| rev:text
| - So the winner of season 11 of Hell's Kitchen will be the head chef of this restaurant. Perhaps that is why the restaurant seems to have hit or miss reviews right now. The show finished filming awhile ago so the new head chef has already been chosen, but they can't be seen at the restaurant since that would give away the ending of the show. Having an absentee head chef certainly can't be helping. Even though overall I had a good dining experience, the restaurant was not without its rough edges.
We showed up around 9pm without reservations, but were able to get seated on the restaurant side almost immediately. They put our party of 5 at a table for 4. There were plenty of other tables, but we were told they had all been reserved. Of course they remained empty the rest of the night (we were there until closing) despite a post show rush right after we arrived. This was annoying, but pretty common for Las Vegas as almost no one charges a reservation no show fee.
Our server was pretty awesome. He was funny and really knew the food. Pretty much everyone working there was great from the hostess to the runners. The one big exception was one particularly sour runner. When she brought our starters I told her I did not have a fork and she snapped "well, then I'll bring you one" at me. She then brought me 3 forks and four knives. I shrugged this off as maybe a poorly executed attempt at humor. Later on, one of our party asked her for more bread, a fairly common request at a restaurant and one that other reviewers made with no difficulties, but she reacted with shock and began to tell us that wasn't allowed. Before she could finish, she cut herself off and said she would let the server know. Maybe she did, but I doubt it since we just saw her go off to the back while our server was elsewhere in the restaurant helping put some smaller tables together for a big group since heaven forbid they actually seat someone at one of the reserved tables that obviously weren't coming. When they brought out our entrees, she didn't bring mine and asked me what I ordered. After I told her she went to get it and plooped it down in front of me before walking away without a word. I guess that's what I get for asking for a fork.
The food was excellent all around, although the menu seemed too small. We later found out that the menu was once nearly twice the size, but they trimmed it down to just the most popular items. In my humble opinion, they went a bit too far with the trimming. The small plates (appetizers) menu now only has 5 choices and 3 of them are cold seafood items. There were 5 seafood items and 8 meat items (actually 7 since the beef cheeks were not available the evening we dined). There may or may not have been an entree sized salad since the menu did not differentiate them. The most expensive salad was only $4 more than the salad I had as a starter so I don't think it was entree size.
For starters I had the Herb Caesar Salad. The server warned that it came with "a lot" of anchovies which I was OK with, but it turns out it just came with one small anchovy. It was a good, if not particularly memorable salad. Another member of our party ordered the smashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus as her starters. They are technically sides, but none of the other starters interested her so she ordered them as starters. I thought the potatoes were good, but the asparagus was just OK for me. Another member of our party ordered the Pub "Spots" which are described as sliders on the menu, but the name "Spots" is a better description. They were very good, but also very small. You could finish the whole plate in 3 bites. We also had two members of our party order soups which they said were delicious, but I didn't get a chance to try.
For entrees, my friend and I each had a shepherd's pie. Since we were both quite hungry we were a little disappointed at how small it looked, but looks can be deceiving. The little pot they are served in is quite deep and there is a decent amount of food in there. I ended up completely satisfied and can say that this was the best shepherd's pie I have ever had. I also got to try the Scottish Salmon, rib eye steak, and the rack of lamb. All three were delicious. The rack of lamb in particular stood out because I love lamb, but am weary about ordering it in restaurants because often the portions are on the small side. The lamb here is a very hearty portion. Of course for dessert I had to try the sticky toffee. It was delicious. I can see why it is Gordon Ramsay's signature dessert. My friend ordered the chocolate trifle. We shared both desserts with the whole table and while the trifle was OK, the sticky toffee disappeared far quicker.
So overall I had a great experience except for the one bitter food runner. I could see myself coming back, but unless they expand that menu a bit I don't think I would come that often.
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