Orsay

Jacksonville's newest fine dining establishment recently hosted a few soft-openings where they invited press or social networking contacts to come enjoy a free cocktail and appetizer to accompany their meal from a limited menu. This tactic for generating a little buzz about the place and getting some feedback from prospective patrons seems to have been a great success and the place already seems destined to become one of Jacksonville's staple restaurants.

Since we have a reader base of approximately two people, we didn't qualify for the press run but were able to secure a reservation for the Friday before the Labor Day weekend in celebration of our anniversary and the purchase of our first house.

Located in Avondale, within the space formerly inhabited by Crush, the immediate surrounds are consistent with the strange mixture of luxury and poverty typical to the area. The decor within is nice and comfortable but not too ornate to be intimidating to common peons like ourselves. The staff is shockingly nice and, despite not even being officially open, highly knowledgeable about the menu, providing helpful insight and suggestions.

We started off the night with our complimentary cocktails. For the lady, a Strawberry Fields (citrus vodka, Cointreu, muddled mint, strawberries, simple syrup, fresh sour and pomegranate juice) and, for myself, a cucumber lemon zest martini (it was a close winner over the pear jalapeno margarita). I often find most cocktails to be both too sweet and overpowering but both drinks here were nice and refreshing. The cucumber in the martini fit surprisingly well.

Because I'd never had them before, my choice for the appetizer was escargots but, being a cheese snob, I really wanted to try the Plat De Fromage. The snails were well prepared but I'm afraid there's a particular component to the flavor of the gastropod that is a little unsettling to me so I didn't wholly enjoy the experience. However, if you're a fan of escargot then I'm sure you'll find nothing to complain about.

For our main courses we ordered the Wild Alaskan Halibut and the Shepherd's Pie. Both were exquisitely prepared with high-quality ingredients and sufficient enough to eradicate the possibility of cramming in a dessert.

Definitely a place you'll want to revisit, whether for a special meal or to indulge in a cocktail at the end of a hard day.

Orsay
3630 Park Street,
Jacksonville, FL 32205
904-381-0909