My husband and I had out first dinner at Trotter's a few months ago. He had the Vegetable Menu and I had the Grand, and we both had the wine pairings. It was great food, inventive and intelligently sequenced, I thought (more on that in a moment). I did think the service was a little stiff. Our primary waiter seemed knowledgable and capable of cracking a joke, but the rest of the extensive team of servers seemed tense and afraid of making an error. A few of them froze up upon being asked any questions and either didn't answer or got the main waiter. A mistake was made near the beginning (my husband was served the first course for the grand menu rather than the vegetable) and looks of horror were exchanged among the servers when we pointed this out. (They dealt with the problem well, by bringing each of us the vegetable first course to follow the one we'd already received, after asking my husband if he would like to try the course he'd already been served--bluefin tuna with avocado-basil sorbet). My grand menu included the tuna and Diver Scallop with Emerald Cove Oyster, Razor Clams, Fennel, Fingerling Potato and Lemon Thyme Arkansas Rabbit with Maitake Mushrooms, Confit Garlic, Red Wine Braised Artichokes and Grilled Treviso Millbrook Farm Venision Loin with Cous Cous, Chorizo, and Kalamata Olive Sauce Rhubard Sorbet with Spring Onion Marmalade Cashew Cheese Cake with Yellow Peaches and Star Thistle Honey I liked the overall balance of the meal and the fact that some slightly unconventional meats were used (as opposed to say, lamb or short ribs, which I've had on the tasting menu at TRU). Both meat dishes had interesting complementary flavors--for example the restrained use of the chorizo in the cous cous alongside the venision, and the fact that the rabbit dish included a tiny bite of rabbit kidney (unannounced on the menu, and admitted with slight reluctance by the waiter when I asked him what I'd just tasted--some people recoil, apparently). We got some complimentary small desserts (a creme brulee, a chocolate cake) as well as the ones on the menu and there were mignardises, which I admit were not quite as showy as the ones at TRU (no lollipops!) but did include excellent truffles. We had more fun at TRU--the room is prettier, the staff is warmer, and we were a lively table of four, but for serious attention to the food, we had an equally good night at CT.