OAlogoeggplant
 

 

 

Most Overrated Restaurants 2008

 

The editors of OAD compiled this list by identifying the lowest-scoring restaurants in our survey that also have what we consider to be a high rating in the Michelin or Zagat guides. Unfortunately, if you want to do a specific comparison between our results and theirs, you are going to have to do a bit of research on your own. For those of you who are new to our guide and our 120-point rating system, here is a key that explains how it works

 

Rating

OAD Recommendation

105+

Worth Planning a Trip Around

100-104

Worth Going Out of Your Way For

95-99

Important Local Choices

90-94

Recommended Restaurants

85-89

Perfectly Acceptable

Below 85

Restaurants We Can’t Recommend

 

ALL REGIONS NEW YORK CITY UNITED STATES UNITED KINGDOM EUROPE

 

 

UNITED STATES

 

 

1.

 

Las Vegas, Nevada

 

Given the quality of the product he serves—the fish is flown in from Italy daily—and his rich, luxurious sauces, it’s the “poor service” and “insane pricing” that propels Paul Bartolotta’s restaurant to the top of this list. With diners commenting on “mushy pasta served with shrimp still in its shells” and $70 turbot that the “Captain tore apart tableside,” it seems this is a restaurant that can’t get out of its own way.

 

thinred9

 

“Service at the level of the Olive Garden, cuisine a notch higher.”

“Picture big theatrics as the fish are paraded out on big silver platters.”

 

item5i

 

2.

 

San Francisco, California

 

Despite the so-so performance, 20 percent of our panel rated this restaurant as “Must Go.” Unfortunately, another 40 percent rated it as “Acceptable or Lower,” propelling it onto this list. Most of the complaining revolved around cooking that was described as “formulaic,” with numerous people complaining that Mina’s “three-way” culinary concept (you choose an ingredient and he prepares it three different ways) gets tiring.

 

thinred9a

 

“The gimmick of building each course around a single ingredient prepared in three different ways left us feeling bewildered rather than titillated. This barrage of ingredients and preparations kept us from being able to focus on any single thing.”

 

item5j

 

3.

 

Los Angeles, California

 

In reading the comments we collected about this restaurant that was once the rage among local diners, we were torn as to which did a better job of describing its current state of decline—“a shadow of its former self” or “a shell of what it once was.” These days, the crème de la crème of the L.A. foodie scene is nowhere to be seen, replaced in large part by families, complete with kids running riot around the place.

 

item5k

 

4.

 

Wellesley, Massachusetts

 

Maybe, back in 1998 when this restaurant first opened and this style of cuisine was novel, it was worth making the trip from downtown Boston out to the suburbs to sample Ming Tsai’s Asian fusion cuisine. But now that such cuisine is available most anywhere, we had a hard time finding experienced diners who could still recommend the place. Some do say, though, that the food is markedly better when Ming is in the kitchen.

 

thinred9b

 

“Would be justly and utterly unknown if not for chef/owner with TV show.”

“Bad food, terrible service and overpriced. We drove over an hour to be disappointed.”

 

item5l

 

5.

 

Santa Rosa, California

 

With a beautiful setting that overlooks a vineyard—especially lovely in nice weather, when you can dine on the outdoor patio—it’s a pity that this restaurant underperforms so badly. Given that the options for fine dining in Sonoma County are already paltry compared to next-door neighbor Napa, it’s a shame they can’t figure out how to serve better food, especially in view of Ash’s reputation as a chef.

 

thinred9c

 

“The place has no discernable cuisine of its own.”

“Service was not up to what I expected, and the sommelier was not that familiar with his own wine list. “

 

item5m

 

6.

 

Las Vegas, Nevada

 

It is the quintessential celebrity-chef trick: lure diners into your establishment by making them think they will be getting food that has something to do with the cuisine that made you famous, then deliver nothing more than an ordinary dining experience. There is possibly no better example of this than Mix in Las Vegas, where the celebrity chef is none other than Alain Ducasse. The extravagant cost makes it all worse.

 

thinred9d

 

“With mediocre food and abominable service, this is a complete waste of time for serious food connoisseurs.”

“The sommelier told me he couldn’t get the restaurant to stock proper stemware.”

 

item5n

 

7.

 

Chicago, Illinois

 

Given that the restaurant’s signature dish—a Plexiglas staircase with a different type of flavored caviar on each step—is all style over substance, we weren’t surprised that Rick Tramonto’s restaurant was a contender for most overrated restaurant in the U.S. Besides the cuisine, the service took a beating too, with one person describing the overall experience as “essentially silly, with obsequiousness taken to new levels.”

 

thinred9e

 

“All show, high prices and no taste excitement.”

“It’s a good choice if you need to show off to someone who doesn’t know better.”

 

item5o

 

8.

 

Santa Monica, California

 

What can you say about a restaurant that elicits comments like: “I eat there regularly and I have never had a meal that wowed me”; or “The classic L.A. success story more about the warm reception and kissing up to VIPs than the food”; not to mention “Why is this even on the survey the food isn’t even a tenth as good as it used to be?” Wine lovers should note that some think it’s worth going “if only for the terrific wine list.”

 

thinred9f

 

“Has really, really gone downhill. Tattered linens, very bad glassware and indifferent service match the marginal menu.”

“Possibly the most overrated restaurant in the U.S.”

 

item5p

 

9.

 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

The story of what happened to Susanna Foo’s midtown Philadelphia restaurant is a typical one in the restaurant business—a chef opens an establishment with an original concept and rides the wave of success for as many decades as he or she can without making any substantial changes to the cuisine. The result is that what was once considered a groundbreaking concept by foodies is now considered stale and tired.

 

thinred9g

 

“A pretentious version of P.F. Chang.”

“Each of the recent times I have dined there, the food is less and less inspired.”

 

item5p1

 

10.

 

Chicago, Illinois

 

Many diners considered this restaurant a “Must Go” back in the day when Thai was still seen as an exotic cuisine. But as restaurants serving sophisticated Thai food became more common, Arun’s lost its cachet, and diners now know that the same quality food is available elsewhere at prices that are a fraction of what you pay here. It’s still a favorite with those who like to wear a sports coat while eating a bowl of Pad Thai.

 

thinred9h

 

“Perhaps at one time Arun’s acted as the leading edge of Thai food, but that time is long past.”

“Bland coconut flavors predominate. Small, expensive portions of food that is vaguely Thai.”