Made reservations almost a month in advance for myself and my daughter so we could enjoy a nice dinner before a show. The dinner and show tickets were a Christmas gifts from her dad and me.
We were given a table at the very back of the restaurant in a space similar to a narrow hallway. To our right was an open window overlooking the gambling floor. To our left, a railing and a view of the DJ area in Shrine, the club on the lower level. At our eye level, we had a view of the lights and other rigging above the dance floor. At first, we thought the table in an odd place but were willing to go with the flow.
Then, we noticed the large broken chunk missing from the railing next to our table. This broken piece was decorated with a piece of chewed up gum. Gross! At the same time, we realized the problem with the open window over the casino floor -- a steady flow of cigarette smoke wafting directly into our faces. I asked our waitress if we could change tables, but was informed the restaurant was full and there were no other seats to be had. She did arrange for someone to come up and close the window. Once that was done (it took several minutes), the smoke issue was solved.
However. The DJ just below us chose that moment to bring out a shop vac to vacuum up the massive amounts of confetti on and around the DJ area. My daughter and I found it an odd time for such loud housekeeping and were not really pleased with the experience of trying to make conversation over the noise of the vacuum. Once the vacuum stopped, apparently the DJ needed to test some lights -- by flipping them on and off ---- right in our faces.
After 45 minutes, the one appetizer we ordered finally came to our table. We were reassured that our entrees would soon follow. However, it was another 40 minutes before my daughter's food arrived. She ordered the Hot Rock, an interesting sounding dish that promised tableside preparation. For $28, she received four very small slices of raw beef, four inconsistently sliced pieces of sashimi salmon, a small dish of halved cherry tomatoes, and two kinds of sauce. These were set in front of her with a hot rock. There was no tableside preparation. We also found it hilarious that it took well over an hour for a dish made entirely of RAW FOOD to be sent to our table.
The manager, who by this time was well aware of our disappointment in our experience, sent over a plate of lobster rangoon. It was fine, but I don't understand how they had time to make that but not the dinner I ordered. The manager made many excuses about it being a busy night, but that is just inexcusable.
I asked for the check several minutes after my daughter finished her meal. In spite of the many promises that my shrimp lo mein was coming right out, it did not appear until we were just about the leave the restaurant and I did not have the time (or the appetite) to eat it before the show. One of my two drinks and my dinner were taken off the bill, but the terrible experience still cost me over $50, before the tip (our waitress was great and none of the problems we had were her fault).
As we were leaving, the manager followed us out and insisted on giving me his email address so I could email him before our next visit in order to have the kind of experience we expected the first time. The entire evening was unacceptable, from the location and condition of the table, the smoke, the noise, the long wait for underwhelming and overpriced food, and the inability of management to change the situation. My husband has a restaurant and he was appalled to hear of our "dinner." If someone had this kind of experience at his place (which would never happen), he would have comped their entire bill AND given them a gift card for a future visit.
