Very Disappointing, and very dishonest if you asked me. I ate there a month or so ago, and I have…read moreto say the steak I had was very subpar. So subpar, it still comes to mind nearly a month later (while watching a restaurant scene in the TV series Lioness (2nd season)).
I was there (at Luce), with my son and my wife. I ordered "Filetto di Luce" which is described in their menu as "Fire-grilled beef tenderloin." In other words, fillet mignon. The only problem was, I didn't think it was beef tenderloin at all, but instead, apparently it was a petite sirloin cut in a round shape to look like a fillet or tenderloin (albeit, also much more thin than I expected). And, based on the chewiness or toughness, a low grade sirloin at that. (Or, in the alternative, perhaps they have a different definition of beef tenderloin than I do?)
Why do I think it was a much less expensive petite sirloin, instead of the beef tenderloin (aka filet mignon) as described in their menu? Because our waiter admitted it when I asked him. He said I was the first one who had noticed it.
(I am originally from Iowa and I worked at a refrigerated meat warehouse when I was in my early 20's - that serviced roughly 400 grocery stores in the Midwest.) (I know my beef.)
First, the steak was cooked to the temp I wanted. It was pink in the middle. But that is the only thing they got right. It was dry, and I mean as dry as you can imagine as steak can be. Not an ounce of juice in it in my opinion. And, as I said before, it was tough, like low grade or rancher steak (definitely not U.S.D.A. Choice or Angus beef I didn't think). It was so chewy I had to spit out a lot of it. So I asked the waiter, "If I didn't know any better, this is a petite sirloin, not a fillet mignon?" He said he was impressed, I was the first person to notice it. He said if I wanted to have an actual fillet mignon (or beef tenderloin) I'd have to go to their other restaurant. (I don't know if they even have another restaurant.) Plus, I think they charged more - $39 instead of the $34 their online menu states. I think the waiter dismissed that as their online menu is not up to date. Nevertheless, I was expecting a juicy thick, tender steak, and what I got bared no resemblance to that.
And, by the way, at the beginning of this review, I mentioned "very dishonest." I wasn't exaggerating. Not only did the steak suck, but to describe it as "beef tenderloin" in their menu is not even close to accurate if you asked me. Furthermore, it was WAY over priced, for what seemed to me to be a low grade, cheap cut of beef; low quality food if you asked me. A mockery of fine cuisine. That's how I see it. I had looked forward to an enjoyable meal, and left very unsatisfied to say the least. Obviously, I wouldn't go there again, or recommend anyone else goes there either. But who knows, maybe they will actually serve the beef tenderloin they advertised in their menu next time somebody else believes what their menu says and orders it.