10/13/09

Don't Even Think About It...Not Worth It!

by Tobuk

I have eaten many times at Bambara, but it has been about one to two years since I have been back. Typically, I would have vendors stay at Hotel Monaco and we would eat at Bambara. I have had dinner and breakfast and it was always very good. Tonight I took 5 people to dinner there and the entire night was a disaster. First, the valet drives my car around the block and as he entered back into the Monaco parking lot he hit my skid plate on the driveway – awesome. The host is a male that was not very friendly with no real greeting or welcome at all. We are taken to our table by a waiter, which was a great table by the window. We order three appetizers and they were very good. I and one of my guests ordered the 12oz Dry Aged New York Steak. A couple ordered the Filet Mignon and the others the Halibut. Many of us ordered the Roasted Corn Bisque – which was ordinary at best. The reviews on the Halibut were good. Filet Mignon was good. Our New York Steak had been pre-sliced with a Béarnaise sauce and French fries. The fries looked straight out of Sysco Foods…nothing special at all. I cut into my steak and it was cold! The other steak was cold as well. I try cutting a piece and it tastes ok. I try to cut another piece and it was straight sinew. So much so, that I couldn’t cut through it. The other steak was exactly the same. Needless to say, we both sent back our steak and ordered the Filet Mignon. The Filet was adequate. Nothing special as to the price you are paying, however, but at least I could cut it!

We finish our meal and everyone is thinking about desert. After 10 minutes, the waiter finally brings a desert menu. Everyone picks what they would like and it took another 10-15 minutes before the waiter showed to take our desert order. Several had the White Chocolate Mousse and the waiter recommended the Blueberry Napoleon, which is what I chose. No kidding, we waited almost 20 minutes for the desert. He brought out two White Chocolate Mousses and one of them was clearly smaller than the other. After all of us looking at it, we noticed one didn’t have the graham cracker crust! Another person in our party ordered coffee and he tasted it and it was cold as well. So the waiter shows up to drop off the rest of the deserts and we send back the one mousse with no crust and the cold coffee. He brings out the new orders and the desert has crust and the coffee had been warmed. The White Mousse feedback was “ok”. I bite into my Napolean and it is completely bland. It has blueberry jam on the top that looks like somebody literally spooned out some jelly and put it on top. My Crème Fraiche ice cream has absolutely no taste. The blandest desert I have ever had. It was becoming comical at this point and we are laughing about how we have already sent 4 things back – what’s one more. I just chose not to eat it.

Net – I will not go back. Dinner was $400 and I tipped 20% to the waiter. I’m not going to take it out on him, but I will never come back at this point. Don’t tell me this is 5 star, when it barely makes a 2 star presence. The waiters were under-staffed, too laid back and the food was so ordinary – it isn’t worth the money. Save it for somewhere else, whatever you do. Don’t get sucked into the reviews all over the place. It used to be a great dining experience.

• Pros: Used to be really good
• Cons: Service not good, food over-priced and not good..

04/30/09

Best birthday dinner!

by suzeequ

My boyfriend and I went to Bambara for my birthday celebration and I was more than impressed. The service was above and beyond top notch and the food was delicious!!!! I came here to write an awesome review since people are very careful who they give their money to these days, but Bambara obviously doesn't need the extra attention. Proof by all the other posts, this restaurant is a gem in SLC. I will definitely be going back! PS...although the featured wine wasn't my fav choice, the option for a $20 bottle when everything else is $40+ is awesome in this economy!

• Pros: AMAZING SERVICE!!! And the food was good too!
• Cons: Wine prices

02/04/09

Great service, nice atmosphere, tasty food

by misskimberly

I visit this restaurant every time I travel to Salt Lake for business. It's always a great meal and the service is very attentive. Highly recommended!

10/21/08

Great food, but bring your own wine

by nate101

The service is decent, the ambiance is good, but not very intimate. Wine is way overpriced, even the cheap ones (they were selling 10-15 State store wine for 60-80). Unfortunate, because you don't want to ruin your food. If they allow BYO wine, I'd definitely recommend you do that & the corking fee.

04/06/08

Always wonderful

by lillika

We've eaten at this restaurant many times for special occasions as well as business lunches and it's never disappointed. The menu is always interesting and the specials are inventive. The space is the most lovely restoration of an elegant old bank building and could not be prettier. I know how difficult it is to be consistent but we have never had a bad meal or poor service at Bambara -- the entire staff is completely professional and they know what they're doing.

03/23/08

Great food

by truckguy

When i called for the reservation, they asked if it was for a special occasion. I was taking my girlfriend here for dinner. They had a very nice suprise for her. The service was great, food was tasty and a classy place to eat. As far as the price it was about 55 bucks a person (without wine).

01/12/08

Fantastic Food - Servers need personality

by phluphy

We went to Bambara last evening and had a great experience. We arrived 30 minutes early to have cocktails in the bar. The bar service was less than personable, but we enjoyed the atmosphere. After we finished our cocktails, we went into the dining room for dinner. We started off with the calamari (EXCELLENT) and the tuna tartar (beautiful presentation - but not a favorite). We ordered a bottle of champagne (good bottle - unfortunately the server had no idea how to open a bottle correctly). My guests ate caesar salads which they enjoyed and I ate the bay shrimp salad (good). We all ordered the filet (A Perfect Cut of Meat - finally a chef who knows how to cook a steak perfectly medium rare). We ended our meal with the ice creams and sorbets (Wonderful)! The server was very friendly and helpful - he just needs a little bit of polishing to be great. Coming from 13 years of hospitality experience and being a new comer to Salt Lake City, it was great to finally get good food in this city!

• Pros: Quality of Food, Atmosphere
• Cons: Bar Service not very personable

12/30/07

New Chef leads to great food.

by beau0003

Bamabara has always had decent food but I dined there last night and it was impressive. Their new chef clearly can innovate and it was apparent through the piquillo peppers stuffed with crab, cedar planked salmon with poblano chile sauce was perfect and a impeccably cooked crusted sea bass. Can't beat the wine list and the dessert expert that dined with us said teh panna cotta was one of the best he had ever tried. The restaurant is clearly matching their eccletic hotel with some great food coming from their kitchen.

• Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Service
• Cons: No much

11/14/07

Very nice inside and great food

by stimpy16

This is my second time to Bambara and the food both times was great.

The first visit was for a friend?s birthday and the service was just OK, she made it obvious that she was not happy that we brought our own wine to have with dinner; however the food and dessert were very good.

The second visit was excellent, yes we brought our own wine and the waiter was receptive and seemed OK with that, the food once again was very good. I want to give kudos to the host that I made reservations with; he asked me if it was a special occasion, and yes it was for a birthday and the staff had presented us with a menu and on the top it had the individuals name on the menu that said Happy Birthday?. Nice touch Bambara (sorry I can?t remember the host?s name but thanks) I would recommend Bambora and I intent to return for special occasions.

• Pros: Great food, Great Ambience. Easy Valet parking also
• Cons: Can?t really think of any unless you get a waiter or waitress that does not appreciate you bringing your own wine

01/03/07

Check out Thier Awesome Bar!

by ebeth312

I made my way in to Bambara bar on New Year's Eve and had a great time. Bar Keeps could not be beat, they were so helpful and really attentive with good conversation skills. I had their signiture lemon drop is it was the best I have ever had. Do yourself a favor and check out the bar next time you are in.

• Pros: Ambience, Service, Quality
• Cons: Parking