Le Lotus aspires to a Michelin star experience and fails miserably. Starter, entree and dessert for two was about 27,800 Polynesian francs (~$250). For the quality of restaurant suggested by such a price, the service and ambiance were extremely poor, and the food was hit or miss.
After we were seated, we were brought water quickly, and my partner got a mocktail. Following that, we waited about 30 minutes before the waiter took our order. If you have to get impatient and wonder how long it will be before the waiter takes your order, there is something seriously wrong with your high-end restaurant experience. At other restaurants of similar price (Sushi Nakazawa, Le Bernardin, The Fulton), I have always experienced prompt and attentive service.
When the waiter finally arrived, I ordered the tuna tartare starter, the catch of the day (Mahi Mahi), and the citrus sorbet. My partner had the carrot tartlette starter, the tenderloin and the mango and passion fruit panna cotta.
While waiting for our courses, we were quickly brought bread but no butter. While halfway through the bread, an amuse bouche also arrived. There was a mahi mahi morsel that tasted like potato salad with mahi mahi in it. It was actually pretty good. A second small bite was anchored by foie gras and also was quite reminiscent of potato salad, but less appealing than the first one.
The starter came shortly after the amuse bouche. The tuna tartare over a watermelon slice was not a great flavor combination. The seared tuna that also came with the dish, with verbena flavored olive oil dressing and toasted pumpkin seeds, was delicious.
After the first dishes came quickly, there was a significant lull before the entrees arrived. When the entree did arrive, it was ok, but the Mahi Mahi was a bit watery like it had been frozen a while, and I had many more fresh tasting fish dishes in Tahiti at cheaper establishments or purchased at the grocery and grilled. The clams in the dish were delicious and the "aioli soup" the server poured over my rice was ok but a bit overwhelming. My partner's tenderloin was cooked medium rare to perfection and I am told it was very good all around.
We then waited over 30 minutes for the dessert to arrive. My citrus sorbet had a small scoop of sorbet (which was excellent) in a pool of olive oil (which was not excellent). Also there was a lemon meringue pierced with lemon flavored hardened foam shards and thin sliced charred and dehydrated grapefruit. The meringue and foam shards were very good but the grapefruit tasted burnt and left an unpleasant aftertaste until I popped a mint in the car on the way home. My partner's panna cotta was a few lumps on a plate, barely worthy of being acknowledged as a component of a meal. At this point, we had been dining for two hours and the restaurant was seating the guests for the late seating.
The open air dining was extremely hot. There were three ceiling fans in the dining area over the water, but only one was running. I was sweating quite a bit throughout the meal.
Also, the music in the restaurant was a playlist of maybe 5 or 6 songs. In my over two hours in the dining room, I heard every song more than four times each. This was a very weird decision by the restaurant to play such a short playlist on repeat.
By the end, I could not wait to get out of there. After dessert, we elected not to wait for the check to come to us. We found the maitre d', paid up and left as quickly as we could.
Save your money and your time. Le Lotus does not live up to its pretensions of...
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