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Neighborhood: Japantown
"This is a quaint little karaoke bar in Japantown, in the Kinokuniya building plaza area. I remember a couple years ago it was dark and…" read more »
I'm now having a secret love affair with their sangria.
Please don't tell my recipe - she's the jealous type (Spanish you know).
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07/28/2008
Well I'm apparently late to the party on this one. 124 reviews and I just heard about it for the… Read more »
Tasty! I went there with a friend for her birthday with the intention of having dessert for dinner. And we did.
We started off with some champagne cocktails with sorbet in them. Unfortunately, where we were sitting there were a million little fruit flies trying to get in our drink! Really, there were a lot. We asked to move, and things were better.
We had a cheese plate, an apple tart and the vanilla brioche. Let me just say that the vanilla brioche was AMAZING!
They also brought us their homemade fudgcicle on the house (presumably because of the fruit flies?) which I could only have a bite of because I was so full. Luckily, when it comes to sweets, my friend is a bottomless pit.
I'd definitely go back, but it's really pricey. We spent almost $100 for two drinks a piece, two desserts and a cheese plate after tax and tip.
And they make all of their ice cream! Yummmmm...
I went here, approaching with trepidation. I mean beef in chocolate sauce. I know! Ew, ugh, gross, right? WRONG!!! This was awesome. It was savory not sweet. My drink, a lager with cayene peper and lemon paired well which was a shock in the sense that It just sounded a little off.
The decor is sparse but stylish, the art is has a surreal quality to it that I found pleasurable, and the service was attentive but not too clingy. I will be coming back often as it is the kind of place which is swanky but unpretentious. A rare pleasure in the city nowadays.
After dinner at Tsunami, we noticed this place across the street and decided to peek at the menu. It was compelling enough to go in...and we were seated very promptly (a Tuesday night about 9pm.) My first reaction was that perhaps the space is a little too big for what they are doing. The lighting/music/etc created an intimate feel - but at the same time the emptiness in the back was kind of a bummer. It was like going to see a show at a club with hardly anyone there and it just felt empty.
We each had a glass of port and an espresso, and shared one dessert - it was $40 bucks. The dessert, a chocolate cannelone with ice cream, was good - but it was TEENY TINY (we should have ordered two... but then it would have been $50!) The chocolate shavings were lacking - no flavor with the consistency of saran wrap. For what we paid, every bit on the plate (which only amounted to about three bites) should have melted in our mouth and lingered for hours.
One nice touch was that the chef came out and gave us two truffles - he said one was lemon and the other saffron... but they tasted the same. Maybe the saran wrap shavings warped our taste buds.
Yes, I would go back, though probably only for a more special occasion considering the price... and only if I was already in the area. The location makes it more of a neighborhood spot than a destination, so I guess time will tell if they make it.
Candybar is a nifty little addition to the NOPA area. Very good desserts, but slightly pricey for what you get. I'm sure I'll be back, but probably not any time soon. I'd love to see them expand their selection of ports to include some more interesting selections.
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So, before I get to the wine debacle, let me first comment on the food.
After filling ourselves up with pizza at Little Star, we headed over to Candy Bar for some dessert. Our first surprise was how empty it was - the last couple of times we'd tried to eat here, the wait had been in excess of an hour and we'd given up. This time, we walked straight in and were seated immediately, pushing a few tables together to accomodate our group of 6.
We ordered a range of desserts to share - vanilla brioche with figs and white coffee ice cream, a chocolate pave with milk foam, sesame candybars with preserved kumquats and sesame ice cream and something else with hibiscus sorbet.
None of the desserts really seemed to gel together, they had some interesting elements but didn't quite coagulate as a whole. For example, the vanilla brioche was tasty, the coffee ice cream was tasty and the figs were tasty. But none of them really went with the other. They were much better eaten as individual items than as a combined dessert.
Based on our eating experience alone, I don't think we'd be rushing back
However, then there was the "wine debacle"...
When we ordered our desserts, we also ordered a bottle of wine. A short wine later, the waiter arrived at our table with an open bottle of wine (with the cork jammed in the top) and a large glass of wine. "OK" he said "who wants to taste the wine?" Then he proceeded to disclose to us was that the reason the wine was open was because the barman had mis-heard the order for the bottle and had instead just poured a glass from a new bottle. But since they didn't have any other bottle of that particular wine, they brought it anyway - the opened bottle and the glass that had supposedly been poured from it.
