9 Tilley Street
New London, CT 06320
New London County
Phone: (860) 443-8883
Fax: unknownWebsite: Visit our websiteEmail: no email on fileHours: unknown
by Shauna D. on When dineLA was announced, I immediately grabbed my fine dining partner, Ally B, and asked her could we pretty please go to XIV? Thank goodness she said yes!! XIV last week was my best dineLA meal. I arrived for my 7:30 reservation and said I'll wait for Ally at the bar. There I enjoyed a Tennessee Root Beer cocktail ($14). Listen, I drink straight alcohol on the rocks all the time. But occasionally I run into something so strong, I want to tackle it like a strong couga...I mean, strong woman I am. Good thing that just means taking a sip here and there while waiting the momentous arrival of Ally. We were then seated promptly and I gave Ally the seat facing the kitchen because I figured she would enjoy the action. From all her ooohs and "what's that" comments, I almost regretted it. But I had plenty of eye candy myself. All the staff is hot! A moment of panic set in when I viewed all the menus. I knew I was doing dineLA but this naughty voice whispered, "c'mon Shauna, you can do the 8-courses...it's only $64!). But no, I stuck to the three-courses. I was momentarily thrown when I realized the dessert I wanted had been replaced. I ended up ordering the sweet corn pork belly soup, tai snapper and the nutella pudding. My sweet corn pork belly soup arrived with four bites of pork belly in the bowl. The server then poured the rich and wonderfully sweet soup into the bowl. I savored every bite but having a bite of Ally's waygu tataki left me bereft. I liked her appetizer more! The crunchy pickled veggies with the beef were wonderful! She had the asparagus risotto which was just okay. I personally could not really taste the individual flavors of the dish and much preferred the boldly flavorful snapper I ordered. I just felt my snapper was so marvelous. I was full about 1/3 into the fish but could not stop eating. I was having another panic attack. WHAT IF I CANNOT FINISH MY FOOD? I was leaving the next day for a trip and knew I could not have leftovers. The my head cleared and my stomach gave in. Yay, I finished all that fish and every bite of the rice which had been formed into a cake of sorts. I have to note the fish was priced at $33 on the menu so to have a 3-course for $44 was simply amazing. Ally and I had ordered the wine pairings with our meal. It was only $21 which I felt was a fantastic value. I normally don't like chardonnay but that glass I had with the soup made me change my mind. And the riesling with the fish was fantastic. Then I was just amazed by the dessert wine which was almost 15 years old served with our desserts. What a lovely complement to the meal. Ally had the root beer float for dessert and I had some of the warm cookies that came with it. They were good but not the best chocolate chip cookies I've had. Originally I wanted the brandied bananas which was on the online menu but not offered the night we went so I went with the nutella pudding. It had a strangely sour foam on top that I later decided was passionfruit. The popcorn ice cream (thankfully not with bits of actual popcorn) was good but then I decided the pudding was just off. It was pretty dense and not in a good way. I didn't get a nutella vibe from it either. Shouldn't it be more chocolately? Hazelnutty? In any case, it didn't matter because I was extremely pleased with the food, service and wine. Even the $10 valet was worth it. Michael Mina, you did a great job! I'm looking forward to trying the "light" 8-course tasting some day.
by Rodney Vanorsdale on I've never had a problem with this bar before, but it never wowed me either. Then I went there with my BF for dinner and drinks around 6pm on a Friday. Things were going great, they hand Shipyard Pumpkin Ale on tap and I ordered the Guinness beef stew and their amazing french fries. I was so excited when the food came! Then a guy drunk guy at the bar leaned into our "table bubble" and continued to yell at the TV above our heads while spitting brown pieces into our food and on my face! Now, I know there is only so much the small female bartender could do (and she did it! She enlisted other male patrons to escort him out and gave us a free round!) but when we didn't eat the rest of our untouched food, they didn't offer to get new soup or fries and then they charged us for it! I got them to take the soup off... Probably can never go back there because I will always think there are mouth chunks in my food. PS - he was eating olives. Still, gross.
by Jamie L. on This place is definitely one for the record books....that is, if you LOVE electronic music. It is one of my regular stops on my yearly WMC trip. Last time we got a table for 8 with 2 bottles. Our bill including tip was just under $2400. Since the the guy that fitted the bill owned the club I worked for, I had a great time. If it was that kind of cash out of my own pocket....SO NOT WORTH IT! But hey, it's the Conference and the reason we flock to South Beach every year!
