Hostess was completely humorless (nice but humorless). Decor was like a Picasso piece - wierd but in a classical way. It was kind of grotto-esque. The original Picasso's lining the wall added a special flair to the place.
The service was harried yet slow (if that makes sense). It seemed as if the wait staff was trying to interact with us as quickly as possible. It was if they were saying, "We've done this before and the food is really outstanding so I don't really have to take my time to make you feel welcome". They were relatively cold and impersonal. Our waiter did warm up later but by then we didn't have any interest in talking to him. They were VERY slow in getting the food out. I know this is a french restaurant but even the french can read body language and ours said "We don't want a two and a half hour meal". Didn't work!
So where do the five stars come in, you ask. It's the food! It was sublime. I would suffer two and a half hours of a humorless, rushed environmet to enjoy this food. Everything was exceedingly flavorful. I tried things I wouldn't normally try (poached oysters) and it was all absolutely fabulous.
A few head scratchers, though. the bathroom was not spotless (at $140 a plate, you better have your bathroom spotless). I could have sworn the were playing The Backstreet boys in the restroom???
Overlooking the Bellagio water fountain show while we ate was a special treat.
The food trumps every negative. Smiley face and a star for the food only.