First, let me say that the food was excellent. The chef definitely knows what he is doing. I think I read that this place was voted one of the top hotel restaurants in the world in 2005 or something like that. I can understand why in terms of the quality of the food. However, the length of the meal and time between dishes were almost unbearable. A meal that should've lasted around 2 hours at most was extended to 3+ hours. Not that a long 3 hour meal in itself is necessarily bad but the wait times between courses were extremely inconsistent to the detriment of the overall experience. We received excellent service at the beginning with courses being brought out in a timely manner but towards the back end of the evening we were waiting maybe 30-45 minutes between courses. Way too much time for a 4-6 course meal (I had the Amazon Menu and my wife had the Weekly Chef's Menu). It provided my stomach with way too much time to communicate to my brain that I was already full after the 3rd plate which was sad because every course was excellent (and i mean excellent!). By the end of our final courses, I was begging for the check because 30-45 minutes between finishing a course and having the next one brought out is...just...too...much.
Other complaint - the wine is waaaaaay overpriced. The bottle of wine we ordered paired nicely with the meal which is what ultimately counts...but i couldn't help to be bothered by the markup. It was essentially a USD $20 bottle of wine (yes, I googled it during the meal) that was being priced at R$ 300 (roughly USD $135). I mean I can bear with a markup but that was simply RIDICULOUS!
Did I forget to mention that this place is expensive? Even with a strong dollar, it's expensive... but for a special night, every once in a while, i feel that it is still worth it.
I don't want to knock the place too much though. The waitstaff was extremely friendly and professional. Our server was great and definitely made us feel comfortable.
The food was sooo good. In fact my wife and I agreed that we enjoyed it more than Olympe...which is equally as expensive (if not more so) in case you were wondering. read more