Quiessence

Let's start this off by saying that I was never a "dainty dish" kind of guy. You know what I mean? You order a dish at one of those fancy places and then give you like a cherry tomato, few pieces of lettuce and a couple dots of dressing and they call it a salad. Yep - this is that kind of place. Not really, actually Yes these are relatively small sized courses, but they are BIG on flavor, presentation and quality. We were gifted a $200 gift certificate by our kids for Christmas last year and we finally were able to use it for a very soecial anniversary dinner this past Saturday. Picture this - you pull off of a relatively normal suburban road into rustic and homey feeling farmland. You will see rows of tree with mesmerizing lights that seems to create the effect that the trees are joining hands with glowing effect due to the lights that are string around each one. Once you park and enter the restaurant (there is indoor and outdoor seating) you will be greeted by a happy and smiling staff. The restaurant was truly a farmhouse long ago and it has been converted to this very special venue. We ordered the three course meal with both of us choosing the Ribeye steak. Understanding that this is a relatively long review, I must trudge on so I can pay this wonderful location it's due. Starter Course/Amuse Bouche: We were served a unique gazpacho in a demitasse cups that was vegetable based with a little succulent chunk of smoked Salmon within. Course 1: We had the most amazing corn soup for our first course. This soup was embellished with fresh vegetables that included a few crunchy chunks of celery. (That's my new stripper name - crunchy chunks). Course 2: The second course consisted of just the right amount of a hearty pasta dish. It was a potato gnocchi with a beef rib ragu. Just delicious. It was not too heavy or overbearing. Course 3: The meal crescendos at the presentation of our Ribeye. For transparency my wife ordered her's medium rare and I ordered mine medium well - I know, I know. That's just how I like it. So sue me. Well, the kitchen staff agreed and made it still much more rare than I asked for. But, ya know what? They know better than I do so I went with it. It was still fantastic. We ordered an Americano, which was one of the best coffees available, Lavazza. This was accompanied with Bread Pudding for desert. The ending to our dinner was magnificent. Our hostess asked us if we would like to tour the kitchen. We accepted with a little bit of puzzlement. We didn't know why we, of all people, received such VIP treatment. I know we really didn't rank higher than any one else so I'm guessing all guests are the VIP sort. Take the tour. It's very cool. And if you are lucky you will get a little surprise from the kitchen staff. One caveat - it's expensive. Like real expensive. No way around this. But you truly get what you pay for. So save up them shekels and treat yourself to a wonderful dining experience. It's worth every penny. Thank you Quiessence for giving us one of our most memorable anniversary celebrations ever.

Had dinner for two August 2024. The surroundings are amazing and the food, for the most part, was worth the very steep price. One food item that was truly bizarre: two small pieces of bread, already buttered, with a massive piece of plum butter and a dish of oil and balsamic vinegar. Are we to put the balsamic, oil, butter on the already greasy two slices of bread? Service was off. We had a clearly new person waiting the table, definitely could have used a more experienced colleague to help as a guide. Many details (like lighting our candle) were skipped. There seemed to be confusion about other things. But the real problem with the service was the speed of food from the kitchen. We had the three course menu and there was 45 seconds between when a plate was taken away and when another would show up. Give us some time to drink our wine and converse! On the third course I specifically said "can we please have some time?" And the answer was "no, the next course is being plated". The whole thing felt like a rush job. We were not offered a tour of the kitchen (as every other table got). Fine with us actually; the whole tour thing seems gimmicky but it's the inconsistency of service that stood out. Nonetheless we could see into the kitchen from where we sat in the dining room. Quiescence offers a table in the kitchen and I would advise against it: harsh strip lighting and what looked like uncomfortable seating.

