Louka is a restaurant which is doing the new trendy thing, small plates. We went there with another couple and shared small plates. Now I have a problem with this concept. First of all, I don’t like to share food. Secondly, unless everybody likes all the same things, you or someone else at the table are stuck with a dish that you don’t eat or at least would never have ordered. Lastly, the amount of food on a small plate is about one third the amount you would get on a normal plate for half (or more ) of the price. The service at Louka was abysmal. It took a long time for our first small plate to arrive. There was enough for everyone to have one small bite and then we waited another long time for the next small plate. Thirty seconds of eating and ten minutes or so of waiting was the pace of the evening. We had orders of root vegetable fries, pork ribs, seared skate, roasted lamb, cheese-potato-yam gratine and braised veal. All the dishes were well-cooked and tasty. We complimented the owner on the quality of the food but raised questions concerning the service. He admitted that he was having trouble finding competent waitstaff.
Mary’s grade – C-
John’s grade – C-