REVIEW: Da Vue: Hotel Le Bleu Was Le Ridiculous

Ok, so after the comment orgy that took place last week over the Vue, the new restaurant that just opened at Hotel Le Bleu, I decided to go down there and check it out for my damn self.

As expected: it was...uhm...memorable.

Before I go into my rant, I DO have to say that everyone there was very, very, very, very nice. All of the employees of the Vue seem like perfectly lovely people, and were super duper friendly. Problem is, they were also retarded, and had no clue what was on their menu.

We showed up around 6:30pm on Saturday night with another couple (who shall remain anonymous in the hopes that they won't get lynched should they ever choose to return). Ok, so here's the scene: the entire fucking restaurant is EMPTY. There is not another soul there (and for the record: no one else showed up during the hour we were Vue-in). All of the tables are set...tables for 2, tables for 4, tables for 6, you get the picture. We are a party of 4, so I kinda thought that we would be seated, I DON'T KNOW, at a motherfucking table for 4?! No siree. The (again lovely, but) clueless hostess, took us over to 2 tables set for 2 (ok, weird, granted, but stay with me here...). I thought to myself: "this is insanely bizarro, but whatevs. She'll push the tables together and we can sit here." So she puts our menus down at each of the 4 place settings and then looks up at us as if we should sit down. At the two tables for 2....right the fuck next to each other, but NOT pulled together next to each other.

!!??

We all stared at her for a moment in disbelief until finally another Vue-er realized how ridiculous she was being and said "why don't you sit here at this table for 4?" Wow, really, really good idea.

Feeling unable to commit to an extended evening there, we decided to just order drinks. The waitress kindly pointed out (2 or 3 times) that they do have some "really really good" specialty cocktails, so hot diggity dog, we thought we'd order some of them!

Our friend, *Stacy, decided to order a Mojito like drink called Le Vue...only the waitress wasn't exactly aware of how to pronounce this particular specialty cocktail, and instead called it DA Vue (like, Da Bears). Nice. Her husband *Daniel ordered a Manhattan, and Greg and I decided to each order a glass of wine. Here's when it got really interesting. I ordered a glass of Moscato, which IS a dessert wine that I actually like to drink at dinner. This is something that sometimes confuses waitstaff b/c it is, granted, kind of weird. I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure she said "ok, a glass of mosquito, coming right up." Greg then ordered a glass of Pinot Noir, and I SWEAR, this chick goes: "ok, glass of Pinot New York?"

Yes...a glass of Pinot New York please.

Jeezus Christ.

Thankfully, we did get to eat some delicious rolls while we were waiting for our drinks. In fairness, all the correct drinks did arrive and according to the group, they ranged from pretty good (Le Vue) to meh (the Manhattan). Our wine was fine.

The place was decorated in a budget/wannabe hipster/chic style (I give it a B-/C+ for effort), but the whole thing fell apart for me with the TV's in the wall (which were broadcasting a game on Sat that all of the employees seemed to be enthralled in). So, is it a chic place to go for dinner (with $20+ entrees), or is it a sports bar?

The final nail in the WTF coffin came when we got our bill: $52 (for 4 drinks).

Here's the thing Le Bleu: yes this is NYC and yes things are more expensive here, but your hotel is NOT in NYC Manhattan. If I wanted a $15 drink, I would get my ass on the Q and go to NYC MANHATTAN (ed note: JESUS H CHRIST, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW MOTHERFUCKERS???). I did not taste your food, so perhaps I missed out an epic meal (though at that point I may have had to take out a loan to pay for it). I just think you are trying to be a little *too* nice, ya know?

I love, love, love the idea of a cool hotel in the area (and am still intrigued by the Roof Bar which is supposed to open up in a few weeks), I just think you guys need to take it down a notch. Oh, and also give your waitstaff some elocution lessons (can I reiterate again here that they were all VERY nice?).

As for the actual view from Da Vue, you really *do* get a lovely aerial view of that Taxi Garage on 4th Ave.

*NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT