Bazaar Mar by José Andrés — Restaurant in Paradise

I’m not sure what happened on 12/4. So much went wrong. We opted to order a whole bunch a la cart because we wanted to taste everything and the tasting menu wasn’t enough. We really enjoy Bazaar Meats so was very excited about Bazaar Mar. The biggest issue was the seasoning or lack of in this case. Most tasted bland, although lots of fats/butter/oil. The dishes started out okay with the olives. The tuna come was tiny, and not much flavor. The pillows with tuna on top was filled with something so dense and mushy at the same time, the texture made me gag. I couldn’t tell if it was mashed up raw fish. The lobster croquettes were delicious and tasted like lobster bisque in a crunchy shell, the elote felt like a joke with not much to the corn part of corn, just seasoning on a stick, maybe their best was the raw shrimp on the thai salad cup - it was flavorful. the tuna with the quail egg was mostly sauce. There was no balance of flavor on this dish, the raw scallops with grapes was another completely bland dish - it’s only so much bland raw seafood one can eat. we left half of it, they were out of one of the po’boys and our dinner reservation was at 5pm. the fried oyster po’boy was fine but the ratio of bread to oyster was too much and what you mostly taste is the bread, the ceviche is the prettiest dish and was flavorful, the butter on top of uni was ridiculous in how much butter was on each - probably about 2.5 tablespoons of butter per bread on top of a little uni. You couldn’t taste the uni. it was just all butter. I scraped off the butter and the server took off the charge. So, we ordered some veggies to go with the whole grilled fish, they brought them out one at a time without the fish. The bowl of potatoes with a green and red dipping sauce. The tiny potatoes were very good on their own but the sauces were pretty bland. (We’ve eaten at many restaurants in Peru, and Bazaar Mar misses it completely. We’ve also had lots of sushi all over the country and in Japan, and I’m surprised at these dishes, even without comparison to any other place- Jose Andres is so very well respected and does much good work in the world, that we were completely disappointed how they failed.) The carrots were flavorful but they were very crunchy. The mushrooms looked delicious but it was just drenched in butter… a bit of garlic and salt would have made a difference. The biggest disappointment was the whole fish. As soon as they brought it, it was so stinky, I asked them why. Both the server and the person agreed that it smelled bad. Fish smells foul if it’s old and past prime. This should have never happened at a high caliber seafood restaurant on a Wednesday at a 5pm dinner reservation (which is the time Jose Andres suggests that we go for dinner). We sent the fish back and didn’t want a replacement because if that’s what they’re sending, I didn’t want to think about other freshness of what we’ve already eaten. The server gave us a free dessert- The key lime beach which was good. He also brought out a small pound cake with a candle because it was my birthday. The funny thing was, the pound cake was an edge piece that had dried out so much that i couldn’t get a fork in it. It was all very funny in the end. We definitely think this new restaurant needs to rethink their food. The reason for the 3 stars on food instead of 2 was the 2 drinks we got. We don’t drink alcohol and we don’t like non-alcohol spirits but really enjoy mocktails made with spices and juice. Many restaurants have a mocktails list that’s not based on non-alcohol spirits but Bazaar Mar didn’t. However, the bartender made us two drinks when we mentioned to the server about having a ginger based drink and a fruit based drink. It wasn’t on their menu but...

Having been a fan of Bazaar Meats we decided to try this new restaurant for my husband's birthday about a week ago. We did the $275/each tasting menu and honestly it was terrible for the price we paid.

The location and atmosphere was a bit strange inside the mall and it was kind of open so you can see all the people shopping nearby so it didn't feel very private. The cocktail list only had maybe two drinks that sounded decent, we chose the magic carpet cocktail and both enjoyed it. Later in the evening I got a diet Coke which they served the tiny 8oz bottle and if I recall correctly it was around $12 which is insane considering it's not even a cans worth. The few starter items were okay like the caviar taco thing and iberico, but then things went downhill pretty quickly.

The cold lobster weird salad dish they made I wound up having tiny pieces of shell in it which on top of the bad taste was super gross to chew into, and lobster shell is way worse than an eggshell to bite into so we stopped eating it immediately. The grilled fish was mediocre, still had a ton of bones we had to pick out and the carrots mixed with the citrus and creamy/cheese stuff was a terrible combo and there was very little harmony between the dishes in this tasting menu as a whole. While it's okay to have some sense of variety in a tasting menu, this was genuinely all over the place and felt like they didn't care about having any sort of theme except it all having some sort of ocean influence. Having the main entree not mesh well with the side dish they serve with it is a perfect example of this sloppiness and honestly this restaurant just feels like a cash grab rather than something innovative like Bazaar Meats was(I've been told their quality has gone down as well).

