Chancellor's Restaurant University Pl Hotel At Ipi

Fail...'nuff said.

I did not dine here.  I was going to stop by for brunch, but apparently I had read the hours wrong and when I thought they served until 11am, they only served until 10.  The problem is, I was at the front desk of the restaurant, waiting and waiting.  Diners kept staring at me and there were no waiter in site for a good 5-10 min.  Then an old waitress storms across the floor, and when I smiled and said hi to her, thinking I will finally be served, she goes, "we're closed.  I just forgot to put the sign up front" (with a frown).  Confused, I went up to the hotel front desk where the staff also confirmed that the restaurant indeed closes at 10am for brunch.  "So what is open now?" I asked.  "Nothing" she responded.  Granted it is my fault to have remembered this restaurant's hours wrong, I was surprised for this hotel, a supposed 4 stars, had NOTHING open at 10:15am.  Finding the situation rather silly, I went right back up to my room to grab my coat and walked over to Subway to have a little bite, and then when Noodles & Co opened for business, walked in to grab a tasty curry noodle soup too.  I don't know if I will bother trying to dine at this restaurant for the duration of my stay.... aside from their hours, how awfully quiet they were and how those other diners just kept staring on me made me feel downright uncomfortable.  Seems like from the other reviews I won't be missing much either.

The wife and I went to Chancellor's for dinner last night.  Walking away I'd say that it was a solid 3-star experience.  We were greeted promptly at the door and shown to a table.  the inside of this place is fantastic.  Very pretty.  My wife thought that the placemats were a little 70's, but I liked them.  

The service was good, but did have some problems.  Our server started us out with a round of very cold water (which is great).  I asked for the wine menu, but I didn't really go over it with any sense of detail.  I was just looking for a glass to have with my meal.  I ordered a glass of the Bogle petite syrah.  Tasted great, but was incredibly overpriced.  I paid $9 for a glass of wine that came from a bottle that I could pick up at a store for nine or ten bucks.  

We ordered our entrees.  I ordered the lamb and my wife a vegetarian pasta dish.  She also ordered a salad.  Some bread and oil arrived at the table and not long after our entrees showed up.  Sans salad.  I asked my wife if she still wanted her salad.  She said no and our server then mentioned he forgot about the salad.  I think this turned out better because pasta is so filling.  

The food was OK.  It was nothing spectacular, though.  And for $28, I want more meat.  The lamb that arrived at my table -- while well prepared -- was tiny.  It was a lot of money for such a small amount of food.  The veggies with the lamb were excellent, though.  Summer squash, carrots and some fingerling potatoes that really seemed fresh.  The big fail of the meal was my wife's pasta.  It was one gigantic mess of stickiness.  All the noodles were just stuck with all the other noodles.  It was weird.  I'm not sure if that's from being overcooked, undercooked or what -- or maybe that's how it was supposed to be, but you had to sort of 'cut' the pasta to eat it.  

We didn't order dessert, but the menu looked fun.  I think my wife would have had the berry crisp, but it wasn't available.  A previous review of Chancellor's lists a disappointment that the online menu and the in-house menu weren't the same.  We experienced the same, but diners need to keep in mind that it's a 'local' menu.  Chef Noble is trying to source from Indiana and so the menu isn't always going to have everything available.  That said, when we asked about duck our server said that the menu we were viewing online was the Winter menu.  Yesterday was August 24.  I *hope* the Winter menu is not still what's posted online.

Again, solid three stars, but not necessarily something I'd visit again.  I don't feel that you have to approach the place with caution or anything.  The restaurant is in the same complex as the University's conference center.  If you need to impress a client and take them somewhere nice, this isn't bad and it's on-site.  For some conference goers that's important.

Parking is complementary with your meal.  Just have your garaqe tab and present it to your server BEFORE you get your check.

Good luck!