Payard Patisserie & Bistro

»Payard - OK, but why settle for OK?

We were headed to the Bellagio to see the Conservatory which was decorated for the Chinese New Year and decided to give Payard's a try for lunch. We had recently had the three course lunch special at Milo's and were eager to compare the two establishments. Milo's won.....

My wife and daughter decided they didn't want the options available on the three course menu ($21) so they had a Chicken...+READ We were headed to the Bellagio to see the Conservatory which was decorated for the Chinese New Year and decided to give Payard's a try for lunch. We had recently had the three course lunch special at Milo's and were eager to compare the two establishments. Milo's won.....

My wife and daughter decided they didn't want the options available on the three course menu ($21) so they had a Chicken Panini ($17) and Angus Burger ($18); respectively. The Panini was meh.... The angus burger was good. Both the panini and burger were served with homemade chips and a very small side salad of mixed greens. The salad was my wife's favorite part of the meal - other than my dessert...

Now, the comparison: I opted for the Spinach/Artichoke dip with pita chips, sea bass, and for dessert the George V. The dip was served piping hot and was a large portion. It was good, but they were a bit shy on the pita chips so I ended up using some of the bread from the basket... The fish was served with a mango salsa and included a polenta cake. The fish was over cooked and a bit dry. The salsa and polenta cake were OK, nothing to write home about. The dessert was just what my wife and daughter wanted and both thought it was outstanding (vanilla and chocolate mousse, carmelized peanuts and a black sacher biscuit). I was even allowed a couple of tastes myself and it was very good.

The atmosphere was OK; they were packed on Monday at noon, with every table full. Which may explain some of the service challenges, but not all. It was clear that our waiter was not very personable - which is OK as long as they are professional; he was not. He was obviously in a hurry and very curt in our interactions throughout the meal. When pouring water he often spilled on the table, our plates, etc. He was pouring often as their water glasses are quite small. Once, when he filled all three glasses and didn't spill any we nearly burst into applause. When we had completed our meal and had a few leftovers we asked for them to go. He returned with the containers placing them on top of my wife's bread plate. He dropped the "to go" plastic bag on top of my water glass! Maybe he thought I had too much to drink? His tip reflected the service and I left a note to make sure he understood why the tip was substandard.

Will we go back? Probably not. Our experience at Milo's was so much better and there are so many great options in town.....-COLLAPSE / REPLY (1 Reply) (by Philber, created January 22, 2012)

(by Larry, created August 1, 2011)