Originally Posted by Wyman
TR: ENVY Steakhouse at the Renaissance Hotel on Paradise
We had a restaurant.com GC for ENVY $75 off $150, so we had dinner there last night. We were lukewarm on the experience; for the price (which was low even for "fine dining"), we probably would not return.
First, it was tough for us to get up to $150, so for more budget-conscious fine dining (oxymoron?), this might be a possibility. We ended up ordering:
Artichoke-brie cheese soup $8
Good soup. The brie is very subtle, and we both really enjoyed this. IMO, however, this is nothing to write home about. Just good soup.
Mozzarella-Heirloom tomato salad $12
Again, nothing to write home about, but definitely enjoyable. Tomato, basil, and mozzarella, so of course it was delicious, and the presentation was very nice.
Seafood tower for two $45
Positives: Big, gaudy, and we did not get sick after eating it.
Negatives: Everything else.
Ok, so basically this is a tray of ice with king crab legs, a lobster tail, 4 clams, 4 mussels, 4 oysters, and 4 large prawns. The prawns were overcooked, which is pretty unbelievable. The oysters and clams were not close to among the best I've had (of course, we're in a desert at a steakhouse...). The mussels were good, though I'm not used to mussels being cooked and then chilled. And then there were the sauces. Jesus. There was a tarragon aioli, which was downright gross, and I like tarragon. And aioli. There was an apple vinegar-y dipping sauce, which was fine, though, and there was cocktail sauce, which (I believe) had no horseradish. I think it had chili sauce or something. Maybe I'm picky about my cocktail sauce, but I would have liked just one good sauce for my seafood. Anyway, this was a huge disappointment.
Truffle Reggiano Fries $9
Perfect shoestring fries. Fried twice, shaved reggiano parmesan, and truffle oil. Very tasty, although not orgasmic as many reviews would lead you to believe.
Bone-in Filet $45
Delicious.
Sea Bass with wild mushrooms and crabmeat $36
Nothing special, though a fine piece of fish. The crabmeat added very little.
Garlic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies (came with meals)
As if we needed more food! The mashed potatoes were delicious and whipped nicely. Creamy and garlicky. If we weren't devouring the fries, we would have crushed these potatoes. The veggies were very good, too, but again, we were at our limit.
Pinot Noir flight (3 pinot noirs) $13
Very nice, and all heavy pours. Probably 2+ glasses of wine in the flight, and when 1 glass is $11+, this was a great value.
Service:
The bone-in filet, ordered medium-rare, came out somewhere between medium-well and well-done. After the disappointing seafood tower, I was ready to raise hell, but we calmly just pointed to the steak when the waiter came by, and the waiter was appalled at the condition of it. Within 3 minutes, the chef came out and apologized and told us he got the orders for two steaks confused and that both were sent back to the kitchen. He remade the steak and offered to remake the fish so we could eat together, even though we had already shared half the fish. We declined, nearly full already, but when he brought the filet back, he also brought a fresh plate of fries, and a fresh crock of mashed potatoes and veggies. All in all, they corrected their mistake very well, though serving a medium-well bone-in filet to anyone is a crime in the first place. The only service flaw IMO was that our waiter was switched halfway through dinner, since he had a group of 8 to serve at another table.
Ambience:
The hotel had quite a few people hanging out drinking, but the steakhouse had at most 4 or 5 parties. There was a table of 8, but the rest were about 2 or 3 at most. Certainly the place wasn't bustling.
Overall:
Again, we probably wouldn't go back. The difference in food quality between this and other mid-range steakhouses wasn't worth it. Service was good. Restaurant was pretty much dead. Chef was great at making things right when he messed up the steak. Don't order the seafood tower if you like seafood.