It was immediately clear that this was not true. The opened bottle had barely a splash missing from it - just enough for the wine to be below the neck, but certainly not enough to fill the large glass that the waiter was passing off. The wine bottle also had numerous large drips of wine that had run down the side of it - most odd.
Also, when we tasted the wine, there was a distinct difference between the wine in the bottle and the wine in the glass. All at our table tasted it, and we all agreed it was a very different wine.
The next time he passed, we called the waiter over and asked him to level with us. We told him what we'd noticed about the level in the wine bottle and that there was no way the full glass came from that bottle. Additionally, we pointed out the flavor difference.
He maintained the story, even after we poured him a little of each type for his own taste. However, he went to talk to "that pesky bartender" to investigate.
A gent that appeared to be the owner or manager had observed the goings on and came over to investigate for himself. We explained again and he too went off to investigate.
Well, the waiter returned, this time with a different story. Now we were told that the single glass of wine was actually the last of a previous bottle with a splash from the almost full bottle. While this explained the missing splash from the top of our bottle, it didn't explain the difference in taste between the glass of wine and the rest of the bottle.
In the end, they comped us the wine plus sent us out an extra dessert.
However, we were left wondering exactly what went on with our wine. Theories abounded - from believing the waiters second story to wondering if the abundance of drips around the bottle indicated that the bartender had poured two open bottles into one. In any case, we were miffed that we had been lied to in the first case and generally left with a bad taste in our mouth that didn't just come from the wine.
So, my tip for you in all cases is that if you order a bottle of wine, make sure it is opened in front of you.
Warning: The portions bring the word "tiny" down to a whole new level. Of course, inflation's a bitch lately, and restaurants have had to resort to raising prices and cutting down serving sizes. But this is extreme! We had main courses and desserts here and then had to go out for pizza afterward because we were still hungry.
I think this restaurant belongs in Manhattan, not San Francisco. If you don't mind the ripoff inherent in the incredibly small sized portions, the food is absolutely delicious. But I don't think residents of the Western Addition are ready for this kind of experience.
I really wanted to like this place. It's near my house and an interesting idea for a bar. Good wine, but the desserts were a letdown. That's tough when dessert is what you're all about. Also, hard liquor would be nice. My wife said she'd heard they'd been through a few different chefs and menus, so maybe that's still an issue. I'll give it another try in the future and keep my fingers crossed, but right now it's a no.
Candybar
You are my world
You look so sweet
You're a special treat
Candybar
All I want to say
When you're with me
You brighten up my day
All I know
When I'm with you
You make me feel so good
Through and through
The way you walk
And the way you talk
You always look so good
You make me forget my thoughts
http://www.youtube.com...
I shared the sweetest meal with my sweetest gal pal here, and it couldn't have been better! All the savory and sweet small plates we had were delectable and heavenly:
- Chocolate honey glazed beets with goat cheese and kale
- Poached halibut with chorizo
- Pork belly with celery salad and peach sorbet (must be eaten together in the same bite -- this was my favorite dish of the entire meal)
- Kobe bavette in chocolate cherry cola
- Vanilla brioche with elderflower apricot/cherry pit ice cream
- Chocolate cannelone with chocolate olive creameux/vanilla bean ice cream
- homemade truffles
And of course, it couldn't have been complete without glasses of Kir Royale!
Many thanks to owner Tan, who made our evening extra sweet!
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The World According to Noelle
~Allergic Girl's Guide to Life~
Issue Update
I'm IN Love...
Noe's Thoughts:
Song: Love Like This by Natasha Bedingfield ft. Sean Kingston
http://www.youtube.com...
Let me hear you say,
you're the only one that knows me.
Love it when you hold me,
never find a love like this.
Let me hear you say, now I'll never be lonely,
look at what you've shown me,
never find a love like this...
xoxo's to:
Chef Boris Portnoy, Tan, Derek, Chris and Kevin!
Chef Boris creations are just HEAVENLY. No notes or post secrets needed.
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One relaxing Friday night, we wandered over to Candy Bar after stuffing ourselves with Little Star Pizza and excellent pinot noir. I LOVE dessert and this place was really cute, but the whole "nouveau" dessert concept was a bit much. I would have preferred some good ole classics on the menu in addition to some of their creative fusions. The chocolate molasses dessert with celery ice cream had too many funky tastes for me. The fudgesicle with cinnamon cream and corn nuts was decent but not spectacular. The vanilla brioche with creme brulee crust and apricots was the star of the night - I would go back for this one, the right balance of sweet - and I think the owners know this too because they brought this dessert out last.
