I was disappointed in the restaurant after a recent lunch experience. I ordered the chicken twist (a cutesy name for a chicken sandwich wrapped in a pita) and was disappointed to find that it was two very bland chicken patties almost ungarnished in an overabundance of pita. There was a bit of spice on the side, along with some raw onions, but not nearly enough to make it flavorful or particularly appealing. It wasn't cheap either. \r \r

The food wasn't bad, but neither was it noteworthy. We had scallops in a nice broth, but the scallops themselves were not seared enough and tasted a bit fishy. The coq-au-vin wasn't bad, though it was a bit dry. Service was a bit gruff and harried. For the price I would expect a bit more all around.

I had not eaten at JG in several years and was looking forward to my recent visit tremendously. I was, disappointingly, underwhelmed by the evening. There were unquestionable high points: the broth on the black sea bass was extraordinary, and the turbot was also very very good. The amuse bouche featured a duck confit with a ravioli that was outstanding.\r \r But the meal as a whole was disappointinly uneven, and just as there were high points there were low points. The crispy rabbit was, in essence, a rabbit mcnugget. Even the very good sauce with it didn't make the dish appealing. Several of the desserts were disasters: the deep fried pumpkin pie on the ""spice"" dessert menu was so heavily salted as to be inedible and the pastry under the apple tart was dense and mushy. \r \r At this price point and given the restaurant's reputation I had expected much better.

The location is great of course, but the food is not. For $18 I had expected that the hamburger would at least be decent, but I was wrong. Several fish entrees were overcooked and smelled anything but fresh, the portions were small and the prices were big. \r \r There were lots of beautiful people floating around the place, but clearly their priorities are to see and be seen rather than to eat a decent meal.

We had a terrific meal here last night. I have been skeptical of Rughetta in the past (without having eaten there) because the prices are a bit higher than other similar alternatives in the neighborhood. It is easily worth it though--the portions and the quality are both significantly better than the competition. The gorgonzola gnocci and the bucatini with spicy tomato sauce were terrific, and we had enough left over for lunch the next day.\r \r The only downsides were that our appetizer (a carpaccio) was a bit bland and that the wine selection, by the glass at least, is underwhelming. But a good, hearty bowl of hot pasta on a cold night more than made up for those shortcomings, and I'll be back soon.

Philippe is simply appalling. The food was subpar: the crispy salmon wasn't crispy. It was, however, overcooked and covered in a sickly-sweet sauce. The velvet chicken, which our server assured us was very spicy, was so bland that we asked for hot sauce on the side to give it some flavor. The only good thing we ate was the chicken satay.\r \r The service matched the food. Our waiter was pretentious and snooty but also inept. He (and the servers) put each and every dish in front of the wrong diner, both for appetizers and for the entree. One appetizer (the soup) didn't arrive at all until we asked where it was. It wasn't on the stove in the meantime, apparently, since it arrived cold. At the end of the meal we were presented with ""warm"" towels which were in fact quite cold.\r \r Still, none of that was the worst aspect of the meal. This is: we had iced tea. The staff regularly took the glasses when they were halfway gone and refilled them without asking if we wanted refills. Then at the end of the meal we found that we had been charged for 7 iced teas. If a restaurant intends to charge for refills, it needs to ask before refilling the glasses. Simply appalling. Especially at $5 per glass. Needless to say, we won't be back.

I have no great complaints with UVA, but neither is there anything in particular to recommend it. The highlight is the wine list, and I particularly appreciated the large selection of wines by the glass. The food is decent if not outstanding. The ricotta gnocci was pretty good but the veal ragout was disappointing. The dining room is loud, particularly close to the bar, and the service staff give the appearance of being constantly in a rush, though the service itself can be quite slow. For the money we didn't feel cheated, but neither will we rush back.