7. Starker's Reserve

Starker's Reserve
Read the other customer review on Starker's and can't disagree more. My husband and I have been there twice and it was fabulous both times. The wine list is huge...yes you are going to have limited choices if you order by the glass as the other customer did, that's b/c they are not going to open 10 different bottles of chardonnay and let them go to waste when only a glass is drunk out of each. Their sommelier was very helpful, and with only a few questions, showed us wines in each price bracket we would like by the botte. If you are going to a nice restaurant with an excellent chef who cares about the flavors and nuances of the food, you need to not be cheap and by a bottle (or half). Oh, and the fact you have to pay for wine if you don't like it is normal...the only time a restaurant should take it back is if it's bad (vinegary, etc), not just b/c you don't like the flavor! Every appetizer and meal we've had there has been fabulous and I highly recommend it for anyone who truly appreciates food.

We just had dinner at Starkers on Valentine's Day 2009 and we were totally underwhelmed. How pretentious! The price fix menu that night was $100 per person (plus drinks) and it was SO not worth it! Wood floors, so you hear the clanking of the waiters' feet all around, and the yelling right outside the many doors to the kitchen. What?! They can't just hand the chefs the order rather than screaming it to them!? And if you need to go to the restroom you have to walk through the waiter's station through all the yelling and stacks of dirty dishes! I have had better meals for 1/3 the cost elsewhere. The first course was 3 or 4 eggs of caviar on a single potato chip. And we're not talking beluga! Soup course was OK - I had the lobster bisque. Mushroom salad was just so so. Just that ... mushrooms on baby lettuce, period. Bread was just OK. Sliced italian bread, brought one slice at a time. My husband ordered scallops, and he received 2! Granted they were good size, but I gave him 1/2 my steak so he would have enough to eat. My creme broulee was in a tiny dematase cup. They claim to have a huge wine selection, but there was only 1 chardonnay to choose from by the glass. I tried it and hated it. So I ordered a half bottle of another brand, but I could not try it first. If you ordered it you had to keep it whether you liked it or not. Then I ordered coffee. And soon after we finished eating I got very nauseous. I don't know if it was something I ate, or if it was the fact that the coffee was so strong. I had about a cup and 1/2 before I felt queasy. All and all it was a very disappointing experience. We will never go there again.