Natalie T.
Yelp
Yeah, not a fan. I wanted so badly to like this place and it simply fell very flat. Very disappointed. From all the pics of the building and architecture and food, I thought for sure, I would have an amazing time. And unfortunately, that simply wasn't the case. I made my reservations pretty far in advance. I was actually originally going to celebrate my birthday and then something came up and I decided to push it back. In hind's sight, I'm glad I didn't go for my birthday if my experience had been similar because that would've been not great food memories for such a memorable occasion.
Anyway, on to the explanation of the one-star review. It started with parking. It's quite a hassle and not very user-friendly. My friend and I spent a fair amount of time circling the block to find open spaces. There's a lot near the restaurant but it was closed. I'm not sure if it's regularly open for use to patrons of the restaurants but it wasn't the day we went. Now, in all fairness, there was a Tiger's game that we didn't know was happening so downtown was waaayyy busier than anticipated. So, if you plan on visiting, be sure to check and see if there's a Tiger's game that day to decide if you want to proceed with your reservation that day and time. Valet parking for the restaurant was also $20, which seems steep to me. Again, not sure if that's the regular price or the price because it was a Tiger's game but that's quite high to me, granted we hadn't even ordered a single dish yet.
On to being seated. It was only two of us and our reservation was at 5:30 p.m. We wanted to avoid the dinner crowd so we tried to go earlier on a Saturday evening. At this time, the restaurant was pretty empty. They sat us in a table right in the middle of the aisle right near the kitchen and bar area. I immediately asked if we could switch tables because it was right smack dab in the middle of a lot of commotion. I can't really imagine a lot of people would want to sit there as it almost seems you're in the way. The hostess said she'd check and would let me know. She came back and said she couldn't move us because they had a lot of other reservations coming too. Mind you, there were several other tables and booths open at the time. Why not move us and seat another 2-person party who didn't mind sitting there, there?!? And if you receive several requests, that might be an indication that that's not a good or desirable location that people want to sit. By this time, my friend had arrived and she also immediately did not want to sit there either. She then went to the hostess station and requested that our seat be moved. The hostess proceeded to tell her no twice and my friend said, I'm not understanding why. There are plenty of other seats available now and if we have concerns about being seated there, I don't understand why we can't be moved. The hostess then went to check with her manager and after what seemed like a good amount of time, we were finally escorted to a booth in a much more favorable location. All this and again, we hadn't even ordered a dish yet. :-(
The music was also blasting to the point where it was hard to hear your eating companions. I think I get the vibe they were going for but it seemed a little early for the super, loud trendy music.
Anywho, our waiter was Drew and he was the saving grace of our experience. He was awesome! He was attentive, informative about the menu and very upbeat. Again, the saving grace. We decided to order: the creamy rock shrimp, the house made crab Rangoon, the truffle fries, and the Thai inspired short rib. The Rangoon was the stand out dish IMO! It was creamy, rich, and flavorful. The short rib wasn't bad but the wasabi mashed potatoes were cold. This was my entrée and it came out before two of the appetizers. I'm not sure if the dish was already prepared and just waiting but not the best first impression for the main dish.
And then lastly was the bill. I saw that there was an automatic 20% gratuity added. For a party of 2? I've never heard of this. I've heard of it for large parties, like parties of 6 or more but never for a small party. Our waiter was great and I would've given him a nice tip anyway but if he wasn't, I'm forced to give a set amount anyway?
With the culmination of things that transpired, I definitely will not be back. Lots of much better places with much better food and service.