Sunday, March 11, 2007
OM Restaurant & Lounge
We don't like to trash restaurants, but we've been having a particularly rough string of luck lately finding new places for the Top 100. Our latest disappointment was OM Restaurant & Lounge, a new “upscale” spot in Harvard Square. To start, the atmosphere was cool – but almost too cool – as if the proprietors were trying way too hard to impress. The design coupled with the uppity crowd and snooty service created the most undeservedly pretentious ambiance we have ever experienced. We say undeservedly because the food was average at best. We started with an Apple & Celery Soup Shooter, which none of us could take more than a sip of. For appetizers we tried the Surf & Turf and the Roasted Beet Salad. The Surf & Turf, comprised of short rib dumplings and big eye tuna, was actually a very enjoyable array of four selections. However, the Roasted Beet Salad was simply unpalatable. For entrees, we tried the Venison and the Steak & Eggs (Fillet Mignon with fried truffle egg). The Venison was actually quite delicious, but the portion size was embarrassingly small, especially for $34. The Steak & Eggs were good – no complaints there, but also not quite memorable. To top it off, the wine list only offered one bottle of Cabernet for under $90, which they were out of. We passed on dessert. As we said, the service was a bit snooty and pretentious for our tastes, and the prices were extremely steep compared to other area restaurants of similar quality. As one of our fellow diners put it, “Some places are expensive because they are good, but this places was trying to prove it was good by being expensive.” Overall, this just wasn’t our cup of tea - OM may cut it as an ultra-hip lounge, but in our opinion it doesn't make the grade as an upscale restaurant.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 2:51 PM
