F1RST Restaurant — Restaurant in Hawthorne

My wife and I had dinner at F1rst restaurant last night. After reading all the wonderful reviews we were very excited to give it a try. We arrived at a little before 5:00 for our reservation. The door was locked so we waited outside for a few minutes until the door was opened. The first impression hit us when the Chef, who opened the door, completely ignored us when we said hello. Ok, maybe a bad day! The atmosphere in the dining room was nice and they had low key piano music playing. Our waitstaff, Linda could not have been nicer. She was welcoming and very helpful. The menu is small but very varied and they did have a few specials to round out the selection. They started us with a delicious homemade roll served with an arugula pesto. Wonderful! We shared the grilled octopus and seared foie gras for starters. My wife had the pan roasted Pekin duck and I had the braised short rib special. We ended with the F1irst “Mounds Bar”. The two starters were excellent, among the finest foie gras and octopus we’ve eaten. That said, the presentation was sorely lacking. There was so much extra stuff on the plate that you couldn’t tell what was foie gras and what were the accoutrements. The octopus was cut into chunks and it was difficult to tell the octopus from the potatoes. The pan seared duck was flavorful and cooked to the correct temperature however the skin was not crispy. It was supposed to be served with sweet potato puree and Brussel sprouts, however there was no sweet potato and the vegetable was Chinese cabbage. The red cabbage and duck egg roll was good. The short rib fell very short of my expectations. The meat was perfect, flavorful and fall off the bone tender. Unfortunately the sauce was extremely viscus, salty and dominated all the flavors on the plate. Last was the F1rst Mounds Bar. Again, underwhelming. Here the presentation was great and the chocolate coating was very good. The coconut brittle ice cream tasted like plain vanilla coated in coconut. The flavor of coconut was almost undetectable. We had read in previous reviews how the chef came out to introduce himself and ask about the food. We were ignored by the chef when we arrived, and did not get a visit to our table. There were 3 other tables with people, so it wasn't that busy. We did get two visits from his mother who was very nice. Not quite the same. All in all for a meal that was $205.00 with tip, I do not think we’ll be heading back...

Every day on my way to work, I passed by this restaurant and was eager to give it a try. After convincing my girlfriends to join me, we were delighted that we did. Reservations are a must, and the fact that it's BYOB is an added bonus.

Upon arrival, the hostess was incredibly sweet, reminiscent of a caring mother looking after her family, ensuring everyone was happy and ready to eat.

As we settled in, another staff member provided us with water and informed us that our waiter would be over shortly to open our wine.

Our waiter, Anthony, was fantastic. He opened our wine and explained that the chef preferred the entire order to be placed at once, allowing for separate meal timings, which worked out perfectly.

To start, we shared the Calamari and Artichokes among the three of us, and there was plenty to go around.

The menu for the evening was outstanding, making it difficult for me to decide what to order as everything sounded amazing. I took a chance and asked the waiter to surprise me with something off the menu, which is not something I typically do, given that I am the pickiest eater you'll ever meet.

He assured me that it would be different from what my friends ordered, which I appreciated as it allowed me to taste their dishes.

When the food arrived, my friends had ordered the Portabella Mushroom "Wellington" and the Cabernet Braised Short Ribs, both of which were exceptional.

To my surprise, I was served the Grilled Grand Reserve Pork Chop. It was so delicious and juicy, and the sides that accompanied it, which I was initially unsure about (Braised red cabbage, bacon-Brussel sprout-shallot-potato hash, apple chutney), complemented the pork chop perfectly. It was simply incredible.

Chef Adam even came out to ensure everything was to our liking, especially since he had personally selected my meal.

For dessert, we shared the F1RST “MOUNDS BAR,” which was an absolute delight. Despite being quite full from our meal, it was too good to resist.

I couldn't wait to go home and tell my husband that we must return. I highly recommend this restaurant for any special occasion or simply for a lovely dinner at a unique...

As an 18-year Hawthorne resident, my wife and I were excited to not only try, but support a new, local, business.

I understand the restaurant is new and there are kinks to be worked out but my take away, in a word, was this.

The food was excellent, however the front of the house was a complete cluster and I’d settle for lesser quality food for a better experience.

I’ll clarify… we sat down and about 10 mins later the waiter came over introduced himself and walked away. He didn’t return for another 10 mins asked what we were ordering. “Are there specials?” Walked away again and several minutes later another waiter (who was very kind) told us the specials.

10 more minutes and our waiter came back, said nothing, and we ordered.

Tuna appetizer was great, like awesome.

My wife’s dinner comes out shortly after. 15 minutes go by, my dinner has yet to arrive and the waiter is nowhere to be found. Finally my wife flags him down and asks if my meal is coming. He said “fish takes longer”. Uhhh ok.

Another 5 mins, my dinner is brought by a runner. Guess what, we never saw the waiter again. I realized he was beside the hostess station the entire evening.

I enjoyed my food, but I could’ve used another glass of water or maybe some cheese or pepper, idk.

When I next saw the waiter I asked for the check because who knows when I’d see him again. In summary, he said a total of 14 words to us. I wish I was lying.

Food was terrific, so no complaints there, but the experience was kinda bizarre. If I go back, it won’t be for a while until they’ve had time to improve organization...