Brian K.
Yelp
The visit for dinner on Sat. 11/11/23 started out well enough. We met with our friends at 5pm, and sat outside on the patio, enjoying sunset views of Lake Como. Gas-fired heated tables, and fire stands kept the WI fall chill at bay. Drinks were good, the dinner wait was 60-90 minutes, no issues with that. Our party of six sat for dinner, and things went downhill.
My chief complaint is this; my wife has a severe wine/balsamic allergy, enough so that it causes anywhere from mild breathing issues to full-blown Anaphylaxis, depending on how much sulfites she is exposed to. This allergy was CLEARY mentioned to the server.
Three in our party ordered fillets with sauteed mushrooms, including my wife. The mushrooms were cooked in, yep you guessed it, WINE. She ate one and immediately felt the reaction. Others in our party said they could smell the WINE on the mushrooms. Needless to say, this is why we carry EpiPens and allergy meds whenever we eat out. The manager (not sure of his name) expressed his concerns, asking if we needed an ambulance, and said it happens (a bit of a coy response, IMO). Dinner was all but over for my wife at this point, as she spent a good deal of time in the restroom trying to catch her breath and debate the use of her Epipen.
The remainder of the dinner selections were a mixed bag, leaning toward flat-out disappointing for two of us, one saying his fillet was "okay", and the last steak (ribeye) being "good". One of the others in the group had the "catch of the day", ahi tuna, and she said it should have been thrown back (improper cook, tough, not good at all). My fillet reminded me of one I'd seen at Outback Steakhouse or similar; light tan/fawn brown with grill marks, but no char or sear, ill-looking and a bland taste to match. The mushrooms did in fact have an acidic, sweet wine-sauteed flavor. The baked potato was smallish and unremarkable, as was the salad. I'd wished I took photos of the garish-looking steak, but I was not in the mood.
The flubbed steak entree was removed from the bill, a sympathetic but futile gesture at that point. I boxed up 2/3 of my tan/bland meat, and they produced a new butterflied fillet (sans wine-sauteed mushrooms) for my wife (again, very unappealing visually, it looked like pork moreso than a prime cut of beef). Ultimately, all the leftovers went into the trash when we got home. I can think of many better ways to spend the sort of cash we did on what amounted to a few drinks, a salad, and a dry baked potato.
Overall, I was really disappointed by our visit to Mars Resort, given all the amped-up reviews and one-hour drive-time each way. I would give the overall visit a "D", and we will not be returning, nor will I recommend it to others.
Also, I might suggest Mars Resort implement "flags" on a patron's entrée, indicating there is an allergy concern, and verifying the food is unsullied. Other supper clubs and decent restaurants have such safeguards in place; this might save you a patron from falling ill (or worse) in your establishment and potential exposure to liability.