Let me begin this review by saying that I am so disappointed in the quality of food and management at this restaurant. I could say harsher things, but I would like to be constructive with my feedback. We ordered many things and were overall disappointed in all.
- Elk Lumpia - the elk was dry and in ground up bits (sort of like a beef jerky lumpia) over a bed of wilted greens. In places which know how to prepare this delicate meat, it can be moist and tasty. Here it was like dog food for two small lumpia that were cut into fours!! Also ordered a plate of calamari for appetizer that was so miniscule. At Jack's in San Bruno & San Mateo, for the money you pay, you get enough for 4 people and big chunks of squid! Here, I felt like I was getting blindsided!
- Lemonade was just a hint of lemon and rest was essentially sugar water (waitress said it was "squeezed fresh" but lemonade in a bottle from store is better).
- Guatemalan Cod - just disgusting !!! No flavor whatsoever (not even salt!!) - just tasted like the wet banana leaf it was cooked in. Accompanying rice dish was equivalently bland and tasteless with NO seasoning. It was so disgusting... The waitress had informed us that we could not get the hangar steak cooked medium well and that it was only served medium to medium rare. Since the guest of honor does particularly like red meat, we knew we could not order this (although it seems the restaurant would be willing to accommodate its customers). So, we instead went with the repulsive cod dish - really a major let down!
- Filipino Pork - pork was SOOOO tough! I know pork can sometimes be on the tougher side, but this was unacceptable. Served with a pile of white, bland rice with a ginger/garlic sauce that just did not go at all ! Fried eggplant was mediocre...
- Burrata - one of the few highlights of the meal - fresh burrata cheese (but with a sweet tomato relish on top that should have been replaced with some fresh garden tomatoes with a sprinkling of salt) with STALE pieces of bread and not enough bread!! What good is serving a relatively decent product on top of cardboard ? That was just shocking...
- Wild Boar tenderloin with gnocchi - again no salt anywhere ! Gnocchi were so tasteless and tenderloin was unimpressive.
- Southwest salad - seriously? How does the restaurant have the audacity to serve this? Could've been taken out of a carton from Jack in the Box. Nothing special about it !!! Lettuce, a few tomatoes, slivers of cheese, and that was basically it. While the restaurant should be ashamed of the other things I mention, this was one of the most embarrassing. I wouldn't mention yet another thing, but the chicken served with the salad was DRY beyond DRY! And - worse, when the protein is dry, it has a strange and insufficient way of absorbing the spices on top so you get a bit of pure powder on top of the chicken! It was really bizarre...
We ultimately opted not to order dessert - a smart move probably given the low quality of everything we had. Sometimes, at restaurants where I have had bad dinners, I get conned into checking out the dessert menu by one party at my table, but it seemed as if we were all in agreement tonight. One of the highlights was our waitress - a middle-aged Thai woman who was so friendly and gregarious. But the cooks and other servers seemed to have been taken right of the street - their inexperience is clearly evident. Not to mention, one of the servers as she was attempting to clear off a neighboring table kept dropping things right by my foot! Taking about 45 minutes for our entrees, furthermore, I think some more training is in order. I do not want to be purely insulting, but hope the restaurant can use some of my tips to make it the elegant experience we are paying for (including changing the music!).
Overall, I think the restaurant needs to acknowledge that many of these flavor combinations do not go well, more seasoning is needed, the staff needs to be trained, the atmosphere needs to be improved, the ticket times need to be upgraded, the prices needed to be lowered (I won't start in with the 15% built-in fee since I clearly signed the check, but for all the letdowns of the meal, it was another blunder), and the meals needs to actually be good (not to mention, increased in their portion size, particularly the appetizers). Again, this is just my (humble) opinion, but I will be sticking to my favorites and McDonald's... read more