For the second time, Miles and I went to Rice Paper. Last night was our 3.9 year anniversary. Maybe it's our sadomasochistic tendencies that inspired us to try again. Here's the review we wrote for the Rake Magazine three months ago:
Ambiance 3.0, Food 9.0, Service 2.0
What a confusing dining experience. For our anniversary, we decided to check out the much-lauded Rice Paper. We made a reservation and were warned that we could stay at our table for an hour and a half max. That's the first time we've ever experienced a warning like that, but we didn't think much of it until the rest of our visit unfolded. Upon arrival, (on a Saturday night) we were seated underneath a pungent pine wreath and right next to the traffic leading into the kitchen despite several empty tables. I asked to move to a bigger table but I was told they were reserved. Nobody showed up to sit at any of the "reserved" tables. So we ate our appetizer, the truly delicious tofu puffs next to the kitchen with pine infilitrating our sinuses. The food was great. I'd say more but we're running out of room. Service stunk through and through. Be prepared for amatuerish restaurant behavior. Superb food. Loved the pancake wrap with 3 sauces and mekong platter.
For the record, nothing has changed. We sat down at a really nice spot and then were told we had to move for bigger parties. They really need to get it together. I gave our hostess the death stare and they brought us a free appetizer. We're going to have to find a new date place.
