Wednesday, June 1, 2011

West Ave's Ava Kitchen & Whisky Bar

Another restaurant by Robert Del Grande's group.  Same owners as RDG, Stella Sola, Reef, etc.  If you're like me and you've been seeing things go up and in West Ave and have yet to make a trip, here's a review on one of the restaurant's in this new posh shopping center and a preview of the quality of businesses going in.
 My first trip to West Ave off of Kirby and Westheimer.  Gorgeous set up, I love it.  Very urban, posh, totally fancy.  I walk in am totally impressed by the decor.  Ecclectic, rustic, industrical, very pretty.  Tons of  different textures and style, from the exposed brick, exposed ductwork, concrete, rustic wood, velvet seats, contemporary fixtures, hot colors, totally sexy!

At our server's recommendation, we ordered the Ahi Tuna (light plate) for appetizer.  Definitely light, seasame, sour, fresh, totally yum.  Also at his suggestion, I got the pasta called "Pappardelle ‘Grandmére’ $15 w/ Duck & Wild Mushrooms".  Cathy got the salad called "Grilled Salmon Salad $15 w/ Endive & Apples Yogurt Lemon Dressing" and Natalie got the sandwich called "Chef Sandwich: Chicken $12 Salami & Crispy Speck Artichoke Mayonnaise".  My pasta was good, nice flavors, wide fat noodles which I really liked.  It wasn't gamey or too strong, but there were big chunks of meat I was almost scared to dig into.  The meat was stringy, I could see celery, good textures. 

The girls said their dishes were good too.  They also said their first experience wasn't so great so they were glad they gave it another try, this time going with the server's recommendations.  Always great advice if you want a guarantee of a good meal.  I thought our server was excellent, very knowledgeable and you could tell he genuinely wanted us to have a great meal. 

We ordered dessert too and it was delish.  Ice cream between two soft chocolate sandwich cookies topped with chocolate sauce and toasted hazelnuts, delish.

Definitely a good experience, atmosphere, service, food, great company...good stuff.  Great first try at West Ave!

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