Cena

7:30 PM on Friday, December 7, 2012

Cena, Appleton, WI

Mathurin, Ellen Martinson (Mom), Chris Martinson (Dad)

I walked into the slim downtown restaurant alone, meeting my parents for a 7:30 reservation.  I was greeted by what appeared to be a manager and directed past a bar to the right and tables on the left, kitchen just past that, followed by the greater part of the dining room to our table at the very back by a window.  I was immediately impressed with the atmosphere and décor in a very impressionable downtown, contemporary, almost fine dining, bistro-style restaurant.  There were hardwood floors, brick walls, tin ceiling, wood tables and chairs.  I immediately directed my attention to the wine list, having a red and white in mind before veering to the menu.  The feature for the evening, bronzini (sea bass), was described on a small card separate from the menu, something I had not seen before.  The menu showed a lot of trendy entrées and appetizers, including a Wisconsin cheese plate, osso bucco, paella, sea scallops, a unique house salad and two others, steak and pork.  I decided on the paella, so I went with the Marlborough (NZ) sauvignon blanc for my wine.  Salads and soups were not included with entrées, but my dad ordered the house salad, substituting the house dressing for Caesar, and my mom and I shared the pear and gorgonzola salad.  My dad, cautious of all menu prices everywhere, ordered the cheapest entrée Pork and Beans and Mom chose the featured bronzini, which I was eager to taste.  Our server was pleasant for the most part but apologized for a slow start to service that I guess only he noticed (-).  The server already introduced himself and described the feature before I got there.  This is somewhat forgivable because it was at my parents’ request.  Three different types of bread rolls with vinegar and oil were brought to the table after we ordered, followed closely by salads.  I had high hopes for my wine since it was from Marlborough, but I did not care it.  I couldn’t be too picky as it was $7 and the only sauv blanc on the menu.  The staff all looked professional and busy at a calming pace.  There appeared to be two or three servers, a bartender and manager on staff at that time, although the bar was not within view of our table.  Although we did not experience any team service, our server was very attentive and knowledgeable.  Presentation of the salads and entrées was excellent without question.  We all enjoyed the food as well.  Our server did try to entice us verbally with dessert, but we had after dinner drink plans elsewhere.  He quickly took care of cashing out our check and thanked us for dining.

Service: 4/5

Attentive (+) and knowledgeable (+) server, no team service, uniformed servers, water for every table, guests all seated and greeted promptly (+), tables cleared and reset promptly (+).

Menu: 3/3

Very trendy (+) and concise (+) menu, decent selection of wines but nothing high end by the glass.

Atmosphere: 3/3
            Wonderful downtown bistro décor (+), nothing negative about setting.

Food: 3/3

Keep Calm and Eat On,

Mathurin