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| - A class act, through and through.
The spot itself is warm and colorful with a set off bar, kitchen rail seating, and a wide open main dining room. I chose to sit on the rail and chatted it up with the chef working the ceviche station who was a bright dude with meticulous attention to detail. Fun to watch.
I had the scallop ceviche (which I've never had raw scallops before). The flavors of the sauce and infusion were excellent. Not sure how I feel about the texture of raw scallops in general, but hey....when in Rome. Pretty rad that it came with Nitro popcorn, too (eat it quick for dragon breath). I also chose to go with the churasco, which was light and bright - a nice spin on a typical hearty dish. The steak was cooked beautifully. I was stuffed for dessert, but nibbled on the signature dessert "chocolate cigar." A fun presentation.
The service was stellar. Even those not my waiter made me feel welcome. The (GM?) Michael connected with me a few times during my time there to talk about the menu and different choices. Nice touches like that can go a long way in hospitality.
Overall, Deseo is a star. The creative menu is presented well across the board. The service is excellent and the atmosphere is inviting but still screams "modern fine dining." I am rating a 4, not a 5 for their wine prices. Frankly, for such a heralded list - it just has too much markup. We're talking 250% type markups. However, an overall great experience.
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