We visited on a Friday night and had the degustation with the wine pairing, as well as the extra caviar course. One of us also opted for the wine upgrade.
Unfortunately our cab had set us down in the back of the building and not...the main entrance and for a few confused minutes we were wondering how a Michelin starred restaurant could exist in a place that was a filthy, low end mall with people squatting in the corridors. We eventually found our way to the elevator bank (no signs, just kind people pointing us in the direction) where we were greeted by friendly staff who took us up.
Firstly, the ambience. A very nice view, but let down by the very, very dated interior. It looks like the early 90s with old carpets to match. Certainly needs an overhaul (or to completely close, judging by the dinner we had).
Out of all the staff, we enjoyed the Somme and his wonderful stories about the wine he poured us. The extra star in this review is for him alone. He definitely made the dinner lively and interesting. We had a lot of trouble understanding the rest of the staff as they explained each course. We understand language differences, so it would have helped having the menu on the table. One waiter made sure to remind us of the price of dinner, the price of the caviar course we chose (which was average) and the price of the wine upgrade (after pushing for the upsell). It was rude and about as off putting as some of the food we were served.
The food was underwhelming at best. Fried components of some courses tasted of stale oil and ruined the entire dish. I did like the sea snail course, beautifully presented however it too had small discs of fried garlic bread which tasted only of the stale oil it was fried in. Similarly there was a thin, fried sphere that only tasted of stale oil. Most courses lacked balance, and I felt some were served at the wrong temperature. The delicious sweet prawns were drowned in unnecessary sauces. The breads served were cold and dry, with one bread literally inedible as it was impossible to even pull apart. I wish I was exaggerating. Even airlines serve their bread warm and soft. The butter, normally a treat at restaurants like this, was strange- it was definitely frozen then thawed, resulting in a telltale texture and colour; and very, very salty. We were informed it was butter from France. Nowhere in France would butter like this be served.
In conclusion, the only 2 stars this place deserves is here on TripAdvisor and not in the Michelin guide. 1 star if it wasn't for the Somme and his excellent wines. The food was of poor standard, with the most basic details overlooked. 100% would NOT recommend.More