Restaurant Review- Zola in Penn Quarter

I really enjoy Zola Wine and Kitchen for a quick lunch when I'm downtown so I was thrilled when some wonderful clients of mine gave me a gift certificate to try the main restaurant. I immediately really liked the space because there was a fun dark bar with music playing that would be perfect for happy hour or after dinner drinks but it was totally separated from the dining room, so you could still have a nice quiet dinner. We were impressed with the kitchen from the start because the bread basket was fantastic. There was wonderful pumpkin bread that could have been a dessert and these salty olive rolls that were divine. My aunt and I both decided to start with the butter lettuce salad because it sounded amazing. It definitely was; lots of little orange slices, tart parmesan cheese (or "dante cheese" which is what I now see the menu calls it but for all intents and purposes it was parmesan) and crispy butter lettuce in a creamy dressing. Only complaint is that the menu claimed there were dates and my salad only had one little teeny date piece. I wasn't too upset because I decided on the three "tastings" instead of an entree and one of my choices was the rich bacon wrapped dates (DELICIOUS). Perhaps the kitchen thoughtfully skimped on my salad because they didn't want me to be date-d out by the time my second course came out? My other two tastings were the steak tartar with quail egg yolk which was rich and amazing and the chopped liver which was good but a tiny portion. My aunt got the Tuna entree and gave me a slice of tuna which was absolutely delicious, fresh and perfectly prepared. We opted to finish our bottle of wine rather than order dessert because we were so full and satisfied. I would definitely recommend Zola to anyone looking for a great dinner and I will most certainly be back!