Público

There's nothing wrong with this room, which is roughly the nicest and the meanest thing I can say about it. It's comfortable and lightly worn, the kind of space you settle into without thinking; the market-driven format asks little of you and hands back about the same. So let's talk about the bill, because that's where Público makes its case. Nothing on it stung. Nothing on it thrilled me — the math shakes out to an even trade, dinner for money, no funny business in either direction. I kept waiting for one plate to make an argument for a second visit, and it never quite arrived, but I also cleaned every plate, which counts for something. This is a once-a-year place for me: reliable, unremarkable, and priced accordingly. On the right low-key evening, that's plenty.