Top Notch on the Roof Top

 
I booked a reservation for the Roof Top Cafe with a good deal of apprehension. Despite unanimous good reviews online, I was still afraid that this was going to be just another "famous" restaurant in an area that thrives on people who generally don't come back (at least very often) -- gaudy, overpriced, mediocre food, and bad service. To my surprise, my fears were dispelled one by one throughout the course of a very tasty dinner.

As soon as I saw the front door of the restaurant, I instantly liked it. It was a small and subtle door-front that was easy to miss; it added just the right amount of mystery to be enticing without being unfriendly. In the middle of the hubbub that is Mallory Square, a lush small garden surrounded an ocean blue sign bearing the restaurant name. It was understated, as if the restaurant knew it didn't have anything to compensate for. And it put us at ease, telling us that the ambience was cozy and relaxed, but that the owners/management were very attentive to details.

A small white stairway led up to the entrance on the second floor. Since the weather was so gorgeous, we decided to request an outside table on the balcony, so that we could enjoy the setting sun and do a little people watching as well. Our waiter Andy was great. He was polite and not artificially friendly, helpful without hovering over us. We went with his two recommendations, the local snapper and the diver scallops. Both of which turned out to be the best picks for the evening. The snapper was probably the freshest and most tender snapper I've had. It was flavored by a shrimp gravy that had just the right touch of delicious without overpowering the fish itself.

 The diver scallops were every bit as succulent as the snapper. It came with a passion fruit mustard sauce that was a delightful dance of sweet and savory, tang and creamy. The potatoe chive pancakes that accompanied the scallops were also a very pleasant surprise. It wasn't greasy or soggy like so many other potatoe pancakes I've had. And the chopped chives kept my taste buds singing without giving me concern about my post-dinner breath.

The rest of the meal were also very good. The hearts of romaine (off the special sunset menu) were fresh and juicy. The creamy caesar dressing was excellent, though since I tend to really like the natural flavor of vegetables, I would have preferred to have just a little less of it. On the other hand, I thought the Denver lamb ribs were very well seasoned, but it was slightly on the dry side and could have used a little more sauce. Finally, let's not forget dessert. We had the key lime pie off of the special sunset menu and the bittersweet chocolate pie off the regular menu. The key lime pie turned out to be the better pick of the two. It was a great blend of citrusy sour and custard sweet. And it came with whipped cream to balance out the lime. The chocolate pie was very rich and full of delicious chocolaty flavor, but I found it to be a little bit floury. Had we had more time, I would have ordered a glass of port to go with the chocolate pie, which I think would have made up for the dryness. All in all, despite my picking of nit, I thought the food overall was excellent, and Andy's two recommendations were outstanding.

We finished dinner soon after the sun dissappeared below the roofs of the buildings across the street, but we wished we could have stayed longer. I really didn't expect it, but dinner at this delightfully charming restaurant turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences of our entire trip.