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I like the concept and the space, but for a dessert bar, they should have good desserts. The chocolate sheets wasn't great. The vanilla brioche was actually very very good, but the apricot fruits on the side ruined it. Desserts were $8 each, but can be eaten in one big bite.
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A short walk from work can win a prize of a tasty treat and liquid sweets. Can't beat that exercise program. Boris is cooking something good up in that kitchen. Great addition to this neighborhood full of "bars'.
Hi, my name is Eileen and I'm a stuck up eater. It's been one month since I ate at a pretentious dessert place.
Ok so I went here after I ate at NoPa with a friend and the desserts here are a trip! The restaurant is really cute and cozy, smells of warm Mother Goose-shortbread-baking-bosom-of-goodness. Ports and dessert aperitifs are a bit on the expensive side but it a nice experience. I'd recommend coming here for a special occasion after that nice long dinner.
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The ambiance is sleek, warm and hip. But most importantly, the gourmet savory dishes and sweet desserts are to die for. we LOVED the Chevre Cheesecake..it was sooooo goooood! They also had a variety of dessert wines. We are definitely going back to try the rest of the desserts.
Lately my neighborhood seems to be coming up. This new restaurant serves up something a little different, which is a welcome change. The savory side of the menu was delicious and innovative while the sweet had me intrigued but wanting something more decadent.
Our wine selection and service was spot on but the quality of the music and decor left me feeling a bit lost in ikea. The colors are soothing but the seats are tightly packed and I am personally not a fan of the "communal table" trend sweeping restaurants. I also expect it will attract more marina girls and guys to the neighborhood, which saddens me.
This was a fun place to meet up with friends on a Friday night and pretend to be living in "Sex and the City" for an hour or so. The look of the place is sleek and decidedly artistic; the bathroom was lit entirely by candles, which I highly enjoyed.
It's not the kind of place you go to if you want to leave with a full belly. The dishes are small and offer a few intriguing, visually interesting bites rather than full-blown meals. I ordered the brioche and enjoyed the contrast between the hot richness of the creme brulee-like brioche, the cold, creamy cherry ice cream and the firm, vibrant apricot.
Go here if you want to feel hip and try some pricy yet daring culinary experiments.
"I know a girl who's tough but sweet... I want Caaandy!" Know the song? The Strangeloves had it right -- love IS strange and sometimes dessert is the only thing that will do.
My girlfriends and I went after work, and we were the only folks in the joint (literally). All the better for us though, because we got all of the lovely attention of the gracious host and friendly waitstaff. I think Candy Bar is supposed to be an after-dinner spot, but the savory dishes made it a fun shared plates place as well.
Pastry chef Jake Godby (Fifth Floor, Coi) has created an innovative little menu, half savory and half sweet. First, my faves: the pork belly with peach sorbet, and the PB&J -- a foie gras cream, peanut brittle and jam concoction -- was better than the sammies of my youth. I was disappointed in the beef cheeks, which tasted rather bland, even though it was soaked in caramelized onion broth and topped with a red pepper bonbon.
With a glass of Malbec, our tiny plates disappeared faster than you can say "where the...?" I sincerely hope this is the first in a wave of dessert lounges, for times of extreme indulgence.
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Doh! I almost forgot to review this place. Duuur. Might have been the fact that I was um....hiccup.
This was a totally unexpected treat for my friend and I, who shall remain nameless to protect his identity and not get him in trouble with his lady friend and young child. We were on one of our, oh shall we say, slightly inebriated nights together. (I know, me? drunk? what? Never!!!) Anyhoo. We were out causing a lot of trouble, kickin ass, takin names and numbers and just having a blast and Candybar popped on our radar.
Sweets, you say? I don't even like sweets? I am much more of a savory kinda gal instead of sweets, but hey, maybe they have champagne? And indeed they did, along with some great sweet tasting menus to boot. I can't tell you the specifics of what we had, but I know there were some yummy chocolate offerings and again, this is coming from the girl that rarely, if ever, eats chocolate.
As far as the concept of dessert bars goes, this one is a winner. The owners are sweethearts and they are all working hard to deliver one sweet operation and I say, give em a go! I know I will again, when one of the four days a year that i actually crave sweets occurs!
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I spent the day slathering my pouter with Sugar Doughnut Moment, one of my favorite Dirty Girl lip smackers. I got more and more excited about having dessert and wine for dinner. My pants matched my shoes, and my purse matched my sweater which matched my necklace. I was clearly still on a Sex and the City "fabulous" streak.
