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| - Just awful... mediocre dishes for an over-rated dining experience.
Perhaps this dates me, but if you slightly remember the show "In Living Color," their service gets a big fat... HATED IT!
Read my reviews and you'd know that I've had my fair share of 5-diamond, 4-figure dining experiences for two. This certainly was no 5-diamond, perhaps a cubic zirconia would be more appropriate.
Why, you ask? ...Well, overall, there was a lack luster of service. Aside from Robert Smith, the master sommelier, which seemed to make us feel like he really cared, no one gave us the time of day. (Definitely not typical of 18-point Gault Millau, 2-star Michelin caliber.)
We had reservations for 6:30, for a party of three, and requested for a lakeview, upon calling. Instead, we got the closest thing to the door, with the third person facing the entry so all the world could see what he was eating. l noticed that there were several available tables for the same number seating. So, I asked the hostess for a different table. She immediately said, we have nothing available. (Whaa? Not even a "let me go see what I can do" and pretend to ask the head host.) So, we asked them to move the third seat to against the entry, which would somewhat enclose our "eating circle."
We went for the $110 tasting and $65 per person pairing. OMG! From one plate to the next, they were pushy. This gave us the impression that it wasn't a 5-diamond experience, but a cheap Chinese restaurant that's constantly trying to get you out of the door and pay your bill ASAP.
One person didn't know what the other was doing, forgetting requests like lime or a sherry with dessert. If it wasn't for the "break" we requested before dessert and stepped out onto the patio for a full fountain show and Cuban cigars, we would have choked.
Lastly, or perhaps, I should have started with this. I couldn't even believe that they DIDN'T ASK "Does anyone have any allergies?" ...which is pretty standard for a restaurant of that gauge. I had to walk over to our table waiter (yes, I had to walk over because they never seemed to stick around long enough to listen or even noted that you were giving them the eye) and inform him that my boyfriend had a nut allergy.
To cap off this dinner, I inquired with the Bellagio on whom was the current manager. They informed me that it was Gilles Kolakowski, to which I wrote a letter of my displeasure. And, much to my dismay, we didn't even get an apology. In fact, I never heard back from them.
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Oh, and if I may judged it strictly on the plate, it's still a one star.
First course: The lobster salad was OK, absolutely nothing spectacular.
Second course: The seared scallop was cooked well, but the potato sail was uncomplimentary in flavour... perhaps Chef Serrano placed it there for texture, but it was more distracting in flavour. ...And, that's not good!
Third course: I admit they do have the best foie gras in Vegas. But, that's all.
Fourth course: The bass was over cooked, very tough. And, I can't believe that they served this course in a 5-in tall (plain white) bowl! The fish had a sauce, but it wasn't soup. Thoughts like, "Did they run out of plates?!" ran through my head.
Fifth course: Ordered "the custard" trusting the chef and his staff to redeem themselves. However, unsurprising, the dish gave all my senses the impression that it was decadent flourless chocolate cake. Obviously, they gave me the wrong order.
DECADENCE DOES NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR INCOMPETENCE.
Save yourself the few hundred dollars and hit the tables instead. The hospitality and service is better there, tenfold.
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Several people tell me that they've gone and had a better experience. All I have to say to that is... the mark of a good restaurant is consistency. Food and service should always be top notch, and I didn't find either on my visit.
Also, I read that Robert Smith was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for best sommelier this year. He didn't win, but perhaps this awful restaurant had something to do with it.... lmao.
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