| rev:text
| - Presentation was really the highlight of this dining experience. The food was good but some substance was sacrificed for style.
The lobster cappuccino for example was basically a shot of pretty good lobster bisque with the lobster removed and some foam on top. I felt like I was drinking the sauce (albeit a very good one) meant for a very nice seafood dish of some kind.
I just had a general sense the chef was trying too hard to create new combinations of techniques, flavors, and presentations. If I didn't have other high end dining experiences for reference, I think I would have found the dishes delicious enough, like 4-5 star good. But in actuality, with almost everything I tasted I thought he variation the chef introduced didn't add much to the dish and often detracted from a version of the dish I had somewhere else. I have complained that some high end restaurants are converging on similar recipes and presentation and I applaud Europea for trying to innovate. But when you try to put a twist on things, you should make sure it is at least as good as the original.
A lobster bisque without the lobster doesn't become magical just because you serve it like a cappuccino. Smoked salmon served on what looked like fried wonton is tasteless if you don't warn the diner the book is filled with smoke and everything will be tasteless if you accidentally breath in the smoke.
I also often thought we were served the components of a larger dish and/or the dish only had one note and needed something else on the plate. In addition to the aforementioned lobster bisque (cappuccino), the veal cooked in clay pot was also a little odd. The presentation was good, with the waiter letting my wife break the pot before taking it back to kitchen for plating. The civet sauce was fine, the potato slices on top were pleasantly crispy, the veal tasted good, if not extraordinarily so. But the dish has only one flavor note nor variations on texture except for the first bite or two on the potatoes (they got soggy quick and just kind of merged into the meat and sauce).
Cotton candy tree was like meh, whatever. Meringue at the bottom of the tree was sweeter than usual and a lot sweeter than the ones in plastic bag they give out to go so I am guessing it was a slip on quality control. The ones from the bags were spot on and I have been snacking on them since my trip to Europea.
Overall, I think the place is adequate for a good date night out (especially if you haven't been to a lot of high end restaurants using modern cooking techniques) but at this price point I expect more than just adequate.
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