I always get a bad vibe whenever I go to a restaurant in a hotel. It always feels like people are just trying to get a convenient meal instead of it being a destination restaurant.
I had high hopes for Table 45 since it was a Zach Bruell restaurant but his tried-and-true touches weren't enough. About half of the diners were in shorts and polo shirts. The clean-lined, simple furniture that is a Bruell staple worked against the ambiance here as the bright sunlight streaming through at 6:30 made this feel more like a nice cafeteria than an expensive, romantic restaurant.
The drinks put us in a better mood as my Watermelon Sangria showed some originality and was perfect for summer and Jeannene loved how her peach/vodka cocktail embraced the peachiness. We followed those up with an Old-Fashioned each and those were equally satisfying.
But the food was lacking. My spicy tuna sushi roll ($10) had almost no rice, which put the focus on the chewy seaweed wrapping. Jeannene's eel roll ($10) had proper ratios, however.
Then, my Oven Roasted Organic Chicken ($25) was coated in a mole sauce which was decent enough, I guess, though I was expecting more of a zing on the taste buds and Jeannene said the "Mexican rice" that came with it reminded her of the taco seasoning that comes in the packet at a grocery store.
She had the salmon over Hong Kong noodles special ($32) and while she enjoyed the fish she thought the noodles were way too salty (Something I've never heard her say outside of a wing or burger joint). I had a few and didn't think they were that bad.
The $170 dinner did end on a high note as we had the chocolate and cherry bread pudding special ($9) which had just the right hints of bitter chocolate and tart cherries to go with the dense, eggy bread.