Ulu Kitchen by Merriman

Review summary

1. R

   Richard

   Chicago

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined today

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Ran out of prefix menu and the replacement menu also ran out. Bad communication and didn’t take responsibility.
   

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2. T

   Tom

   VIP

   Washington DC

   8 reviews

   2.0

   8 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   This was our second visit to Ulu and was disappointing after our first favorable experience. We arrived at 7:15 for a Christmas prix fixe dinner only to find that, due to poor planning, the restaurant was out of several options including the premiere entree, prime rib. Although the manager did provide alternatives, they did not live up to the original. Moreover, a 20% gratuity was added on top of (and calculated based on) a kitchen assessment of 4% and tax. It has been my understanding in the past that the service gratuity should only be calculated based on the food and beverage costs. The service was good and our server tried to do her best despite the errors of the management, but the experience did not live up to the quality we expected.
   

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3. P

   Pam

   VIP

   San Francisco

   19 reviews

   1.0

   19 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Not with the price they charged prix fixed for a not do great meal, and out of things
   

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4. T

   Tiffany

   Cincinnati

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined today

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   One of the best steaks I’ve ever had. It was a lovely experience.
   

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5. S

   Sarita

   VIP

   San Francisco

   11 reviews

   3.0

   11 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   Second course came before the first course for our 4 course Christmas dinner. Taste was just okay.
   

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6. R

   Rob

   Hawaii

   15 reviews

   4.0

   15 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Pretty expensive, even if it was Christmas.. 1st Course: 2 Vichyssoise was not chilled at all, barely cool. Maybe two tablespoon servings😫think it would have been good if properly chilled 👎🏼👎🏼 2nd Course: 1 crab quesadilla and 1 vegetable salad👍👍 Main Course: 1 Rack of Lamb and 1 Prime Rib 👍👍👍👍 Dessert: 1 Chocolate Mochi, 1 Crème Brûlée 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼 While the server was nice, she and from what I could see nearby, most of servers were really young and very inexperienced. Bottom line: Main course saved our Christmas dinner. Never order dessert here! Never order vichyssoise. And never expect to get great service.
   

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7. H

   Heather

   Minneapolis

   19 reviews

   5.0

   19 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Excellent and pleasantly surprised with the mushroom pot pie! Great job!
   

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8. A

   Anna

   VIP

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   We got a table for two outside right next to the exit from the inner part of the restaurant and the bar. The staff was constantly pacing back and forth my back, really close to the table, stepping on a wooden plank that vibrated my chair. It got to the point that I couldn't relax, so I asked the manager to move us to a different open table. She said "well, we already assigned you a waiter but let me check." Eventually they sat us at another table, but what's up with that weird response? It's not like we were in the middle of the dinner, we just ordered drinks and our server served us at the other table anyway. We ordered all of the recommended by the server dishes - coconut shrimp, crabcakes, special ahi tuna and scallops. All of the food was just ok, but not great or delicious - the flavors were off, the main special had too much garlic and onion, the scallops came swimming in creamy corn that was way too creamy for me. Again, the food was ok, but for $250 I was expecting it to be quite better, considering there are a lot of other restaurants that serve amazing food for 1/2 of this price (Lelani's for example.) The sunset view was great though - the only thing that was as great as I expected it to be.
   

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9. L

   Lazur

   VIP

   San Diego

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great ending to our vacation celebrating my 50th. The ahi entree was delicious!
   

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10. R

    Robin

    Seattle

    10 reviews

    5.0

    10 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Had the surf and turf. 7 oz filet was excellent with lobster ravioli. Would likely order just filet next time. The gratin potatoes were great also. Started with excellent crab cakes and the Caesar salad. The salad had great croutons but the dressing lacked flavor and could have used some lemon and anchovies. Sat outside which was a great vibe.
    

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