I've been to Upstream three times, spanning a period of around five years. The first meal we had there was excellent -- service and food were unquestionably outstanding.
Around a year later, we returned for another dinner and this time it was underwhelming. The food was OK, but when you're spending $200+ for two people you expect an exceptional experience.
Around a month ago, on the advice of a friend, I went for Sunday brunch. It wasn't the first time I had heard about the great brunch there, so I was anticipating something special.
We arrived around 12:30 and ordered a couple of mimosas. What they served us was orange juice with a splash of champagne. We began with a selection of small plates. I was most excited about the crabcake benedict, but I needn't have been. Aside from being ridiculously small (it was truly more of an amuse bouche) -- the dish was bereft of flavor. French toast was similarly disappointing.
So off to the buffet. We should have checked its condition before we sat down. It looked like a war zone. Mid range hotel chains do a much better job of maintaining their buffets better than Upstream. What was once a smoked salmon fillet was now a ravaged pile of flesh. There were bits of food and trash around almost every station. They were out of most of the premium items: the salmon, crab legs and crab claws and sushi (which I probably wouldn't have eaten from a buffet anyway, but nevertheless...) I ended up with an omelet -- it seemed safe, although expensive at $25.
All in all a big disappointment.