This restaurant reminded me of the hot guy you see across the room . . . great looking, well dressed, sparkling eyes . . . you say hello and he responds and he's, well, vapid. Nothing to say, not exciting, banal and disappointing. From service to food to presentation, Cite was vapid and banal. The only thing is has going for it is the view . . . so go up and enjoy the view for a cocktail and then find a good restaurant for dinner. Otherwise you're going to be disappointed.
The menu on line looked promising, and the reviews were good, so I figured I'd give it a chance [against my better judgement]. For the entire evening it felt like somebody wasn't paying attention, neither the dining room nor the kitchen were anywhere close to adequate for a restaurant of this price range and calling itself fine dining. First the service: I don't need the waiter to tell me what's on the menu by reciting the names of the dishes and their preparations just as they are printed . . . I can read. I shouldn't have to ask for a napkin or water or bread . . . that's supposed to happen automatically. When the food arrives the waiter should check back quickly to see if everything is alright [it was not]. When presenting the cheese course, the waiter should know what kind of cheese is on the plate, duh! And, there shouldn't be a squirt bottle of cleaning solution left on the adjacent table through the meal . . . this is, after all, supposed to be fine dining. And lastly, the waiter shouldn't be glib about everything that went wrong during the evening, that doesn't make it better and only cements the impression of amateurism on every front.
Now for the food. The best thing we ate was the amuse, a tiny cup of a chilled mango and pepper soup that was divine. And, unfortunately, set our expectations for wonderful things to follow when we were actually at the top of the peak and it was all down hill from there. The jumbo lump crab souffle was OK, really just a couple of crab cakes, and why it was "jumbo" I'll never know. Was it from a large crab? Then came the entree, a New York strip served with "chef's wild mushrooms" and Pomme Puree . . . the steak was over cooked to leather [well done rather than the medium rare that was ordered] and the Pomme Puree was a blob of mashed potatoes placed on the plate as if by a cafeteria worker at a grammar school. The cognac sauce on the plate was cloyingly sweet and more appropriate for dessert. Also on the plate was a blue cheese ravioli which was undercooked [tough pasta] and obviously from the freezer section at Costco. My companion had the rack of lamb, which she said was good but not remarkable. Finally, a cheese plate with four cheeses . . . only three of which the waiter could identify and he didn't know what the other things on the plate were either. What??
The overall dinning experience was disappointing to say the least . . . for a restaurant this expensive at least the service should be competent. I have always been wary of restaurants with views [this place is 70 stories up] and should have trusted my gut on this one [rather then filling it with mediocre food in this town full of good restaurant options]. With a view like this the place is compensating for something, and like a guy with a big truck, something is going to come up short. And in this case the short was service, food, experience. Don't bother with this place, its a disappointment from start to finish.
EatHereOrNot: NOT
The menu on line looked promising, and the reviews were good, so I figured I'd give it a chance [against my better judgement]. For the entire evening it felt like somebody wasn't paying attention, neither the dining room nor the kitchen were anywhere close to adequate for a restaurant of this price range and calling itself fine dining. First the service: I don't need the waiter to tell me what's on the menu by reciting the names of the dishes and their preparations just as they are printed . . . I can read. I shouldn't have to ask for a napkin or water or bread . . . that's supposed to happen automatically. When the food arrives the waiter should check back quickly to see if everything is alright [it was not]. When presenting the cheese course, the waiter should know what kind of cheese is on the plate, duh! And, there shouldn't be a squirt bottle of cleaning solution left on the adjacent table through the meal . . . this is, after all, supposed to be fine dining. And lastly, the waiter shouldn't be glib about everything that went wrong during the evening, that doesn't make it better and only cements the impression of amateurism on every front.
Now for the food. The best thing we ate was the amuse, a tiny cup of a chilled mango and pepper soup that was divine. And, unfortunately, set our expectations for wonderful things to follow when we were actually at the top of the peak and it was all down hill from there. The jumbo lump crab souffle was OK, really just a couple of crab cakes, and why it was "jumbo" I'll never know. Was it from a large crab? Then came the entree, a New York strip served with "chef's wild mushrooms" and Pomme Puree . . . the steak was over cooked to leather [well done rather than the medium rare that was ordered] and the Pomme Puree was a blob of mashed potatoes placed on the plate as if by a cafeteria worker at a grammar school. The cognac sauce on the plate was cloyingly sweet and more appropriate for dessert. Also on the plate was a blue cheese ravioli which was undercooked [tough pasta] and obviously from the freezer section at Costco. My companion had the rack of lamb, which she said was good but not remarkable. Finally, a cheese plate with four cheeses . . . only three of which the waiter could identify and he didn't know what the other things on the plate were either. What??
The overall dinning experience was disappointing to say the least . . . for a restaurant this expensive at least the service should be competent. I have always been wary of restaurants with views [this place is 70 stories up] and should have trusted my gut on this one [rather then filling it with mediocre food in this town full of good restaurant options]. With a view like this the place is compensating for something, and like a guy with a big truck, something is going to come up short. And in this case the short was service, food, experience. Don't bother with this place, its a disappointment from start to finish.
EatHereOrNot: NOT
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