We really wanted to enjoy our Chef's Table experience here but it fell significantly short of expectations. The kitchen itself was renovated a year ago and it's a beautiful space both for prep and to watch the kitchen activity. Unfortunately, the table has high backed hard chairs which are quite uncomfortable for a 3+ hour experience. The dining experience is extremely hands on with each station presenting each course as it was served. We really enjoyed meeting the chef/co-owner and it's clear that these folks take a lot of pride in what they do. Our first course was a chef's spread of cheeses, cured meats, jams, veggies and bread. I let them know ahead of time that I do not eat meat and was surprised when our board was served with meat items. I don't prefer to eat off plates that have meat on them. They were kind enough to put it on a very large board so the items were spread out and nothing was touching but I didn't care for that presentation. Overall, we didn't care for much of the menu. Many of the dishes were odd combinations of things that made them quite sweet which was off-putting well before dessert. For example, there is a foie gras macaron. The macaron is a regular sweet macaron. My version was served with pumpkin (which I happen to not like) so it was a mouthful of sweet served immediately after our chef's spread (which had a lot of very sweet jams). The menu was beet-heavy which neither of us like (we did try them in case these were different somehow but beets taste like beets no matter what you do). There is a lot of fennel as well and I found it usually overpowered whatever it was paired with. We very much enjoyed the French Breakfast Radish soup and the pappardelle. My mulberry mezcal cocktail was tasty but not terribly interesting and my husband enjoyed his old-fashioned but it was too sweet. I definitely had the impression that my non-meat items were inferior to what my partner was having. The value definitely wasn't as good. I got the sense that substitutions were made to give me something but the dishes weren't necessarily reworked to be cohesive or interesting without the meat. I love the idea of what these folks are doing with growing and serving much of what they farm on the property but I think it limits the menu and they end up forcing ingredients together that don't necessarily work. We did received a lovely basket of items from the farm to take home at the end.We had originally booked the The Brick Oven Experience but I received a call two days before to tell me there was a snafu and we had been double booked. They offered us Chef's Table instead (which is $75 more per person) and we decided to do that thinking we would do Brick Oven next time. However, given the expense of this meal and our enjoyment level, I don't think we'll be back.

This was such a magical experience, from start to finish! Every moment was wonderfully curated! You choose from a seasonal menu, and order based on the amount of course that you want. The chef brings out some surprise treats too!Pros: Farm to table: The flavors were really delicious and the dishes were unique, combining lots of different fruits and vegetables in ways I had never experienced. Romantic ambiance: The extreme attentiveness of the server, and picturesque location of the restaurant really make this a very special place to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. Definitely an upscale vibe!Cost: Let's get this out of the way, it is not cheap, and possibly a bit overpriced. However, it is a very romantic farm to table experience, and all of the flavors really pop and are delicious. To give you a range, for 2 folks, going with the option of 3-4 courses will be about $400 when you factor in the tip. Note: If you have special dietary preferences, I would recommend reaching out in advance or choosing differently-- for vegetarians or vegans, not a lot of meatless options on the standard menu, but they seem like such an accommodating restaurant that perhaps they could discuss options!

Absolutely beautiful.Seed to table menu :)The chef is creative and very handsome :DService was top notch!An absolute must for fine diners.Thank you Quiescence :))You can trust me, sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know ;D

Magical anniversary 7+ course dinner.Amazing food with great pairings of wine for each course.Fabulous experience watching the chefs make the food for us.Attention to detail with explanation of wine and food at each course was stellar. Julia, our server, was incredibly knowledgeable of the best wines to go with our dinner and extremely attentive to our needs. Each chef came over and explained their masterpiece and how it was made with the flavors from the garden. Fresh food that was cooked to perfection.The whole experience was amazing.We will be back!!

20/10 couldn't have had a better experience for anniversary. Staff is amazing. Did a a tour of the kitchen and met the chef

The food, service and ambiance were all spectacular. I'm vegan and it was my birthday they made a delicious 5 course meal for me. I loved and going and seeing the kitchen. The chefs were all lovely and it was by far as clean as clean can be. This place deserves a Michelin Star! Farm to table is rare in this world and to go and create dishes off their land is not only exciting by it's the most natural way to eat food. Get rid of the food supply chain and middle men so your food is actually fresh and not been on a truck traveling to you for weeks to months before you get to eat it. Amazing loved and will be back again!

Had a thanksgiving meal here and it was awesome! The atmosphere is beautiful, the food is tasty and the staff is friendly and accommodating. Such a great experience

Had one of the most enjoyable, tasty meals, ever (and I've eaten a lot of great meals) Fine dining in a relaxed and awesome setting. Every bite was awesome to the point of having the last bite of every dish being just a touch sad like when an old friend leaves after a great visit. Not cheap, but worth it. Oh, and the staff were awesome.