Stratus Restaurant & Nightlife

Had dinner there Friday night with a large group of some 20 people.  Our table (10) ordered and it took about 90 minutes for the first customer to get his hamburger.  The rest of  our meals came out at least 15 minutes later.  Meanwhile, the other half of the group simply waited for their meals.  Our table was finished eating by the time the other tables' meals started to come out of the kitchen. Totally unacceptable for a restaurant with a limited menu and only about eight or 10 other people in the dining room and no lines waiting for seats.  At the end of the meal, the wait staff presented one huge check, rather than having assembled checks for the various couples.  It then took four servers and about a half hour for them to sort out and prepare individual computerized checks.  At no time did any of the wait staff inquire about my meal quality (good) or whether I needed by nearly empty and warm water glass refilled.  Instead, they appeared only interested in taking addition drink orders.  I know servers are grossly underpaid, but having poor service and an 18-percent gratuity automatically added to the bill is insulting to customers.  The acronym TIPS originally meant To Insure Prompt Service.  With an automatic subsidy, there's no inducement for the waiters to perform quickly or efficiently.  I won't eat there again.

Something on the menu for everyone.  The sherry mushroom soup was off the charts good.  Carpaccio, always a favorite of mine did not disappoint .  Ancho crab risotto was plentiful and tastes was good although a little more moisture could have helped it.  Note: I finished it at home around midnight.  Crab cakes were great.   Michael our waiter was exceptional as was all of the staff we encountered.   I would highly recommend dinner here and if you're into interesting and inventive martini's this is a fun place with great ambiance.

We really, really wanted to love this place because they have so much going for them. The redesign from the old Mezza Luna is GORGEOUS. The staff is super friendly and the drinks menu is mesmerizing. However, the food has just been meh. We gave it two tries and a wide spread of food: One pretty bad quality/execution issue with a meal was fixed very quickly, professionally and apologetically by the service staff (but really shouldn't have happened in the first place.) The food sounds great on the menu and is very prettily presented, but it never quite met our expectations. The burger (delish) was so far was the best of the lot. Most of the items we tried were either super over-seasoned (shrimp app) or over-salted (all flatbreads) but the entrees (pastas, chicken, and a fish) were all under-seasoned yet overcooked (or maybe prepped much earlier and just sat too long.)

I almost wish they'd rework the menu and dumb it down a little. Add a few more sandwiches and burgers. Remove at least 4 ingredients from some of the over-complicated entrees. The price point is just too high for the way the food is coming out of the kitchen. I really hope it's just growing pains. I'm disappointed but hopeful - I'll be watching them on Yelp as the reviews come in.