Overall we had a good experience. Although it started off on the wrong foot when we arrived and saw that all parking spots in the lot section near the restaurant were blocked for valet only (mostly empty). To self park I had to go back towards the Homewood Suites and hike in but that was probably the only solid negative of the night.
The atmosphere was very nice, as mentioned by the OP it was possible to have a conversation without shouting! Much closer to the Rebuplic than 1860 in atmosphere. In fact I would say that CasaM and The Republic are neck and neck for the nicest dining environment in town.
The food was the highlight. I'm frequently amazed when people invest a ton in opening a restaurant only to serve mediocre food but that's not the case here, the food is very very good. The fixed price menu was billed as four courses but the small little loaf of (delicious) bread for the whole table is stretching the definition of a course. I would call it three courses. For the first course the choices at our table included octopus, beef carpaccio, fresh mozzarella, and fried cheesy rice balls - all were raved about. For the second course our table tried the Mediterranean fish, the lobster pasta dish, and another pasta dish, all excellent.
For dessert the highlight was the tiramisu which is not at all a traditional version but more of a tiramisu inspired pudding served in a mug but unbelievably good. The chocolate mousse was also not traditional, much denser than usual and served as a small scoop on a plate but again quite tasty. The least favorite dish of the night was the Panna Cotta, which was fine but the fruit was really just tiny plate decoration and the course was a small chunk of gelatinous cream.
As for the service, let's say they tried hard and I'm sure that once they get in the groove it will be on par with the food and atmosphere. In keeping with the trend in tip escalation, when the bill came it advised the tip calculation for 20%, 22%, and 25%. So for the three courses, bread, one drink each, tax, and the minimum suggested tip of 20%, it came to $115 per person.
The best local analogy I can draw is Petite Couchon food with The Republic atmosphere.