And then I learned Candybar was closed on Tuesdays.
So a few Mondays later, I met Nicole G. and Suzanne L. here, a place I had been itching to visit since it opened a few months ago. It's not exactly what I expected, as they have a range of savory dishes, but I still enjoyed the food, the location and the company.
It was odd how no other customers came in the whole time me and my gals were sampling their bites, especially since there's allegedly a dessert bar craze hitting the Bay Area, but I'll let that slide. The book selection that included one about chocolate almost makes up for that, but I still think the joint could benefit from a bigger crowd.
Their tiny dishes were very, very creative. They say the menu changes every day, but we decided to go with "beef cheeks" (haha!) with chocolate-covered pepper, pork belly with sorbet, beet salad with cocoa bits, a chocolate cannoli and something else I can't remember. The most interesting dish was probably a foie gras pb&j (foie gras mixed with cream and a jelly-like side), which I cold-heartedly enjoyed since it's probably going to be banned in California before long. I loved my drink (rose of pinot noir) and downed a couple with the meal.
The most fun part was realizing that these eccentric combinations actually work. It's on the pricey end, but copious bench seating and low tables make it a good spot for lengthy girltalk.
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The ambiance is very nice here and I love the concept. I'm thrilled the menu has both savory and sweet dishes. The service was OK at the table but the bartender was on it. That all being said: waaaay over-priced. None of the desserts blew me away (and one was actually terrible).
Finally, wtf is up with being closed on Tuesdays?? I thought Monday was the dark night for most places?
The perseco was good
The group tasting prices are weird because they charge a $10/person sharing fee but they don't increase the portion sizes. We got individual items instead.
Everyone was really nice and the ambiance is really nice. Great for a date!
The desserts were amazing! My favorite was the vanilla brioche. It was soggy like bread pudding and amazing. Let me try to remember the others. The thousand layer chocolate was good, but not great. The basil foam with coffee ice cream was good too. We all like foam! I'm talking to you, Mercel. The cheese plate was good. The parfe was amazing.
I was here with my BFF & she asked me to give this place a try. In my mind, I was expected this so call 'wine bar' to have more wine by the glass, to be at least 10 of each kind. I was a bit disappointed to see it offers only a few for 'sparkling wines' not even champagne of any desirable brands were offered!
Let's move to dessert wines, I'm no master, however, I would expect to have more Sauternes, Dolce,& Porto? I was surprised that they don't even have Dolce on dessert wine list?
Let talk about what my BFF ordered:
- Heirloom tomatoes $9, it was good but the mozzarella was blend!
- Pork Belly $12 was extremely SALTY for my taste,
- Piquillo Peppers $12 was over powering & too sweet for my taste,
- Vanilla Brioche $8 was the best dish of all.
The service was 5 STARS.
The decor, cozy, intimate 4 STARS.
Dessert & appetizer 3 STARS
Wine list by the glass 2 STARS, doesn't get my blessing this time.
I got to come back for another try!
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A bit pricey for such small portions, but absolutely delicious! It fits right in with this new wave of trendy businesses hitting the NOPA area. Great for conversation and relaxation. Excellent selection of wine. Desserts are amazing! 10 out of 10 for atmosphere and service. :)
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Julie reserved Candy Bar for a networking event.. Fabulous job Jules! and fabulous location!
CandyBar is a lovely new addition to NOPA. The staff is friendly and very attentive! The wine/champagne selection is perfect.. AND THE DESSERTS mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm WOW!
The vanilla brioche spiced cherries / feta sorbet is a MUST.. Feta sorbet scared me when i saw it on the menu, but trust your taste buds. it will dazzle them!
The cheese plate.. delicious!
Two thumbs up for this place!
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I have a new love and his name is "Madeira"! Seems that I sampled this potion in Spain, but for some reason, the memory didn't stick. This time, an impression was made! Thank you to the waiter who suggested I try this taste of heaven, and thank you for allowing the b/f and I to sit side-by-side while sampling those delicious desserts. My favorite was the chocolate mille-fuille, though we also tried the blueberry coffee cake (just because I HAD to know what the corn ice-cream served on the side would taste like) and the chocolate cannelone. I love all that is corn, but that said, corn ice-cream is just meh. The cannelone was good though. Definitely a date spot. Not much in the way of singles.
