JF (28 January 2010)

Having read reviews about Four O Nine and listening to the word of mouth about how secretive it is and ‘if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t find it’, I was intrigued and booked my group of friends into Four O Nine and thankfully it lived up to the hype. Indeed winding our way up the back stairs of the pub, I had a few ‘where are you taking us?’ comments with delight only coming out when reaching the inner sanctum. The decor is shabby chic, but the restaurant is clean, as are the restrooms, very important. The small touches are what make the atmosphere in my mind and with small tables that neatly interlock to form bigger ones, not sitting in straight lines but at slight angles to create good conversational positions, fresh and plentiful candles on each table, clean glasses, nicely folded white linen napkins were all points that made the evening so successful. We were on the 50% off food offer and working off the set menu the choice was very good, with variety and something for everyone, even the fussiest among our party. The food was excellent, the staff became a bit overworked when it got very busy, but actually this left enough time for our party to chat and enjoy their evening between courses without feeling too rushed. The atmosphere was convivial to say the least and it seemed every other table was enjoying their evening as much as we were, when we left the restaurant was still full. I will definitely be going back and taking out of town friends to experience the delights of a neighborhood restaurant at its best.