This Little Piggy went to 10 Downing

I had been wanting to try 10 Downing for about 8 months now.  I finally stumbled upon it last night, unknowingly, while trying to find a "Plan B" to Blue Ribbon Wine Bar.  Luckily, the wait was only about 20 minutes at 9:30 pm, and the atmosphere seemed to be just what we were looking for.  The triangular space focused its decor on one wall, including various paintings and creative pieces.  The place was lively, but not so much that you couldn't hear your conversation.  We made our way to the bar and ordered a bottle of Rioja from their small-medium sized wine list.

Upon being seated, we began to review the menu, which is broken up into small plates, appetizers, entrees and sides.  I decided I would create a meal of small plates in order to better experience the menu.  So much stood out, the bone marrow, yellowtail with uni, steak tartare, beets with burrata... the list went on.  I decided I would seek the advice of our waiter, I mean, he would know best, right?  Unfortunately, no.  When I told him what I was hoping to do and provided some of the dishes that jumped out at me, he sneered "Well, they're all different."  Clearly I knew that bone marrow and yellowtail were not remotely similar, I was merely hoping for some guidance.  This attitude persisted throughout the meal, although the rest of the staff was delightful.

Anyway, I selected the beets with burrata, wild mushroom polenta with manchego, and the steak tartare, and was pleasantly surprised with my choices.  The beets came first with a beautiful presentation.  An assortment of both purple and orange beets were placed throughout the plate, with delicious morsels of fresh, creamy burrata intermixed.  Then, the tartare and polenta arrived.  The steak tartare was one of the best I have had, however, I think next time I may forgo the polenta with manchego to try something new.  My friend ordered the roasted chicken, which comes in both a half and full order.  It was delicious, very moist, and the skin was nice and crispy, though it could have been a little crispier.  Additionally, we had ordered a side of the fries with truffled salt, which never came, though we were both full and definitely didn't need them.

The dessert menu also looked delicious, particularly the chocolate cake with olive oil gelato.  To my dismay, I could not eat a single thing more.  Good thing there is always next time.  While the food didn't blow me away, it was good, and I will definitely go back.