Larimar M.
Yelp
I never write bad reviews, but this place ticked me off. As a disclaimer we had a large group. We agreed before-hand on a limited menu for the evening which is understandable considering the size of our group.
I would describe my family as a group with great taste, that's pretty easy to please as long as you come through with what is promised. The night started well as the place is very elegant. We had great tables and were seated promptly. The breads were delicious. and they came out giving us our choice of still or sparkling water.
Our choices for dinner were... North Carolina Flounder, Colorado Lamb Leg Persillade, New York Strip 10 oz., and the "Special" Rib Rack.
The Lamb: I have had lamb and prepared it countless times and I love it. Three people in our party ordered it. My friend sitting next to me was asked the temp for her lamb, and she chose medium rare. I got to see and taste hers. It was cooked all the way through (not even pink, much less medium rare) and the texture was gross. It tasted like minced up boiled lamb meat. When we asked them why it tasted like they boiled the lamb, he responded with "The lamb is sous-vide" (had to Google the spelling of that lol) horrible choice and they should have told us that before-hand because we never expected this, considering they asked us what temperature we wanted the lamb. All three people who ordered it (before even discussing it with each other) sent it back. Over-all... gross.
The Special: "Rib Rack." We were all extremely excited about this dish. There were 6 left and we ordered all 6! We had never heard of Rib Rack before but the server explained it was similar to a Rib Eye. Considering Rib Eye is my favorite cut, this was the dish I ordered. What was it actually... two narrow pieces of flank-looking steak with a chuck of fat running through it. It was edible but def not worth "5 stars" or $36. I wouldn't even give it 3 stars. IDK where this waiter got that it's "like a rib eye" I'm still perplexed as to what he could have been thinking.
The Strip and Flounder: these were good. I guess we can give credit on the Flounder... the New York... as long as you get the temp right you can't really mess that one up, but whatever any "5 star" charging $56 for 10oz better get that right.
The Sides: came out family style, which is cool... BUT... they came out after we were half done with our dishes!!! The mash potatoes were extremely salty (and I like salty food) 4 people couldn't even eat them.
The Wine: Oh man this was a dooozy for me... We brought our own wine ($60-$90 bottles plus $35 corkage on each one- this is not a complaint we are used to this, especially at a "5 star"). We had approximately 8 different wines. We had them all open and everyone was serving themselves whichever they wanted to try. All the sudden the server comes behind me and without asking refills my glass. Super nice right? NO! My glass was not even close to empty!!! AND he just grabbed whatever wine and poured it in there. My father and I gave each other a "what in the world is he pouring?" look. Luckily, when he put the bottle down we saw that it was indeed the wine I had in my glass. I told him to not do that again. He responded with.... 'Oh, I thought you all were drinking the wine closest to you." This response is something you should NEVER hear out of a "5 star" restaurant.
The Water: this is kinda of a stupid criticism but worth mentioning... they charged us for water. We aren't cheap people by any means, but the delivery with which they offered the water was like "still or sparkling" was our only choice and therefore included. Not the regular "would you like bottled or sparkling instead?"
Dessert: everyone seemed happy with the desserts.
The Service: the servers were friendly, although apparently inept. The description of the dishes and the wine incident should not occur at a "5 star" restaurant.
You are prob wondering why I keep pulling out the "5 star" card. Well, when we went to tell the manager about all the short-comings, that is all he kept repeating. How he had this "5 star" restaurant. He never apologized... never owned up to anything being wrong. He actually insulted my friend that works in the hospitality. She was trying to explain that we regularly eat out at this caliber of restaurant and he responded with "where you work is only 4 stars"... at this point we saw that he was uninterested in what we had to say. We paid and left and here I am.
Lastly... let me tell you something, this restaurant is at Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa. Besides this dinner.. our experience there was exquisite. I will be reviewing them next: the spa... the poolside food and drinks... the rooms... valet... all was incredible, I never heard the words "no, we cant."
~The End