The Standard — Restaurant in Cleveland

Great little spot with a very impressive menu. Almost to impressive because the kitchen was either understaffed or just extremely booked on the patio and upstairs to Keep up with their own menu. They were struggling to get orders out but hey I don't own a restaurant so I don't have much room to talk. Dining room was a little Smokey at times so not sure if they were having hood problems or not in the kitchen. However my experience was not defined by that as the dining room was nice and dimly lit for that intimate touch. Loved the brick walls and the bar was really nice and kept up too. The location was an old house turned into a restaurant which I enjoy as it gives it the space that special homely feeling as you dine. I did have several plates this evening starting with the bone marrow and a fresh beet salad. I've never had a beet salad before so I was rather impressed with the flavors and freshness of this dish. The bone marrow was ok and definitely had better. If you are a bone marrow lover take a pass here its kinda basic. There just wasn't enough bone marrow in their for me and the flavor was simple. Still a great dish but wouldn't go back just for that! I forgot to take more pictures of the braised Lamb Shank with shiitake mushroom risotto, frog legs, & the quail over cream corn. Needless to say the Quail over cream corn plate deserved a picture the most. The frog legs were pan friend or something in heavy oil and you could see it on the plate. The breading was falling off when you picked up a leg and therefore had to be cut with a fork and knife! For me frog legs should be picked up like a chicken leg to be devoured and this wasn't the case. That dish was a huge let down for me. The braised Lamb Shank was ok with the best part being the bed of shiitake mushroom risotto. The lamb was kind of bland but saved by it's "melt in your mouth" quality. Definitely glad I stopped here though as I was able to try a dish in a way that I never had before. The quail over cream corn was the dish that made the night. My date and I are still raving over the flavors and presentation of this dish. The bird was fried whole then stuffed with I don't know what.💗 I believe the cream corn was made with gruyere cheese. Ugh, my mouth is watering describing it on here for you all. This dish was hands down AMAZING! It is a must if you are ever in the East Side...

While I’ve heard many speak of “The Standard” in Collinwood, I had never made it there until Thursday, when my “foodie” daughter, (@thingsivebeeneating), planned my surprise birthday dinner there for our big family. The ambiance was so relaxing- dimly lit, sheers gently flowing between tables, a long beautiful bar, an open kitchen, and an outdoor garden patio area that truly felt like an oasis- you might forget you were in CLE on the eve of Halloween. It was lush, vibrant, and warm. The music that was piped throughout the restaurant, vacillated between “La Vie en Rose” and Frank’s “I Did It My Way”…truly transported you to a fine dining establishment in Paris. We were seated in front of the open kitchen. I don’t always enjoy this view, but the people in this kitchen seemed relaxed and happy to be there! While cooking, they seemed to have a camaraderie going- lots of smiles, and zero sense of being harried. (I noticed when a couple came in for dinner on the later side toward kitchen- closing, the staff there visually appeared welcoming nonetheless.) Our group shared several bottles of wine, tried the innovative cocktails, and also the old tried and trues. We loved our server, Nicole. She was knowledgeable, welcoming, and fun! She quickly delivered the complimentary, freshly baked rolls with a trio of tapenade, olives, and oil/balsamic. My daughter warned us to come hungry, as we’d be wanting to try several apps. We had frog’s legs, crab croquettes, tuna tartare, French onion gratiné, beet carpaccio, and escargot. Other seldom seen items such as quail, foie gras, bone marrow, Moroccan lamb sausages, etc. were also available. We took SO long to decide on our entrees- they ALL sounded magical. We had aromatic, Fez chicken (complete with tagine) served with Moroccan couscous, Dover sole, pistachio encrusted rack of lamb, Chef/Owner Said’s bountiful paella, 24-hour braised short rib, and an epic “bowl” of pasta bolognese. My daughter prearranged a brought in cake, so we didn’t try the desserts, but Said amped our finale with a round of fancy nut-and-chocolate-encrusted coffee concocted liqueur shots! (Insert chef’s kiss!) This dinner celebration was nothing less than over the top! We had a fantastic evening! It almost (but not quite) makes me anxious to age, just to celebrate...

The restaurant itself is a lovely establishment with live music, and in general, the food is good, however for my main entree (a filet), it was two different thicknesses, and one half, the thinner portion, was slightly undercooked (fine), however the other half was literally raw meat, when I ordered it to be medium, to the point that I threw up on my plate. Then, I get the bill, a $350+ dinner for multiple people with food, drinks, desserts, etc., and that is still on there, so we ask our waiter, Isaiah, who was a great guy, to take care of this. He takes it, and has to give it to the manager, Danielle (I assume based on business cards at the stand), who proceeds to come by our table and tell me that if that happens again, to just “give it back to them and they’ll heat it up.” I told her I wouldn’t be doing that after I literally threw up the steak because it was raw and that I’d like it taken care of- she then brings it back to me and only discounts it by half- I ask why, and she says, well it was explained to me that you ate part of it, and therefore you’re being charged for it. I then get very frustrated (rightfully so, in my opinion), just based on principle alone, and explain that she just ruined my day, and then she literally yells at me, and says “stop swearing at me”- I used one swear word in the conversation, and it was when describing my day- last I checked, that’s not swearing at her. I told her she had no right to say that to me, and to stop talking to me like that, she just left, and Isaiah came back, had adjusted the bill, and apologized very sincerely. He is a great guy, and we told him that, and explained to him that he would still be getting a great tip, but that I wanted him to personally tell his manager that she ruined the night, was ruining their reputation, and that unfortunately we would not be back because of her, and how she dealt with the situation. This manager lady should be fired...