Steve
11-05-2006, 07:23 AM
Sensi
Non-Sensi-cal: Service lapses felt out of place at the otherwise exquisite Sensi.
By Heidi Knapp Rinella
The decor at Sensi is exquisite, the food even more so.
Too bad our server's performance paled by comparison.
Actually, we had a team of servers. At least I think so. A female server introduced herself initially; a male came by later and occasionally afterward, and we thereafter saw the female only when she drifted by now and again, with any attempt to catch her eye failing completely. About the most consistent service came from the runner. (Well, the hostess did a good job.)
Our server, however, was pretty much of a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Sensi's menu, like its mission, is rather offbeat, and I mean that in a good way. It's a mix of Asian, Italian and grilled items, without being a form of fusion and yet with a clearly defined mission. Such a menu takes some time to study. Yet within the first 10 minutes after we were handed our menus, the server stopped by repeatedly, only to be told that yes, we were fine, but just needed a few more minutes. Finally he apparently decided that we couldn't make a decision and began to list the dishes that he said were popular, as though we were choosing a homecoming queen.
Thanks, I said, but we've just about got it nailed down, and how about if we order the wine? He agreed, and immediately asked for our food order. Letting the wine breathe may not have mattered but we were feeling a little breathless ourselves; I was beginning to wonder if the extent of this guy's serving experience was confined to poker bars.
But well, maybe there was a reason for the rush, because it was quite a while longer before the sommelier arrived with our 2004 Piping Shrike Shiraz ($37). It was an unfamiliar label, and for that I congratulate Sensi's wine director, as so few Strip restaurants populate their wine lists with less-familiar (and less-expensive) selections for the adventurous (or penurious) among us. And the amusingly named Piping Shrike (an Australian wine, can you tell?) turned out to be quite nice.
From then on, it seemed we weren't to see our server much. Was he feeling spurned? I don't know; we'd tried to be very polite. He certainly didn't seem to have many tables. But the guy had worse timing than the dot-comers who hung on. Our wait for the check alone bordered on the ridiculous.
The food, on the other hand, was all that the detailed menu descriptions promised, and more. The only dish that didn't amaze us was the skewer of salt-roasted vegetables ($6), and it was still quite good.
On the "amazing" side of the column: foie gras, seared just to the creamy point and accompanied by a delicate little raviolini filled with a nice mixture of duck confit ($19). This one was so good that, when I offered my friend a taste, she took possession.
Not that I minded, because in the process she relinquished her salad of arugula with chunks of roasted red and yellow beets ($18), and fanned apple slices, a shower of toasted pine nuts and a scattering of chunks of impossibly creamy, impossibly pungent Maytag blue cheese.
The spice-rubbed chicken with butter-curry sauce ($28) wasn't at all what we expected, but it was excellent. The chicken had actually been cut into chunks and bathed in the sauce, to be served over the accompanying basmati rice and maybe sopped up with the miniature pieces of naan that came with it.
And a braised short rib ($36) was wonderfully tender, accompanied by a melange of julienned caramelized vegetables that included carrots and parsnips, and a big cloud of buttermilk mashed potatoes that were the perfect foil for the beef and its black-pepper reduction.
All of this was served up most stylishly, which was no surprise considering the attention that was paid to Sensi's interior, all stone and glass and water walls. The room is centered with a glass-enclosed kitchen with all of the equipment that's necessary for such diverse cuisines, and counter seats at its edge for those who like to watch. The chicken was served in a lovely pot, its rice in a sort of carton, the naan curled into a box atop a tray festooned with crushed rock salt mixed with whole spices. Even the condiments were served stylishly.
We ended in fine fashion with a perfectly executed Grand Marnier souffle ($10). As we looked over the dessert menu, our waiter had told us that, were we to order a souffle, there'd be a 25-minute wait. We were fine with that, but it arrived somewhat sooner.
If only he'd been as diligent along the way.
REVIEW
what: Sensi
where: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South
phone: 693-7111
overall: B+
food: A
atmosphere: A
service: D
pluses: Food and atmosphere.
minuses: Service.
