Desserts were the high point. The Gianduja was elegant and had nice contrasts in texture. The bitter orange sauce was a nice counterpoint. The Bambolini were warm and comforting.

Honestly, the place is a one star. It aspires to be a l’Impero or A Voce, but needs a lot more thought in order to reach those levels. I wish them luck, because that spot has been unkind to all of its previous tenants.

Question: was the radish amuse difficult to eat? it looks like the bagna cauda might leak out if you don’t pop the whole radish in one take.

Two small points:

“Tamanian king salmon”

Should that be “Tasmanian”?

“crostinis with a goat cheese mixture”

“Crostini” is already plural (one is “un crostino” in Italian).

Alberto L. Beretta,
near Milan, Italy.

(If you want to start, revise, better Italian for free, I’m here, babies…

The uni risotto was a disappointment. Gummy risotto without much flavor and no integration with the uni which was insufficient…. I hope they will return to, rather than abandon, the excellent concept.

While I think the food holds great promise, I didn’t like the room and am not sure how much scope there is for improvement. A cramped bar has no seating area at present (no standing area either) and while I was told that it would eventually be possible to order food there, I couldn’t see how that would ever be comfortable much less inviting. Our server was professional but buss staff were irregular and uncertain, appearing repeatedly to clear plates when we were in the middle of our meal.

I like Hearth a lot, but have always felt they aimed too high with the prices for what they deliver. Front of the house has a lot to do with that. I have had excellent waiters and bar staff, but have also experienced clumsy hosts and misplaced coats on a more regular basis than a restaurant of Hearth’s calibre, aspirations and prices should tolerate.