everything looks better in sepia

I FINALLY got a group of friends together to try out Sepia which had opened to amazing reviews last year. I failed to make the reservation enough in advance so we ended up with a 9:30 reservation. The hostess suggested that if we came in an hour early, they'd try to seat us as soon as another table turned around. So at 8:30 on the dot I met my friend Jamie at the bar and we asked the mixologist for recommendations. I wanted something strong, dry and not too sweet. I ended up with the Sepia Mule and Jamie with the French 75. Both were handled with care and came out a beautiful color. Every sip of our luscious cocktails made us feel as if we were drinking our way through a portal taking us back in time to another era. The bar furnishing are really lavish and make you feel like you're sitting by the fire with family. We struck up a conversation with the couple next to us who were celebrating their 1st year anniversary at their new favorite spot and I decided that this too was my favorite.

By 8:50 the other two in our party had arrived and we didn't even have to tell the hostess that the whole party arrived - she met us at the bar and was ready to seat us. What a good eye!

The ambiance in the main dining room right behind the walls of the hostess stand is in one word: lush. The chairs - large and comfy. The lighting - dim and mysterious. The servers - on their feet and at our service. Our server explained the menu from top to bottom and started us off with a great French burgandy and two orders of flatbreads - the smoked apple bacon and jonah crab. The flatbreads were excellent and left us thinking we could survive the whole meal on just those. But the night went on and so did our stomachs. Megan and I had the bank cod with saffron noodles. The cod filet was cooked to perfection and the slightly sweet and spicy saffron noodles offered a nice contrast to the salty marinade on the fish. Katie had the amish chicken - the best she's ever had. She said the chicken was so moist and soft that she could just cut through it with her fork. Jamie had the skate wing - another winner. We were perfectly satisfied but not overly stuffed so we ordered three desserts (We had the apple turnover, a chocolate dessert and the peach cobbler) and another french red.

Come 12:15, the restaurant was empty and we were just finishing up! We hadn't even noticed that we were the last ones there. The server never rushed us and the other wait staff just finished their business quietly as they allowed us to top off our night out at our own glacial pace. What a night! Three courses, a cheese platter, two bottles of wine, a cocktail each, tax and tip set us over $80 a person. Well worth EVERY penny.