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| - Located in Downtown Willoughby, Lure Bistro is an interesting little place for more upscale food on the far northeast suburbs of Cleveland. I haven't been there in years since they were doing the "all you can eat" sushi, but decided to meet some old friends for dinner last night. The food itself was pretty good, but there were some bizarre aspects of the dining experience that warrant three stars.
The dining room is very intimate, modern, interesting artful touches. There is a sushi chef in the corner, and they broadcast him making sushi on a suspending flat screen monitor that hangs above the sushi bar -- It was kind of tacky. I really do not need to monitor the preparation of my sushi before it makes it to the table. Also, the service was weird even though we were ordering full on appetizer, drinks, entrees, dessert, the full deal. The server was highly attentive in the beginning of the meal and very sweet, but seemed to poop out toward the end, nearly disappearing. We ordered two teas, one herbal and one caffeinated, and we were brought one caffeinated pot to share, no sugar spoons. Also, our entrees arrived before our salads/appetizers were cleared so there was a weird moment of "where does everything go?"
Despite the quirks in the service, the meals were quite delicious, and because we paid in cash we received a gift card for 10% of our bill. (A promotion they are running currently).
Overall, a good off-Erie St. option if you are in the Willoughby area, can tolerate service that is not 100% impeccable, and you want to patronize locally owned non-chain establishments.
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