This is our third visit to Verbena. No complaints about the food. Menu is small, progressive and well done. Quality is very good and ingredients are fresh. Food service is good and the wait staff is knowledgeable. But the overall service is average. It is...BYOB and there is a charge for wine service. I recommend amending it to a corkage, as there is really no service. After the bottle is uncorked and the first few sips are poured, no one comes back and does any further "service." Actually no one came and did any water service either, even though we usually purchase a bottle of sparkling water. Our tab at the last visit, with tax and tip, was $171.00. I tipped 18% because of average service. And remember the tab does not include alcohol. Also, we were seated at a rather suboptimal table. We requested to be moved, but were given a story about the automated reservation system assigning tables (which I guess is written in stone). But a few minutes later another couple was moved as they did not like their table. We found that interesting. But then we were offered their table (the one they did not like), and we took it because if was still much better than our original table. Then came the espresso issue at the end of the meal. We ordered two single espressos, and were told that the machine was being "angry" and they were fixing it. Now the problem here is that both my wife and I have owned and run multiple successful restaurants, one of them being a gourmet coffee and tea house. Our espresso machine at home is a professional Giotto. So you can see, I will spot a bad espresso a mile away. The espressos served to us last night were probably the worst I have ever had. There was zero crema, and the consistency was thin. It might as well have been instant coffee. The espressos were also served in a double glass vessel. Albeit cool, and I love progressive vessels for serving liquids, some things should be left in their classic form; espresso cups being one. And frankly there are some amazing funky looking and artsy espresso service ware out there. My recommendation is to investigate those options. We will be back to Verbena. Most times the atmosphere is wonderful for an intimate dinner with a special someone or special friends. Last evening got a bit loud and there was some colorful language being thrown around. But this is not the norm. Overall, I like this place. The food is good, desserts that we have tried have been quite good as well. The price point is a bit high, but appropriate for their aspiration. They have been open two years now. A bit still to go to reach the aspiration which would match the price point.More