A diner from Washington, DC
Nov 5, 2006
The food was good. Dishes lived up to their descriptions. Salads and soups had layers of flavor which showed through and blended nicely. Entrees were well prepared and nicely presented. The Argentine Diablo steak was however not from Argentina but rather prepared in the manner of Argentina. Side dishes were flavorful and blended nicely with the entrees.
The wine list was extensive. It was also unusually pricey for a restaurant in this geographic area. The waiter seemed knowledgeable about the wines, but took it upon himself to disuade the person ordering the wines from a choice he made, saying his selection was too sweet for the meals offered - much to the disappointment of the ladies for whom the wine was ordered.
Deserts were good, if somewhat over done in terms of size and menu hype.
The service was by far the weak link in the evening. There was no one to greet customers upon their arrival. The host had to be sought out. The table for our party was not made available as we arrived even though it was in the room between the door and the host's station. Once seated, we waited some time for the waiter to take cocktail orders, waited again for them to arrive - which they did piecemeal - one or two now some later and some later still. We waited for dinner orders to be taken. Once dinner orders were taken, soups and salads also arrived over several minutes - no course was served to all eight diners without someone at the table having to wait for their food.
There were ongoing delays between courses which were explained by the waiter as being a result of a busy evening and being short staffed - on parents weekend in a college town.
The meal lasted approximately 2 hours from the time we first arrived and waited to be seated until the check arrived - faster than any order taking or service - and the host asked the diners rather loudly if he could get us to move to the bar for a "free after dinner drink so the table could be made available for the next group". Not a pleasant way to end the evening when the total tab for the evening was more than $600.
If you select this restaurant, be certain to do so at a time when they can provide the service and attention to detail that their menu suggests is possible, otherwise, beware.
The wine list was extensive. It was also unusually pricey for a restaurant in this geographic area. The waiter seemed knowledgeable about the wines, but took it upon himself to disuade the person ordering the wines from a choice he made, saying his selection was too sweet for the meals offered - much to the disappointment of the ladies for whom the wine was ordered.
Deserts were good, if somewhat over done in terms of size and menu hype.
The service was by far the weak link in the evening. There was no one to greet customers upon their arrival. The host had to be sought out. The table for our party was not made available as we arrived even though it was in the room between the door and the host's station. Once seated, we waited some time for the waiter to take cocktail orders, waited again for them to arrive - which they did piecemeal - one or two now some later and some later still. We waited for dinner orders to be taken. Once dinner orders were taken, soups and salads also arrived over several minutes - no course was served to all eight diners without someone at the table having to wait for their food.
There were ongoing delays between courses which were explained by the waiter as being a result of a busy evening and being short staffed - on parents weekend in a college town.
The meal lasted approximately 2 hours from the time we first arrived and waited to be seated until the check arrived - faster than any order taking or service - and the host asked the diners rather loudly if he could get us to move to the bar for a "free after dinner drink so the table could be made available for the next group". Not a pleasant way to end the evening when the total tab for the evening was more than $600.
If you select this restaurant, be certain to do so at a time when they can provide the service and attention to detail that their menu suggests is possible, otherwise, beware.
