As it stands now, a meal can vary from the sublime to the merely ordinary. First impressions are extremely important. Bread is a choice of fragrant crusty dinner rolls or slabs of deliriously buttery brioche. I enjoy his earthier starters, such as a green lentil salad embellished with wisps of mache and raw-cured duck prosciutto. But ravioli with dried tomato and goat cheese seems dated.
Main courses are generally better than the starters.
Yet when I order the sauteed skate wing one night, the delicate taste and texture of the skate are buried beneath an onslaught of disparate flavors. Slow-cooked salmon is as soft as satin, its subtle nuances overwhelmed by overly sweet diced root vegetables. The wine list shows the budget constraints of a young restaurant. I appreciate, too, that Melisse offers a cheese cart. But this, like the menu, is overly ambitious.