Irregardless

I've always heard it's important to date your spouse so Nate and I decided to implement a monthly date night. Monthly we switch off on who picks the date and november's date was mine and I wanted to treat Nate to a spectacular meal. 

I chose Irregardless located at 901 W Morgan St, Raleigh, NC 27603 because I'd only heard good things about the food and they had nightly live music. Another great thing about Irregardless is their expansive vegetarian menu! Vegetarian appetizers, dishes, and desserts, oh my!

Decor: good; the restaurant was bright and open with 2 dining rooms, a separate bar and a stage for musical acts to perform. Seeing as it was the beginning of Christmas season, it was also decorated accordingly and looked beautiful and welcoming. On the night we went, the live music was a husband and wife team who played jazz covers. It was a very nice accompaniment to champagne and bourbon. 

Food appearance: excellent. Every dish was beautifully plated, every drink expertly poured and created. Just look at it! 

Food taste: good. Nate and I decided to start off with mushroom fritters, off of the night's special menu. The fritters were fried but not greasy and came with an aioli that was spicy but the perfect compliment to the mix of mushrooms and made a great dressing to the salad garnish on the plate. I decided to order the poached salmon off the specials menu because it sounded fantastic, salmon poached in white wine, sautéed mushrooms, lemon sauce and some polenta. All sounded delicious separately but the end result wasn't very tasty. The salmon was delicious, the mushrooms were delicious and the sauce was delicious but when I took a bite with all the elements together there were just too many competing flavors going on and therefore, I wasn't completely satisfied with my dish. However, Nate's paella was phenomenal! The seafood was all fresh and perfectly cooked, the saffron rice was flavorful and all the elements of the paella were just amazing. 

Service: excellent. Our server was friendly, attentive and definitely added to our experience at Irregardless. 

Cleanliness: excellent. The restaurant was clean, tables were turned over quickly and there was nothing left in tables or on the floor. 

Total: 13/15

I would definitely return to Irregardless, I'll just stay away from the poached salmon special. Luckily for me, there were tons of other great looking dishes on their menu.