by nina s. on It is VERY fitting... that my 100th review on rateclubs is for a restaurant in NYC that just opened up... I read about Lavo through Urban Daddy last month, but didn't think I would still be in NYC when it opened... lucky for me, my date snagged us a reservation during the soft opening: 09/10/10. this place has a great ambiance.. you walk in through the grandiose bar area, where you are greeted by 2 sexy hostesses, and into the ample dining area... all the servers, bussers, etc. are good-looking and friendly.. PLUS! we basically asked the server to offer her recommendations to us and ordered the following: apps: kobe beef carpaccio: light & tasty tuna tartare: YUMMM... it looked like a giant sushi roll... uber delish! entree: shrimp scampi: tasty, but I don't recall the menu mentioning that it was breaded (I might have been too busy being smitten over my date to notice though, hah!), I think that kind of took away from the flavor. nevertheless, also good in taste chilean sea bass: also breaded, but sooooooo incredibly light and delish.... it literally melts in your mouth drinks: man-date ordered Pinot Noir I ordered the basilica (strawberry & basil, vodka drink)... it was good (not great), but I guess after having tasted the best strawberry/basil/vodka drink at Drago Centro (in dt la)... very few can compare... dessert: bread pudding: while I am not a big fan of dessert, this was actually pretty good.. not over-poweringly sweet... just the right moisture in the bread... caramel dressing... YUM! I was actually going to give the restaurant 4 stars, but then when I factored in SOFT-OPENING on a friday night... I realized I should probably give them the extra star, because I am sure they are even better now that they have fully opened... ;)!
by Boyd Giessinger on IF I COULD RATE THIS A NEGATIVE TEN STARS I WOULD. I have been a loyal customer of many of Greg's establishments. This is the second time in 4 months that I have been robbed of my iPhone while holding it in my hand, First on NYE-Jan 1, 2010 right outside the club, and the other April 30, 2010. I was taking pictures inside the bar when 2 girls who were under the influence of drugs dancing topless and thought that I was taking pictures of them, one of the girls grabbed my iPhone from my hand and flung it across the bar, it was never to be found again! I informed the owner and the security but they said that they couldn't do anything. Careless of other customers' safety, they even let the intoxicated girls stay like nothing happened. Then I repeatedly asked the owner to call the police, but it never happened. I felt helpless, and like an absolute zero, the only thing I could do was watch a person who vandalized my property walk away. The issue here is that on both occasions, The security, and the owner Greg came over and both of them totally refused to call the police!! If the owner is more interested in keeping his liquor license free from any police incident reports than helping his loyal customers then that says enough to me. I did call the police and an incident report against his establishment has been made, and tomorrow the BBB and the entertainment commission will be notified.
by Sammie Simon on The neighborhood is kind of thuggy. A sincere little literature loving wine + dj club in any event, just don't try to be fancy here. If that's your speed it could make a sweet start or end of a night. If you have any kind of pretentions better move to a fancier part of town.
