The Continental

Bad meal, worse service.

Prices are high, food is bland and under portioned.

Service is terrible.

If that side of town wasnt "trendy" this place would be under or have 3 people sitting in the dark sharing soggy crap cakes...oops I mean crab cakes.

Go here for a great joke.

My partner and I visited The Continental for the first time last night.

Atmosphere: The indoor dining area is dimly lit (M said that he felt like he needed to turn on a light), which I'm sure is supposed to be romantic. Once you get past the high-top tables at the entry, the place is laid out like a long hallway with a long row of booths on the right and a unadorned wall on the left, which makes the dining space seem rather stark and plain. I would suggest creating an open kitchen next to the bar and moving the restrooms towards the rear of the building to add more interest.

Food: We ordered the crab cakes, the goat cheese plate, and the spicy meatballs. The two crab cakes were a good size, but tasted rather bland. The menu promised a crisp panko breading, but what was served was slightly mushy, with no large lump peices of crabmeat, as might be expected. The sauteed goat cheese with tapanade was delightful, but a remarkably small amount of food, served with only three toast points. For $7.95, I was expected a little more substance to this dish. The spicy meatballs (4) were wonderfully prepared and served in a delicious arrabiata sauce. A bread plate accompanied our meal: five small slices of baguette that were useful for sopping up the spicy meatball sauce.

Service: Our server was a pleasant young woman who freely offered recommendations. Two complaints: 1)we had to wait about 10 minutes between being seating and having our drink orders taken...and the bartender sat three feet from us reading a paper and didn't offer to help us. 2) the food came out all at once, instead of as it was ready (which is traditionally how tapas is served). This may have been the culprit for our soggy crab cakes.

Overall, the food was ok, but not at all what I expected for the price. I had the signature cocktail, which was good, but not something I would come back for again and again. I love the idea of little dishes, but the tapas at The Contenental keeps the diner wanting (especially since tapas are meant to be shared!). Trostel's Dish has better portions and the food comes hot to the table as it is ready. If you're looking for a romantic setting with great food and a wonderful wine list, skip this place and check out Dish.

Great atmosphere, but way over priced tapas for the price. I would go again, but I would definately eat first!

I have to admit, this restaurant brought out a little of the Midwestern rube in me. I'm usually first to complain about the tendency people have around here to seek out volume and cheapness over good quality. That said, I was somehow given the impression that a person could make a meal out of the appetizers at this restaurant. I suppose that might be possible for people would a certain kind of expense account and the need to impress a mistress, but if you ever budget your food expenses, this will not be your first choice for dinner. If your goal is more relaxed, say, a couple of drinks and a small taste of some really good food, then definitely go here.

The atmosphere in this place is fairly trendy but comfortable. There are brick walls and the lighting is kept dim. The restaurant is set in a rather narrow space, so accommodating bathrooms and a kitchen means the seating space toward the back runs pretty much in a straight line along the wall. The friendly staff is dressed nicely in mostly black. It is the sort of atmosphere that definitely calls for wine or a martini.

Speaking of drinks, there is a wide selection of bottled beers, wines, and cocktails. These are all reasonably priced: my wine choice (a Campo Viejo Reserva that I really liked) was $5 for a glass. I would like to go back sometime and try the cocktails.

The food is what will set you back some money. We ordered three appetizers (appetizers are in the $9-$13 range, some might be a little more.) The first one to arrive was a seafood brie encroute. It was basically a small puff pastry stuffed with brie and seafood with strawberries and canteloupe on the side. Very good. The next item was a wrapped asparagus dish. The asparagus was fairly woody toward the bottom of the stem, which disappointed me, but the ham it was wrapped in added a delicious salt kick. Our third appetizer was a chicken and chorizo skewer served with a vinaigrette dipping sauce. The chicken was incredibly soft and the chorizo had a nice flavor. Everything tasted great, but after sharing these appetizers with one other person, I wasn't exactly full. We decided to share a piece of chocolate torte to finish things off. Again, it wasn't as large as I was expecting, but it was delicious. I shouldn't have shared it.

If you can drop forty bucks on a meal, you might be able to have enough food to call it a dinner. For me, though, this place will be a nice late-night gathering spot to have a few drinks and maybe share one of the appetizers with a friend.