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| - Two MAJOR slipups in the planning of Switch: location and table spacing.
I don't like to dine looking at a casino or within earshot of my neighbors. Luckily we had an early dinner and they staggered the parties. Later in the evening we were joined by a lovely blue-haired couple from Montecito, charming, but we were secretly happy they crashed our party at the end of our meal.
Otherwise, the restaurant is gorgeous and the three different backdrops of the evening were OOOOH and AHHHH worthy. Seriously it was like dinner and a show rolled into one. Remember to look UP too.
Normally they just have an ala carte menu, but NYE, there was a special tasting for $150/pp. Well worth it for the quality and presentation.
No amuse, 4 courses, sorbet, dessert & no mignardises:
C1: Lobster bisque w/a lobster claw on the side
Excellent, huge chunks of sweet succulant meat in the soup, robust flavor.
C2: Butternut squash ravioli
Quite enjoyable and not too sweet, it's usually not my favorite.
C3: Pastry wrapped scallops w/slivers of truffle
Bold and adventurous presentation, good.
C4: Foie topped Filet
This baby was HUGE, but also quite good.
Desserts: Cannot recollect too much, both were very good, but check out the visuals I posted, I liked the fruit one more, but the chocolate one was rich, moist and the crispy rice texture was delicious.
We were happy and surprised to find our sommelier from Restaurant Charlie had relocated to Switch. His pairings were spot on and much more reasonable in price. We did not mention a price cap, but it was only an additional $75/pp for the vino.
Switch is supposed to be the premier restaurant at the Encore, but I was expecting a bit more luxury and elegance. Maybe he didn't want another over indulgent restaurant to compete with Alex?
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