A couple of years ago we fell in love with the throwback “Locke-Ober” holiday lunch (Fridays in December) at Yvonne’s. I was a bit late on the draw this year and by the time I tried to book, all the dates were sold out. I was able to get on a waiting list, and I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted on Thursday that they had a cancelation on the following Friday. We (Significant Other and Spring Onion, SO^2) jumped at the chance.
I should have inquired about the seating. We were seated in the Library, not the main dining room. Which is not terrible, but we were flanked by a party of 7 on one side and a very noisy party of 10 guys on the other. It got so difficult to hear one another that we bailed on desert. It raises the question, when does “festive” become “rowdy”.
About the food - we splurged on caviar and champagne service to start, a generous 50g tin served with potato chips, toasted baguette slices, diced onion, creme fraiche, minced chive, and lemon. Onward to apps that we shared, gougeres with a spicy pimento-cheese sort of filling (passable), coquille St Jacques (fabulous, tender, sweet scallops in a rich sauce, a generous portion) and a Ceasar salad (little gem lettuce instead of romaine, dressed nicely in a way that you could pick up the lettuce leaves with your fingers – a really nice rendition).
For a main we shared the chateubriand, served with roasted onion and brocollini, and mashed potatoes. The meat portion was ample for the three of us, but the sides were skimpy - enough for only one stalk of broccolini and about two tablespoons of mashed each. They listed the brocollini and chantilly/mashed available as separate sides, and we would have ordered extra if we had known the portions served with the chateaubriand were so small. The presentation of the chateubriand has lost it’s “wow” factor that used to attend this dish at Yvonne’s.
We had a pleasant enough lunch, up until the time the neighboring party of 10 made it impossible to carry on a conversation. However between the rather cold response from the hosts and manager to our concerns with the seating, the lackluster chateubriand presentation, and the rowdy atmosphere, I think it’s time we moved on from Yvonne’s for festive occasions. Taking your suggestions!
