway, the food was to die for - the sashimi was incredible and I practically fell off my chair when I tasted the lamb - savory but with just the right touch of sweetness. I want to try everything on the menu. Also they weren't stingy with the fresh bread and olives, both of which were great.

Elizabeth Eshelman Verified

1 year, 8 months ago
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Food:
4/5
Vibe:
5/5
Service:
5/5
Value:
4/5
Overall:
4/5

We have been to Central 214 twice -- the first time it was 4 weeks after it opened. The second time was a few weeks ago. It is WELL worth a visit. We will go back again -- lots of fun.

The restaurant is open to the bar / lounge area and the whole space is very West Elm-like in furnishings. Light and dark wood, clean, modern lines, dark grey slate tile floor. Makes for a very noisy place when voices, dishes and the house music are added in.

Music is W Hotel style techno-club-synth. But they also mixed in some John Lee Hooker, and other Delta blues, which was quite a (welcome) contrast. There's a chef's table that seats two right at the open kitchen bar and a long, high-top communal table fronting the kitchen that seats about 12. It was full when we arrived there Sat. for 7:15. And it's a very open kitchen -- even moreso than Hibiscus, for example.

We split Oysters Rockefeller to start and they were every bit as good as the ones we get in any of the finer places in New Orleans. We followed that with a grilled romaine salad with a vinaigrette and olives. Just excellent -- a little along the lines of the 1/2 grilled bibb lettuce head you can get at Thomas Ave Beverage & 2900, sans the blue cheese. Clumsy, though, as it came as a giant half-heart on an elongated dish that then has to be split up and moved to a round plate. But, our waiter handled it with grace.

My wife got the rotisserie Muscovy duck with a spatzel. The meat was very good, moist and so was the spatzel, with a bit of grease on the skin, but that's duck. Very good, but not great -- and 1/2 duck is a lot of rich food! I had the lamb sirloin (it was actually more like tenderloin) with goat cheese and oregano (very light) grits. It was EXCELLENT and the lamb was cooked perfectly rare, and sliced into medallions. My wife would not stay out of my plate. We cook a lot of lamb and that stuff was first rate!

They have skirt steak on the menu, which my wife had on our second visit. This piece of meat is amazing and very tender for such a cut. I had the halibut with herbs and it was as fine a piece of halibut as I've had.

We closed our first visit with a baked blackberry/peach crisp cobbler, topped with a scoop of pistachio ice cream -- again, just wonderful.

Wine selection is adequate and not overwhelming. There's very few less than $40. We did two half bottles -- a Merryvale Chard to start and a Hess Select Cab next. They have a bigger selection of halves than you see most places, too. The second visit we settled for a full bottle of Hess Select cab.

Go... you'll love the food and service, and the vibe gives you "Craft" at half their insane prices!