Well, where to start.....
This was a return visit. We came here about 4 years ago and had such a great meal we came back with 4 friends in tow, on the promise of a great meal experience.
As highly experienced Gordon Ramsay customers (we've been to all the UK restaurants several times, as well as a number in the US), we had no hesitation in recommending this as a highlight of our group holiday. Sadly, it wasn't the experience we expected, or paid for.
We started off being served by Charles, who went into the big sell on the tasting menu, but very quickly lost interest when he discovered we all preferred the look of the a la carte menu. He seemingly avoided us for the remainder of the evening, making getting his attention a very difficult and frustrating activity.
So onto ordering.....his "recommendations" for selections were meanly the most expensive items, which was disappointing, however, I did take his recommendation for the "American Rib Cap" steak, over the standard fillet steak. Well, that was a mistake - the cut has a huge seam of fat running through it and was chewy as heck. When I managed to get our friend Charles' attention, he told me that was normal and I must be cutting it against the grain (which he could see from my plate I clearly wasn't), and suggested I could order something else. I declined as I would have been sat on my own eating it since the group were finishing. If only I'd ordered the trusty fillet steak, which others had and was superb. In the end, half the cost of my mainly unedible dish was charged on the bill - not good.
Lastly, we are very used to the kitchen bringing out some kind of recognition when it is someone's birthday, so I made sure it was clear on the booking that this meal was a special 40th birthday treat for my wife - sadly this fact was completely unacknowledged during the evening, adding to our already growing sense that our custom wasn't good enough for them, despite the $700 bill.
I think I'll stick to the UK GR restaurants, where we have never experienced such disappointing behaviour and substandard food.