Ombu Wood Fired Grill

After consulting my trusty yelp recommendations, I had my one dinner in Winston-Salem at Ombu Wood Fired Grill. I had a near mishap because this place is fairly new and on a new street, and when you try to get directions here, it takes you some where else. I didn't realize that until I followed my directions to a residential area. There was not a restaurant in sight. But one call to the restaurant and I got there fairly easily.
The place opened in October and it's quite beautiful. I loved the decor of this place, it was incredibly warm. The open kitchen's half wall had the most amazing tile, I was totally in love with it. And they had these beautiful wine racks. There are several dining areas as well, it's a sizeable place.
Since I'm a total lightweight, I stuck with my pink lemonade. The bartender was amazingly sweet and was a total pro.
Some complimentary bread. They just switched breads so the bartender had never tasted it. It was warm and delicious, with just a hint of some herbs. And paired with olive oil and balsamic for dipping, it was great. I told her she had to try it. With bread this good, I knew I'd be in for a great meal.
I had to get the lobster bisque. But it wasn't just any lobster bisque, it was velvety lobster saffron bisque garnished with blistered sweet corn, crème fraich, and bits of lobster. Whoo! This was excellent bisque. What's not to like about this soup? Everything in it was good. And I only ordered a cup but it was a very sizeable portion, for just a cup. It was nearly a bowl.
For my entree, I had the wood oven seared grouper with sweet potato-plantain hash, haricot verts, and a sweet chili gastrique. Again, amazing. This was a huge hunk of grouper, which is a thick and meaty fish. It was seared with a nice crust and cooked to perfection. The hash was also amazing, especially with the sweet chili sauce. And you know I love green beans of all kind.

This is an excellent restaurant, and would be an excellent restaurant in any city. Even if it were in a large city, let's say NYC or San Francisco, this would be an excellent restaurant. Winston-Salem is lucky to have a gem like this in their town. So for you locals, go and support them!