I was a bit hesitant with the post. I was afraid it may have come off a bit abrasive and overly opinionated. Anyway, here it is again: This afternoon a group of coworkers and I had lunch at Lacroix. Having dined there before I was pretty excited as the overall experience was quite memorable. Unfortunately this time it did not live up to my expectations, especially after being awarded the coveted 4 bell rating. It wasn't so much that the food was terrible, in fact it was generally good, it was the service that was truly lacking. I am not sure if this was due to the fact that it was lunch and the staff isn't as attentive as dinner, but the space was only about 30-40% full, so it wasn't because they were too busy. Throughout the course of the meal we refilled our own wine and water. My rib eye entree got mixed up with my coworkers (mine was supposed to be medium rare, his was medium) but since we picked up on it before we ate any we just changed plates. So far, not too bad, a mix up and some inattentiveness, not what I would expect from a restaurant with rave reviews but I was looking forward to enjoying the rest of my meal. Upon cutting into the steak I noticed that the butchers twine was still wrapped around it. This seemed like a blatant oversight. The other problem with my dish was that the accompanying onion ring was room temperature at best, and soggy. Since I was with my coworkers and we were having a enjoyable time regardless of the service, i contemplated whether to bring these issues to the servers attention. Well, even if I wanted to the server never came by to ask us about our entrees. The bus boy took my plate empty with the exception of the ring of twine, without making comment. On to the desserts.. The server came by and asked us about coffee and presented their mini pastries and desserts. They all looked great and we ordered the large tier requesting two of each. When they arrived we all selected the one we wanted and a coworker pointed out that the one she was planning on having (an orange something or other) was not included. We brought this to the servers attention and we were told that they were out of it. We were all a bit confused why something not available was presented as a selection. When we finished up our deserts we requested the check, which was erroneous as our bottle of wine was not on the bill. When looking at the individual incidents, they don't seem like such a big deal. But when the whole experience is comprised of continuous mishaps it really becomes disconcerting and detracted from the experience. I know every establishment has its off days, that is understandable. But I would be dissatisfied with this type of service at a three bell (or star) restaurant and have a hard time believing it would occur in a restaurant that just received four bells.
