Michelle K.
Yelp
EMP has been on my list of places to go for a very long time, mostly due to my curiosity of whether it would be a life-changing experience. While it was a life-changing experience, it wasn't in a good way. It changed my life in that now, about once a week, I think about how much I regret having gone to EMP. I wish I could go back and stop my past self from making the reservation.
The interior: First, the interior was clean but nothing spectacular or awe-inspiring. In fact, it felt very outdated and bland.
The service: The service, which everyone seems to rave about in reviews, was certainly higher quality, as one would expect at a restaurant of this caliber. Yet, as someone who has studied and worked in hospitality, I wasn't super impressed. It felt very stiff and corporate, almost burdensome at times because I felt like they were watching us like hawks to clean up any mess made on the table or to refill our water glasses every other minute, as it constantly felt disruptive during my date with my husband. Other than their attentiveness to those minute details, I didn't feel any genuine hospitality, friendliness, or warmth from the servers. However, I did notice that those same waiters treated the guests at the table next to us with that warmth and welcome I was hoping to experience.
The food: I really tried to convince both my husband and myself the entire time that the vegan food was worth the price because of its design and uniqueness. The first couple dishes that we started off with were impressive but it only got progressively worse. One dish in particular that had some decoratively placed spinach on the side seemed almost like a mockery. The only "meaty" dish which included mushroom was not even seasoned properly and overly salty I couldn't finish it. The server did notice this and offered to ask the chef to remake the dish so I accepted. Unfortunately, it was just as salty and I was unable to consume it because every bite felt like a spoonful of salt. Not only that, but every dish started to taste the same... the same flavor of acidity. The desserts were good, but not good enough for me to constantly think about. The chocolate peanut pretzels that everyone raved about were literally just ok.
Additional notes: The entire course lunch took about 4-5 hours and by the end, my husband and I were exhausted and bored. Sure, they don't rush you out and take their time with serving and letting their guests soak everything in. But at a certain point, I felt like we were waiting too long in between meals, perhaps as a way to make guests feel more full. But by the end, I just wanted to go home and take a nap. Also, based on reviews as well as actually witnessing this in person while we were there, I noticed that many guests were invited to tour the kitchen. We saw many guests being led in for a tour. Not sure if there's a special reason some guests get asked to do a tour, but we were not asked once and it was honestly the cherry on top to make EMP one hell of a disappointing experience.
Someday, I'll get over it and stop thinking about how much I regret spending my money and time here. But until then, it'll be my roman empire, something I think of at least once a week. Ugh