When Matthew and I dine out we aren’t in it for the meal, specifically.  We are there for the entire experience—how our server interacts with us, the ambiance of the restaurant and of course the appearance and flavors of the food.

Now when you live more rural like we do here in Humboldt the options are extremely limited.  But let me tell you, Restaurant Five Eleven in Eureka has got it nailed.

Matthew and I made a point of getting ourselves back to Five Eleven last night for two reasons.  One was because it was our anniversary and the other was because they had just reopened after a fire in the kitchen had them closed for a couple months to exact repairs.  We were both very excited to once again get our mouths on some food prepared by our favorite Chef locally, Josh Wiley.  He did NOT disappoint us!

This is how our evening progressed:

We arrived an hour early so we could sit at the bar and check out a couple of cocktails before dinner and try out one or two of the Happy Hour specials.

Matthew had his standard Grey Goose rocks while I was a little more adventurous and had the Paloma.  Being the photo op gal that I am I said to the bartendress, “please make it pretty because I’m gonna take a picture!”  She did a fabulous job.  A Paloma is Corralejo Blanco tequila, grapefruit juice and lime, on the rocks. I got a pretty garnish, as well.

Matthew was excited to try the Soft Shell Crab Taco.  He described it as “Big smoky seafoody spicy aioli bites and the onion pickles added just the right amount of acid.”

I had a bite and it was, well, interesting to me since I’m not a fan of soft shell crab but also worth that one bite.  It was a lovely presentation overall.

I decided to try the “something spicy, something pickled and something crispy.”  Except for the crispy, which I ate anyway, it was a great way to not have a ton of calories but still have something to nibble on.

Then we were fortunate enough to try the Escolar (a tropical white fish) Crudo with citrus herb vinaigrette, radish, sea beans and purslane.  Chef Wiley did a really eye appealing plating of this mouth watering app.

Next order of business was time to be seated.  What I forgot to mention is that early upon our arrival I let the hostess (might be two seating people) know that we really needed a seat with natural lighting.  Hey, you know we are going to take photos and lighting matters!  When I went to the podium to let her know we were ready to be seated she apologized that they had just seated someone at the table they were holding for us but they were moving them.  I felt bad but also really appreciated that they did that for us.  The other diners didn’t look like they were imposed upon too much.

First thing, Matthew ordered us a bottle of Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel from our server, Carrie.  We knew the wine would be delicious, and it was.  It also perked the interest in our server.  We truly appreciate a server that knows and loves wine and food.

The husband (of 12 years this night) ordered the Octopus Carpaccio to start.  It was well plated and well enjoyed.  I tried the Kale Salad which did NOT disappoint.  The leftovers found their way into my lunch the next day and still tasted fantastic.  It was a well balanced sweet and spicy with kale that did NOT require unlimited chewing.

Now for dinner—having had a little chat with the Chef, Matthew decided to have the halibut and I went with the New York.  Let me tell you that Chef Wiley’s passion and excitement when he told us about how and why he prepared the halibut the way he did convinced Matthew to try it.  The menu describes it with bacon, corn, shishito peppers, tomatoes, grilled polenta and sambal citrus butter.  We were surprised when it came in a cast iron skillet.  The risk with that is the heat of the skillet would continue to cook the fish but wow, it was perfect!  It was a large serving as well and in fact was dinner and will be in two lunches as well.

The chef convinced me to try the New York. Originally I was going to go with the Filet Mignon but Wagyu New York, he said, would be something I would enjoy.  I will say that he even was willing to cut a bit of aging Ribeye for me but I didn’t want him to do that so I went with the New York which comes with a roasted bone marrow, wild mushroom bordelaise, duck fat grilled asparagus and broccolini and shoestring frites.  It was elegantly plated and as expected perfectly cooked and delicious.

In conclusion, we had a wonderful experience at Restaurant Five Eleven. We look forward to our next food adventure with Chef Wiley, whom we know will keep changing up our options.

Restaurant Five Eleven

511 2nd Street, Eureka CA

707-268-3852

Restaurant Five Eleven