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Great space and fantastic wine! This is a cool addition to the increasingly crowded SF wine bar scene. This definitely a cozy place to hang out with friends or take a date. The vanilla brioche with spiced cherries and feta sorbet was worth every calorie, and our server suggested a lovely dessert wine to go with it. (There's also regular wine and savory dishes for those lacking a sweet tooth.)
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Great service, beautiful cozy place, definitely good for dates ;-) Dessert & wine, what else do you want?
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Yet another place near my home that I can get kicked out of.
At least here I have a shot at scoring some tasty port and/or desert before aforementioned forced removal.
Nice addition to the neighborhood.
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Candybar is my favorite new entrant to the continuing wine bar trend in San Francisco. I like that they are taking a slightly different approach by focusing on dessert wines (and yummy desserts). There's also a great by-the-glass list for standard white & reds, and the seating layout allows for a nice mix of larger groups and couples. Great location in the ever-changing "NOPA" neighborhood; perfect compliment to other gems like Bar821 and Little Star.
Tasty Deserts + Minuscule size + high price tag = candybar.
I won't argue - the deserts are VERY tasty, but that definitely comes with a pricetag and not necessarily with the size to match.
I love the desert lounge idea, I really do. If they were just a tad bit bigger I'd be psyched and it's be a 4 star review.
The standout for me was the Chocolate Brioche.
You may burst out laughing when you see the three cookie and 2 fluid ounces of mil you get with the milk and cookies (for $6). Don't say I didn't warn you.
Service was great and the place is very well decorated. I think they need to work on portion sizes and possibly price.
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Who doesn't want candy? I had been waiting for months for this place to open, since it just meant my neighborhood was just getting better. I wasn't at first sure of what to make of the concept -- a dessert and wine bar -- but appreciated the idea that people were wiling to take a risk on a concept they believed in.
I'd advise going on an off weeknight, after dinner, or perhaps to rendezvous after work (is there a law against have dessert before supper, I think not). In any case, it's the sort of spot that's best appreciated when not completely overwhelmed with people.
Find a cozy seat, check out your fellow patrons (or mingle with them), and let the staff help you pair up wines with a few dessert selections (or cheese, please!). There's a decadent sophistication to this sort of indulgence, and if you're lucky enough to meet owner Tan Truong later in the evening (especially on a Sunday when they're finishing up bottles opened from the weekend), you are in for a mighty night!
Or so I hear.
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Quality - excellent; service - great; atmosophere - fun. It's just too darned expensive! Yes, the desserts I sampled were all pretty great (though our group consensus was to avoid the carrot that accompanies the goat cheesecake). But really, the portions are tiny compared to the price. Not that I want to add myself to America's obesity crisis, but still.
I also really hate having to eat something when not seated at a real table. I felt all hunched over in our little booth, hoping I wouldn't drip on myself or the furniture. If I go back to Candybar it will be for a relaxed drink and I'll likely skip the dessert just based on my own personal stinginess.
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Wow, I can't believe this place got such good reviews. Yeah, it's super cute, the waitstaff is pretty nice, it's romantic. BUT...the food is not good. The a la carte desserts are blah, to say the most and the accompanying little drinks that come with the sampler are way too sweet. The cheese plate was also pretty bad. The whole point of getting a plate is to sample cheeses that have different tastes and textures. We got a plate with 3 semi-soft white cheeses that pretty much all tasted the same.
And this place is pricey.
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Best place in the city! The clan at Candy Bar make you feel right at home. But even better than being home because the lighting and seating areas are nicer, the wine is poured for you and you don't have to bake. The key lime pie was amazing, the chocolate mousse, the baked alaska.... it was really yummy! Great relief from the bar/club scene. Great date place and over rall it was an amazing evening!
Just because this ain't $hit you'd make at home, doesn't mean this place shouldn't occupy a sweet spot in your heart (or stomach, as the case may be).
Went in last night, a Thurs, at 10P and the place was packed. My friend and I took a spot at the bar and were promptly and warmly greeted. The bartender (also from -- his words -- the 'Set) gave some great recommendations. Rather, he helped us narrow it to two fruity sweet and two chocolate sweet. I'll admit the savory choices did seem a bit exotic, but again, we ordered exactly what we wanted: a well made dessert that was highlighted by some fantastic wine.
Fruity: Vanilla brioche soaked in custard, served alongside candied cherries and feta ice cream. They put the absolute right amount of each item to make each bite could be perfectly proportionate. The bartender recommended an ice wine to go with it, which I thought too crisp. My Rousanne/Viognier blend was perfect in taste and thickness.
