BLU Italian Grille

Very good pasta primavera, the wine sauce really popped.  Bruschetta was excellent, large bowl of tomatoes and cheese.  I was pleasantly surprised, service was good, but a little clumsy, topped it off with a cannoli, wonderful.  $60 including tip,  I thought it was a pretty good value actually.  This restaurant is better than the italian place in the JW Marriott in Indy, and less expensive.  We just have really good restaurants in Louisville, and the chains have to keep up, to the delight of all.

What is it with bars that don't include prices on their cocktail menu? It's not like they're serving market value liquor.

While BLU is an aesthetically gorgeous bar, it wasn't my favorite stop on the Urban Bourbon Trail. Perhaps I was expecting more since it was featured on the TV show, "Drinking Made Easy."

As our group settled in to one of the tables, two couples were each handed a drink menu, while our third couple went ignored. The server walked right by and continued to place drink menus on empty tables. When she returned to take our order, she seemed bothered than Couple #3 needed more time to decide. When we pointed out she forgot our menu, she retrieved one from an empty table and scoffed, "Typically, this table only gets two menus."

I looked around, baffled. We were the only customers in the bar area. What would be the logical thought here: process and rules, or making the customer happy?

I ordered a Muddled Marmalade Bourbon. For something so sweet, it certainly had a bite. I was expecting to be served a smoother bourbon. Instead it made my face crinkle.

BLU is lovely place to look at, but it didn't live up to the hype. Fortunately, when the bill came, our unpriced drinks were still affordable: $10.00 each. We were a bit worried we'd mistakenly order a $50.00 shot. C'mon, would it be that bad to put prices on your menu? You're still fancy with $10.00 cocktails.

Good food and high prices, this is what you would expect from a restaurant in a high-end hotel.  

Don't get me wrong, the food and service were very good, but not great.  The seafood risotto was covered with seafood, but not packed.  The risotto portion was good, but not great.  I would order it again, but I did expect more in for the prices.

The highlight of the evening was the coffee service.  It comes with a nice tray of cinnamon stick, chocolate shavings, whipped cream and rock candy.  Very nice touch.

The canollis where very well presented and hit the spot with the coffee.

All in all, if you have the money, stop and enjoy a good meal.