Article from The Las Vegas Review Journal
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Apr-07-Fri-2006/weekly/6705437.html
Non-Sensi-cal: Service lapses felt out of place at the otherwise exquisite Sensi.
By Heidi Knapp Rinella
The decor at Sensi is exquisite, the food even more so.
Too bad our server's performance paled by comparison.
Actually, we had a team of servers. At least I think so. A female server introduced herself initially; a male came by later and occasionally afterward, and we thereafter saw the female only when she drifted by now and again, with any attempt to catch her eye failing completely. About the most consistent service came from the runner. (Well, the hostess did a good job.)
Our server, however, was pretty much of a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Sensi's menu, like its mission, is rather offbeat, and I mean that in a good way. It's a mix of Asian, Italian and grilled items, without being a form of fusion and yet with a clearly defined mission. Such a menu takes some time to study. Yet within the first 10 minutes after we were handed our menus, the server stopped by repeatedly, only to be told that yes, we were fine, but just needed a few more minutes. Finally he apparently decided that we couldn't make a decision and began to list the dishes that he said were popular, as though we were choosing a homecoming queen.
Thanks, I said, but we've just about got it nailed down, and how about if we order the wine? He agreed, and immediately asked for our food order. Letting the wine breathe may not have mattered but we were feeling a little breathless ourselves; I was beginning to wonder if the extent of this guy's serving experience was confined to poker bars.
But well, maybe there was a reason for the rush, because it was quite a while longer before the sommelier arrived with our 2004 Piping Shrike Shiraz ($37). It was an unfamiliar label, and for that I congratulate Sensi's wine director, as so few Strip restaurants populate their wine lists with less-familiar (and less-expensive) selections for the adventurous (or penurious) among us. And the amusingly named Piping Shrike (an Australian wine, can you tell?) turned out to be quite nice.
From then on, it seemed we weren't to see our server much. Was he feeling spurned? I don't know; we'd tried to be very polite. He certainly didn't seem to have many tables. But the guy had worse timing than the dot-comers who hung on. Our wait for the check alone bordered on the ridiculous.
The food, on the other hand, was all that the detailed menu descriptions promised, and more. The only dish that didn't amaze us was the skewer of salt-roasted vegetables ($6), and it was still quite good.
On the "amazing" side of the column: foie gras, seared just to the creamy point and accompanied by a delicate little raviolini filled with a nice mixture of duck confit ($19). This one was so good that, when I offered my friend a taste, she took possession.
Not that I minded, because in the process she relinquished her salad of arugula with chunks of roasted red and yellow beets ($18), and fanned apple slices, a shower of toasted pine nuts and a scattering of chunks of impossibly creamy, impossibly pungent Maytag blue cheese.
The spice-rubbed chicken with butter-curry sauce ($28) wasn't at all what we expected, but it was excellent. The chicken had actually been cut into chunks and bathed in the sauce, to be served over the accompanying basmati rice and maybe sopped up with the miniature pieces of naan that came with it.
And a braised short rib ($36) was wonderfully tender, accompanied by a melange of julienned caramelized vegetables that included carrots and parsnips, and a big cloud of buttermilk mashed potatoes that were the perfect foil for the beef and its black-pepper reduction.
All of this was served up most stylishly, which was no surprise considering the attention that was paid to Sensi's interior, all stone and glass and water walls. The room is centered with a glass-enclosed kitchen with all of the equipment that's necessary for such diverse cuisines, and counter seats at its edge for those who like to watch. The chicken was served in a lovely pot, its rice in a sort of carton, the naan curled into a box atop a tray festooned with crushed rock salt mixed with whole spices. Even the condiments were served stylishly.
We ended in fine fashion with a perfectly executed Grand Marnier souffle ($10). As we looked over the dessert menu, our waiter had told us that, were we to order a souffle, there'd be a 25-minute wait. We were fine with that, but it arrived somewhat sooner.
If only he'd been as diligent along the way.
REVIEW
what: Sensi
where: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South
phone: 693-7111
overall: B+
food: A
atmosphere: A
service: D
pluses: Food and atmosphere.
minuses: Service.
Article from The Las Vegas Review Journal
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Apr-07-Fri-2006/weekly/6705437.html