Choc: The mille-fuille was divine. Fine layers of choc with an excellent choc mousse in between. Served alongside a madeira zabayonne (sp). I'd do that again a thousand times. The Priorat he suggested went toe to toe with the madeira flavors while staying grounded in earth - a difficult thing for a dessert wine to do.
Yes, there were more couples per capita than any place I've been in the City in recent history. But hey, b/w them and the rotating art display, you'll be entertained while our taste buds are taken to a whole other plane.
sometimes when i watch Top Chef on Bravo, I find myself wondering what it would be like to eat some of those crazy "meals" those chefs wip up on a drop of a dime. Then I shrug and eat more of my cup o' noodle.
well, lucky me, I got to go to Candy Bar and experience some desserts that seems like they were pulled from Top Chef via television ala Mike TV in Willy Wonka.
So I may not be sexy and had a refined taste like Padma... but these desserts were pretty damn good. Don't get me wrong.... they were expensive, but they were good.
This is were the reviews gets shady- i don't remember the names of the stuff i had, because they had fancy raise your pinky type names so I'll break it down common person style:
I got a tiny shot glass filled with strawberry stuff- that shit was probably the best thing I got the whole night.
Then I got "cheesecake" it was like a smear of cream cheese with some tatsty bits on top. eh, not to much a fan, but it was food all the same.
My friend got some chocolate business that rocker her world.
Then out waiter brought out some tasty as malted milk and a tiny cookie... which was BOMB! Who knew that milk and cookies could be so naughty delicious.
The setting was crazy romantic... great sexy mood lighting, lounge seating, games, books, like sitting in a fancy person's living room. A fancy person who's trying to seduce you.
The staff are really friendly and awesome... which is rare in such haughty places.
I have a massive sweet tooth. It already has a cavity and I'm candidate number one for diabetes. I just can't help it. I also enjoy a drink every now and again so Candybar is made for me. Consider that it's also close to my house and this place may single handedly shorten my life, but so be it.
The first time I went was on a weeknight and so the place was relatively empty. I had some port and really enjoyed the place. The second time I went was a Friday night and the place was jammed. I had a champagne drink with sorbet (this was during the heat wave) and tried their carrot cake and some sort of chocolate cake. Both were served with ice cream and were very good.
Dessert places and wine bars are never cheap, but I wouldn't consider Candybar to be overly expensive. It's worth trying if you have a sweet tooth.
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When I first walked in I didn't want to like this place at all. It looks like a restaurant/bar that you would find in the Marina (modern minimalist, track lighting, unnecessarily poshy clientele)- I was thinking to myself pleeeeeeeeease don't let my neighborhood be opening up to the "matrixfillmore" vibe!
I was more than pleasantly surprised with everything I ordered, as were my guests. We ordered three deserts and the cheese platter, which were all nothing short of brilliant! The tin roof sundae was topped with cashews to really bring out the richness and quality of the chocolate but still keeping it interesting. The brioche had by my friend Natalie (who can never get enough chocolate) was completely satisfied. Last but not least they even heated the goat cheese on the cheese platter to bring out the flavor. Wow. Yum. Wow...wait, didn't I already say that?
The wine list isn't too shabby either an our server knew exactly what to pair with desserts. If we hadn't asked, they do have suggestions next to each thing you order. We sipped happily along while nursing our sweet tooth's.
I wouldn't say this is a place I'll go to everyday, but it would be a great date spot or a way to top off a night out for dinner in the neighborhood.
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My three friends and I visited after my sister recommended it to me. Immediately, the three of us newly 21-year-olds were welcomed with the warm, hip vibe of the place. We chose a low table in the front corner by a street window, and we knew we were in for a memorable experience.
Looking at the menu, we prepared ourselves not to be stuffed after the meal. We decided on four entrees to share. (My favorites ended up being the "beef cheeks red pepper bonbon" and the "kobe steak.") While the dishes were definitely small, tapa-sized portions, each of us was able to enjoy the rich flavors of our choices. And, surprisingly, we were pleasantly full at the end of the meal (but I suppose Americans who are used to stuffing themselves completely would be less satisfied). We finished the night with three desserts to share, with a fourth comped by the owner when we told him how we heard about the place. Hands down, the chocolate cannelone chocolate olive creameux was sensational and kept us wanting more.
We will be back! Though, perhaps next time we will choose a regular table as it was a bit difficult leaning forward to eat a full meal...