The Informalist

“Been here before, but it's been a very long time. We were passing through the area and looking for a place to eat. It happened to be a very busy weekend, and the Informalist was one of the few places that did not have a long line to get seated. Got in right away and seated for some brunch. The restaurant is spacious and well designed. It's a bit upscale, but perfectly capable of making people feel relaxed and welcome. We got greeted right away by the server and settled in with menus and waters. Our order wasn't complicated: some of the Custard Battered French Toast, a short stack of pancakes, and two eggs. I also ordered a London Fog Tea Latte (a little lavender, a little vanilla, and extra foam). It didn't take long for the food to come, but the London Fog took a while longer. The French Toast was amazingly good, and the pancakes and eggs were also very good. I was half done with my meal by the time my London Fog arrived, and the server was very apologetic (saying that the coffee shop was very busy). I might have been satisfied with that, but the London Fog was just okay. While there was some extra foam, the drink itself was flat, as if they just heated up the milk and mixed it with the tea. (They need to do a better job with polishing the steamed milk so that it creates a creamy texture, especially if they ar charging $8) Overall, a good experience, and a few tweaks would have made it excellent. Would stop again if I was in the mood for the French Toast.”

“We were staying at the Lismore (double tree) and decided to come here for dinner. We didn’t have a reservation and did have to wait a while - no problem as it was Friday night and busy at the hotel. The atmosphere was excellent, open kitchen, beautiful decor etc. We started with drinks and fries for an appetizer. The fries were crispy and hot with a tasty bernaise sauce. For dinner I got the tater tot hotdish - this was really good. It was a more elevated version of the traditional hotdish. My girlfriend got the lamb and it was just alright. The flavors didn’t work as well together as expected. The side was quinoa spaetzle with mint and root beer glaze that didn’t pair well. Overall it’s worth a trip especially of you are already staying at the hotel. I would try the pizza next time as those looked really good and were ordered at many other tables.”

“Lovely upscale dining experience. Our party’s selection covered the Informalist’s touted speciality, wood-fired pizza, a cheeseburger with French fries and garlic aioli, a ribeye steak, and gnocchi. Everyone was quite happy with their selection. The lemon tiramisu for dessert was sublime!”

“Grilled Angus Picanha w/ sunchoke, sunchoke purée, Swiss chard. Steak was grilled to the correct temperature but was tough in places, inconsistent seasoning. Some pieces without seasoning others heavy handed with pepper. The sunchoke purée was served cold as well as the aus jus. The chunks of sunchoke were undercooked/raw in center and Swiss chard was tough. For $42 this was not up to the standard. The pizza was the star and delicious.”

“Their food needs to pick up to their standard because I couldn’t pick up the pizza slice 😃 The topping slid off every time I tried to take a bite, I had to roll it into a burrito to eat it🙂 They forgot to give me a microscope for the micro basil in it, because I couldn’t see it with my eyes 😃 Maybe its because it was so micro it was ingrained in the atoms 🙂 The stars go to the rustic/ industrial vibe, but vibes don’t fill the stomach now, do they? Is the bill for the decor or the food? I am thoroughly confused 😃 (I decorated the pizza with pepper for it to have some flavor)”