Tea ($4) is made from bags (okay, sachets), but in a pot. Decaf coffee ($3) is where coming early gets you the fresh cup. Desserts are fairly decent — though, again, the kitchen doesn’t balance flavors well, and some get lost. Pear-ginger tarte “tain” ($9; they meant “Tatin”) tastes more like ginger-pear, but the pastry is wonderfully flaky and the crème-frâiche ice cream is pleasantly sour with the caramelized fruit. Fig bread pudding ($8) just needs more figs or more fig sauce. But the flavors in the chocolate bourbon pecan pie ($9) seem to cancel each other out. I found the homemade ice-cream sandwich trio ($10) hard to eat, except for the burnt-sugar ice cream between the molasses cookies. All of the cookies were too crisp, so I couldn’t eat them as sandwiches without dripping a lot.
Service was relaxed and attentive, which indicates that there were no apparent nerves about the day’s bad review — though there were lapses between courses. The room is like a sushi bar; perhaps this is what designers do with small spaces.
As for the Globe’s review, it suggested that Lobby stick with bar food. I think Lobby should just simplify its menu descriptions, hold the salt and exotics, and focus on food that goes with wine. Then pick one dessert and pump it up.
Robert Nadeau can be reached atRobtNadeau@aol.com.
