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| - I had such high hopes for this place, partly based on these reviews, that I brought my boyfriend here for his birthday. I wish I had made another choice. On the positive side, this is a beautiful building. Old, stately, lovely interior. However, upon entering we were basically thrust into a teeming crowd. Servers running every which way, a nearly deafening level of noise. . . I had my doubts right away. We started upstairs at the bar. Another red flag: not a single place to sit, a 20 minute wait for a drink, and one of the most poorly made vodka sodas I've ever had. A double tasted weaker than a regular single. Loud dance music blared, servers and patrons jostled each other. We couldn't hear to speak to each other. usually in such scenarios I would leave, but we were hungry and didn't feel like wandering the streets seeking sustenance. We were finally seated, not in the downstairs area that we had requested but in the upper dining room, where there was no respite from the cacaphony. Under the circumstances, the service was great. But it isn't, to me, a very pleasant dining experience when one's waiter appears exhausted and overworked. The people working here are doing their best, but since the management don't allow reservations on friday or saturdays (and it's obvious why: you can get many more people to come and wait for ages if you don't reserve seats), it really isn't possible for the staff to do much in the way of personalized service.
The steak was decent. But the whole assembly-line, get everyone in and out as fast as possible atmosphere was stressful. We ate hurriedly and got out fast. Not what I had been hoping for in an expensive restaurant that tries to portray itself as 'upscale.'
Perhaps it was simply a mistake to come on a friday night. I'm still willing to give this place a chance; perhaps stopping by the bar level on a monday night might be an idea.
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