The souffle at the end had a large pool of oil at the bottom, I took a photo of it because it was so much(attached). Looking online it says a pool of oil in souffle means it wasn't prepared correctly and for the price we paid incorrect preparation is simply unacceptable.

Our bill was $770 for two and to pay that much for a meal that wasn't phenomenal let alone something I would even say was good, I think most people would be furious with. Telling my friends about this experience, they all said they would have flipped out if it was them but I was kind and didn't make a fuss because it was his birthday but he was also very disappointed by the meal.

On top of that, the male servers were all standing around and talking for a while and all of them kept looking at me, making me feel uncomfortable. My husband noticed it as well, it seemed like they were talking about me/us as they all looked over multiple times while standing around near the bar but I am unsure of which context it was in. Our server was kind but they are not accommodating to any dietary restrictions on the tasting menu, even though they have two tasting menus which you would think they would allow you to substitute one item for a lesser priced one from the cheaper menu, they made me pay extra to add items I could eat and I had to give the items I didn't want to my husband just so I could enjoy the same amount of courses. Overall I was extremely disappointed and do not recommend going. It would be nice to have the company make things right but I'm not holding my breath.

P.S. -Why's Jose taking pictures with Ryan Routh? Isn't that a bit odd for someone who was working inside of the...

Bazaar Mar opened at Crystals a few days ago; as I admire José Andrés' work and am a sucker for the new and shiny, went there for dinner. Was greeted promptly and in the most friendly manner by the hostesses, even though I was criminally early for my reservation.

The cocktail list contained several intriguing options; began with the $20 Magic Carpet due to one of the ingredients being yogurt. The glass had a thin froth, and the drink was very clean and clear, and gave a good buzz.

The food menu ran the gamut from small to the gargantuan. First order round- Neptune's Pillow (Little Snacks, two pieces, $18): Shaped like a body pillow, if Neptune were a seahorse. Shells were crispy, thin enough to bite through but just thick enough to make that bite very careful. Fully filled with the tuna paste, topped with delicate tuna slices, spicy enough to be noticeable without deadening the taste buds. Japanese Baby Peaches (Unleash the Garden!, $22): Very pretty presentation, received tableside scoop assistance from server Traveon who expertly guided each ingredient onto the spoon; amazing light sweet flavor, could serve as an unusual dessert. Alaskan King Crab Chawanmushi (Sea What Else, $28): Arrived in a crock shaped like, what else, a crab. Foamy rich broth, crab pieces were large (if not necessarily plentiful) and at the perfect toothsome doneness. Indulgent.

Between the peaches and the crab ordered the $18 Cross Eyed Mary cocktail, great-tasting tempered sharpness, wound up drinking two.

Had been eyeballing the menu through my courses and finally gave in to the temptation of the Miso Glazed Pluma Ibérica (For the Meat Eater, $68): A necessarily thin wedge of succulent sweet and salty tender meat. Practically meltaway but had incredible mouthfeel. Took away half and held up as a next day nosh.

For dessert, already knew from the start of the evening I wanted the Key Lime Beach ($16), having seen the picture on Eater. So. That website's photo presented a much taller turret on the graham cracker sand at the edge of the lime foam sea; mine was half as squat, overall presentation not as precise, but definitely resembled a sandcastle a child might build on vacation. Still adorable, and a tart treat to eat. Finished with the wine recommended by Traveon, Jorge Ordóñez & Co no3 Old Vines Moscatel, $15, decent pour.

Value: Subjective. Prices were what would be expected of a Strip restaurant owned by Chef José Andrés, even one located in a mall, albeit that mall being stocked with expensive designer fashion boutiques. Quality was also high, as were most of the presentations.

Atmosphere: Much effort was made to isolate and disguise the floor from the rest of Crystals. Extensive and colorful terracotta-based wraps, rugs, and artwork, with velvet and rattan seats, and draping greenery.

Service: Impeccable without pretension, attentive without intrusiveness. Traveon had the menu down cold and was very helpful whilst I dithered over my food and...