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| - A friend and I hit Botero on a Friday night in May and found it to be quite solid overall, with some outstanding elements. The bar up front is great fun and the staff seems to enjoy coming up with customized cocktails. Tell them what you like and they'll create something for you. [Mine turned out to be a Martini with pear vodka and elderflower liqueur, which was terrific.] The room is basically circular with a tremendous black Botero statue at the center, counterpointed by lighter-color floors and furniture. It overlooks the European pool and has outdoor seating. It was slam-full the night we were there and quite loud, so just know before you go that this is a high-energy night out, not a quiet, relaxing dinner.
The food was the strongest element for us. Each dish we had was sensational, with the appetizers being creative, tasty, and served in pretty substantial portions. The duo of crab and the salmon with Meyer lemon [!] were standouts. The bone-in New York Strip was really something special--juicy and flavorful but with an absolute minimum of fat. It was a nice thick cut and perfectly, simply seasoned plus cooked exactly to order. It's hard for me to imagine a steak ever being actually worth $52, but this one came as close as anything. The sides seem to be sort of the trademark of the restaurant. They came in little skillets and were big enough to share. We had the creamed spinach, grilled asparagus, and truffled corn pudding. All were sensational, but I'm still dreaming about that truffled corn pudding. The desserts weren't quite up to the standard of the first two courses for me--they're more whimsical than anything. Things like childhood-flavors cupcakes and a sort of be-your-own-Coldstone-Creamery where they bring a scoop of ice cream on a palette with various mix-ins along the edge. If you're looking for more traditional desserts, you won't find them here.
As I wrote earlier, it was absolutely packed. That did not affect the quality of the food at all, but the service was a touch slow. Courses came out of the kitchen quickly once ordered, but there was a bit of a delay to place the order, to get the dessert menus, and to get the check at the end.
We sampled most every restaurant at the Encore [except Switch] during our stay and this was the overall favorite. It's certainly not cheap, but nothing at Encore is. It's also a distinctive-enough experience to be memorable. If you're wanting a more low-key bar stop and dinner, you might try Sinatra.
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