We really wanted to love The Drawing Room, especially given its reputation and price point, but…read moreunfortunately this was one of the most disappointing dining experiences we've had in a long time.
The evening started with a small issue that was handled perfectly well: I ordered a glass of sparkling wine, and our server came back to let me know they were out. She offered me a taste of another option, I liked it, and happily ordered that instead. No problem at all.
Unfortunately, things went downhill from there.
We ordered the arancili appp, which took a very long time to arrive. There were three pieces for the three of us, which was fine, but they were dry and just not particularly good.
For dinner, my daughter and I shared the tenderloin and my husband ordered the burger. Our entrées arrived approximately an hour and a half after we ordered them. The tenderloin was cold. The asparagus was cold. The potatoes were cold. My husband's burger itself was actually good, but his fries were also cold.
We had also ordered a side of truffle fries, which didn't arrive until roughly 20 minutes after the rest of our meal. Ironically, the flavor of the truffle fries was excellent--but again, they seemed like they had been sitting for far too long.
That was the frustrating part of the entire experience: there were clearly some good flavors coming out of the kitchen, but the timing and execution were so poor that we couldn't enjoy them. I honestly couldn't tell whether the problem was the kitchen, staffing, service timing, or communication between the kitchen and dining room.
The entire meal took about two hours, despite being a very straightforward dinner for three people.
There was also a strange issue with the atmosphere. We were seated along the windows, and once the sun went down, our section became incredibly dark. There appeared to be lighting in the center of the dining room, but virtually none over the tables around the perimeter. We were essentially eating in the dark by the end of dinner.
I actually felt bad for our server because it seemed like some of these issues were outside of her control, which made deciding on a gratuity uncomfortable. She was pleasant, but something operationally was clearly not working.
For a restaurant at this price point, the experience simply wasn't acceptable. We spent nearly $200 for three people and waited close to two hours for food that was largely served cold.
The most disappointing thing is that I think there may be genuinely good food here. Some of the flavors showed real promise. But an expensive restaurant has to be able to get the food from the kitchen to the table hot and in a reasonable amount of time.
Unfortunately, based on this experience, I would not return.
