Pullman

[Mlle Tatin]

I'm planning on dining at this newish resto next week and was wondering if anyone has had the opportunity to check it out.

I've heard good things so far... any reviews?

[Thesorus]

You don't really "Dine" at Pullman, you go there have a drink, a few tapas, and enjoy yourself.

I've been there a couple of times, once alone, I sat at the bar near the entrance, I had a couple of glasses of wine, with 2 set of tapas, one was dried meat with truffle oil on bread, and the other was their version of "paté chinois", with duck confit instead of ordinary meat.

the other I was there with some friends for an "apéro", we each ordered different glasses of wine, and split some tapas, I don't remenber the exact details, but there was some fishes, some thai-ish things, and a couple of other different things.

The wine selection was ok; a bit short for the "glass" selection, but ok for the whole bottle; but the small selection was very adequate, and the staff very friendly and in the know.

[carswell]

any reviews?

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MaeveH's Hour review

Tastet's Voir review

My impressions closely parallel Thesorus's. Great space. Polished service. Imaginative bites well prepared but not a place to go when you're really hungry. Pretty good wine list but disappointing selection by the glass. And your bill can add up. For a wine bar with the emphasis on wine, I much prefer Bû, though Pullman takes the prize for food and overall chic.

[iroc326]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you guys.....Pullman is way inferior then BU. Tapas wise, the 4 different ones I ordered were ok, but that's it.

Wine wise, that's where I had a hard time : 5 glasses of red !!!! That's it !!!! At bu you have about 10 reds by the glass, on top of the ones that are not listed.

Service was average.

Overall : 6/10

[sf&m]

Haven't been to Pullman, but Bu's kitchen has improved a lot since they opened. Frankly I've enjoyed Bu's small dishes more then Le Chou's which (on the one visit) was a dissapointment.

While it's still cold I highly recommend Bu's "Zuppa de canederli" - a light broth with small breaded veal dumplings - also called "soupe l'alto adige". The marinated octopus - "polipo e patate" - is terrific as is the standby "antipasto di verdure".

Not to speak of the wine choices of course......

[Mlle Tatin]

I finally made it to Pullman last week and had reserved for 4 at 8:30pm.

Two of us arrived first and were told our table was not yet ready, so we were shown to a little table sticking out of the wall with no chairs around it... Before we knew it, our coats were swooped away by an attractive young woman.

To my surprise, the place was packed. All types of people, young, old, dressed up, dressed down, filled the bar and the crooked zigzag tables. In the variety of the clientelle, there was a common denominator... this crowd was classy, modern, and in-the-know.

We stood with two glasses of white wine from the small but varied by-the-glass selection by the small table (one Steele chardonnay and one French burgundy, the name escapes me), admiring the glass (literally) chandelier, and the fun decor. Despite our awkward table with no chairs, we felt a great vibe from the place. We quickly recognized many faces, and started chit chatting away.

After a while of standing, I was relieved when the host came to announce that our table was ready.

We were shown upstairs (the nonsmoking section) to a small table for 2 people. a few feet next to it was another table for 2, but both these tables were nailed to the floor and unmovable. We told our waitress that we were hoping to sit at the same table as our friends, share tapas, chit chat, etc... and that this setup was inadequate. She seemed annoyed, and said she would "see what could be done".

We sat for another 10 minutes or so, and our friends arrived. The waitress pointed to a booth in the corner, a very cozy spot, where we all happily moved to. It was 9:15.

We sipped our aperos, and then ordered two bottles of a privately imported Italian red at $65. We also ordered tapas. Lots of them. We were hungry.

The tapas ranged from good to very good. I can't say anything was particularly exceptional, but then again, I don't think that's the point at Pullman. The food was exactly what it should be... tasty little nibbles to accompany the wine. The deer tartare was probably my favorite. The foie gras was also nice, as was the grilled cheese, the fried cod croquette and the trout won ton.

Note: the tapas at Pullman are designed to be a one-bite affair... therefore, seeing as we were somewhat hungry, we had to order a fair amount.

We were given warm towels before the meal. A very nice touch.

After perhaps a total of 15 very small dishes... we went onto dessert. I was intrigued by their cheese selection, but being the only cheese gal at the table, we opted for some dark chocolate truffles, an ile flottante, and delicious privately imported late-harvest zinfandel. All this followed by some very good espresso.

The service? A very nice woman, who was quite busy, as the place was packed, did a fine job. The service in general was a bit slow, but we were in no rush, and enjoyed the relaxed pace. Our waitress was courteous, professional, knowledgeable, and very friendly. When opening the second bottle, she took it upon herself to declare the bottle to be "off", and to retrieve another. All in all, very appropriate.

The only real bemol for me was the wine list which I found to be limited for a wine bar. Even though it's largely private imports, it remains very short and rather unexciting.

The damage? 4 people: $500. (yikes!) I guess we only live once, yes?

Will I go back? Probably for a drink or two, or a small bite to eat. I had a lovely evening. But next time, I will follow the advice of my fellow eGulleters, and make sure I've eaten beforehand. Being hungry can be very expensive at Pullman.