rev:text
| - I do not consider myself a food connoisseur, but I've participated in enough Summerlicious outings to discern between the good and the bad. Toula was just plain bad. The only redeeming quality about the restaurant was the view, but if you wanted anything more you will be disappointed.
I already heard a slew of bad reviews from acquaintances going into this dinner, but I was going for the good company. I choose the Fresh PEI Lobster tail served on a saffron risotto cake finished with citrus buerre blanc and pink peppercorns for the appetizer, Pesto and roasted pine nut encrusted Chilean sea bass served with saffron risotto and finished with a tarragon cream sauce for the main, and Toula triple chocolate temptation cheesecake topped with marinated blueberries for the dessert.
First of all, the wait staff were terrible. The main manager who was serving us had an unpleasant scowl on his face the entire evening and was clearly displeased with our table. It took 20 minutes before they would even take our orders, and a good 30 minutes before they would finally give us our bills. The waiter(s) mixed up my main dish with my friend's main dish.
I don't know if they are familiar with the hospitality industry but, especially for high end dining establishments, the customer is ALWAYS right. The largest "infraction" our dinner party made throughout the evening was that 4 people arrived about 15-20 minutes later, but the majority of the dinner party was already there. I cannot believe that the manager would treat us so poorly throughout the evening. Even if we are Summerlicious customers, we should be treated as if we were regular customers.
Second of all, the food was terrible. The lobster tail was COLD and overcooked (and therefore uncomfortably chewy), the risotto cake was cold and falling apart and the buerre blanc was sloppily spread across the entire plate. The sea bass was palatable, but the risotto had a really strange taste to it; again, the main was not served very hot either. The cheesecake was mediocre at best - nothing that you could not pick up from the supermarket.
I had a terrible dining experience and would definitely NOT recommend this restaurant!
|