Cipriani has FOUR Michelin Stars, and it's super easy to see why. From the service, to the food, to…read morethe entire vibe, we were absolutely blown away.
The ambiance is very upscale, being in a palace, it makes sense (Copacabana Palace), with rich red carpeted floors, a piano player belting out light background music, pristine white cloths on all the tables, and giant windows out to the hotel grounds.
(They are currently closed for renovations, so your experience may differ from ours in the case of how the restaurant looks.)
The moment we stepped through the door, we were treated like royalty by all the staff, which seems to be the norm based on other reviews. We were early for our reservation so sat in the bar area and ordered a few drinks.
Our drinks came super quickly, and the bartender brought out a small tray of pretzels, meats, and peppers for a little complimentary snack. Even those small items were high end and tasty!
We were seated right at our reservation time, and the experience began. We were a group of three, and we all chose to do the eleven course tasting menu. And they didn't stop at eleven! It was honestly hard to tell what was an official "Course" of the night or just a little extra addition. No complaints as to the quantity or quality, though.
Our server brought out a small shot of sweet liqueur to start the meal. I wasn't sure what flavor they said it was, but it was tasty and definitely cleared our palates for some great food to come.
The first course was a charcuterie setting with thin bread sticks (that looked like a work of art in a vase), some dried meats, croissant style breads, and chips to eat with the meats as well.
Next, four items came out as just a taste from the chef (not included in the eleven courses!) They were all plated gorgeously and each was almost a single bite. There was a sushi piece, a cracker piece, a tart with a hazelnut on top, and a black ravioli style tartare.
After the shock of that amazing show, our next course came and it was just as impressive. It was a "pizza" course, but so elevated. A nice little few-bite sized pastry with all the flavors of pizza, surprisingly. So delish.
Some more bread came next, but with a delicious prosciutto sauce to spread on it, as well as some of the creamiest butter I have ever tasted.
We were getting pretty full at this point, but the food kept coming! Our next plate looked like a garden, but was a soup! It came in a glass vase looking vessel with lots of greenery inside and a pat of green butter on top. The server poured a steaming hot liquid component over the top of the bowl, and it all melded together to make a scrumptious, fresh tasting soup!
We're about half way done here, so stick with me. Our next bite was a slice of red prawn escabeche with a super tasty Russian salad dressing below. A small plate that was deceiving, because it was very hearty.
And then the "main" sort of courses came out. First was the Mediterranean Tuna, which was braided in with some radish, a green foam, and other fresh veggies that complemented the tuna very well.
The other more substantial course was a dry aged strip steak with a bell pepper and tomato gastrique that was out of this world.
This might sound like a LOT of food, but each course was a small bite so you actually didn't get too full by the end. It does take a long time for the full experience to play out (about 2 to 3 hours), and we were getting quite tired since our reservation was later in the evening.
We thought we were done after the final course, but then desserts started rolling out!
The "pre-dessert" was a deconstructed tiramisu. It was a small ball of hazelnut ice cream with little cake bits all over it and a gold chocolate coin on top.
Then came an "agrumi" course, which was more to cleanse the senses. It was a bowl of citrus fruits and a smoking dry ice wafting clouds of the scent around the table. Very cool!
After our senses were cleansed, another dessert course came out, and it was a whole trolley of pettit fours that you could choose from. We each selected a few and they were all decadent and divine.
And lastly, there was a final dessert of gelato, which came in a giant mound in a huge bowl. You just let the server know how many scoops you wanted (we were now getting pretty full so just had a bit each!) It was supremely creamy and delightful and actually the perfect end to the meal.
When they open back up, definitely try them out, if you want a first-class dining experience that will fully immerse you in the chef's vision and amazing food!
