For the first night with family down at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas, we were looking for somewhere casual to eat that was appropriate for adults and kids. One of the low key restaurants listed in the resort guide was the Atlas Bar & Grill located in the casino. After making sure we could take my nieces into the casino to dine there, we sauntered down for dinner.
The restaurant is an open plan with no walls so the sounds and views are from the surrounding casino but not so loud as to be distracting. The center is made up entirely of the circular bar with lots of TVs showing sports. In this case, college football games. Seating is around the outside plus a large room in the back that appeared to have a view of one of the many lagoons on the resort property. We were seated at a booth to one side of the bar.
The menu is pretty standard American bar fare: http://www.atlantis.com/content/pdf/menus/AtlasMenu.pdf
We started with quesadillas to share and ordered entrees. Caitlyn and I both went with the chicken club salad that was advertised as their Caesar salad with grilled chicken, tomatoes, bacon, Parmesan cheese and croutons, served with a creamy Caesar dressing. Mom selected the Mediterranean shrimp salad with crisp vegetables, eggs, artichokes, olives, feta cheese and a lemon vinaigrette. For Keira, my seven year old niece, we ordered her the hot dog and fries from the kids menu.
While my expectations were pretty low, I was happy to discover that this meal was both tasty and affordable with large portions and the happiest server (Jeff) around. The quesadillas were served with cream cheese, avocado, salsa and were piping hot and yummy. Caitlyn and I devoured our respective salads which were large and very fresh. The chicken was grilled nicely and warm to compliment the crisp coolness of the lettuce and tomatoes. Surprising to me was Kiera's kids menu selection that I thought would be this rinky-dinky little hot dog with a few fries. Her dog was super long on a great looking potato bun and a heaping pile of crispy fries. She finished the whole thing but looked like she might go into a food coma afterwards. Overall, a good meal especially considering the price tag was less than the buffet breakfast we had earlier that morning. A good option if you're down there and looking for casual eats.
Jenn's rating: 77
Showing posts with label Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bahamas. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Marketplace: Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas
When Mom, Kiera & Caitlyn arrived at the resort from their early morning flight from Fort Lauderdale, they were pretty hungry. Being 10am, the options were really breakfast and the easy choice was to hit up the buffet in the Royal Towers.
The buffet was set up for breakfast and had a big selection of meats, eggs, omelet station, grill with pancakes, waffles and french toast, pastries, cereal, fresh fruits, breakfast potatoes, quiche and Latin selections with beans, rice and other ethnic dishes. We got seated and went to work loading up our plates. The food itself was perfectly acceptable, standard breakfast fare. The eggs tasted like eggs.
But herein lies the issue I have and will always have with buffets. There's just no way I can or would eat enough to justify the cost. At $25 per person, $100 for the four of us...is that really appropriate for a donut, a waffle, some eggs, potatoes, bacon and fruit? Because that's the sum total of the food spread across those four dishes. When I know I could have made the same exact meal in my own home for $12, it's hard to swallow the price tag. So unless you're Adam from Man vs. Food and can truly do damage to a buffet, elect to grab a bagel and be done with it!
No more buffets for this foodie!!
Rating (adjusted for the value): 60
The buffet was set up for breakfast and had a big selection of meats, eggs, omelet station, grill with pancakes, waffles and french toast, pastries, cereal, fresh fruits, breakfast potatoes, quiche and Latin selections with beans, rice and other ethnic dishes. We got seated and went to work loading up our plates. The food itself was perfectly acceptable, standard breakfast fare. The eggs tasted like eggs.
But herein lies the issue I have and will always have with buffets. There's just no way I can or would eat enough to justify the cost. At $25 per person, $100 for the four of us...is that really appropriate for a donut, a waffle, some eggs, potatoes, bacon and fruit? Because that's the sum total of the food spread across those four dishes. When I know I could have made the same exact meal in my own home for $12, it's hard to swallow the price tag. So unless you're Adam from Man vs. Food and can truly do damage to a buffet, elect to grab a bagel and be done with it!
No more buffets for this foodie!!
Rating (adjusted for the value): 60
Nobu: Atlantis Resort & Casino, Paradise Island, Bahamas
I've been to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas half a dozen times now and in the past the greatest criticism came from the food. Too expensive and in most cases, really bad. And we tried the high end restaurants (Nobu, Mesa, Dunes), the mid range ones, the buffet and the pool grills. There were some standouts during those visits like the steaks at Mesa (Bobby Flay's establishment at the Cove) and the burgers by the pool. So getting ready to go again this past week with my Mom and two nieces (seven and fourteen), I prepared myself for lackluster fare and a huge tab. But to my surprise, there were more good meals this time than bad!
The first experience was a solo dinner at the bar at Nobu. I got into town a day earlier than my family and went looking for somewhere I could eat and people watch without the uncomfortableness that sometimes accompanies eating in the main dining room. I was told that both Nobu and Mesa served the full menu at the bar or in their lounges. Not in the mood to hike it over to the Cove for Mesa, I opted for an early dinner at Nobu. I arrived at 6:30pm on Friday night. The bar was empty with a few couples in the lounge area relaxing and drinking on the sofas. I went to the far end of the bar to set up camp. This allowed me a great view of the length of the bar, the lounge and into the casino. I let my bartender know that I was going to be eating and hanging out. During the next two hours the restaurant, lounge and bar filled up with lots of interestingly dressed people ranging from early twenties to mid fifties. Great people watching with both great and horrible outfit choices ~ plus some fabulous shoe choices to critique!
From their rather large menu I selected the arctic char with baby spinach from the hot dish section and four pieces of sushi (mackerel, big eye tuna, toro and hamachi). They brought me a dish of edamame to begin that I munched on while waiting for my dinner to arrive.
To go with my food, I perused through their wine list and thought a half bottle of Tattinger brut would hit the spot and was very reasonably priced at a 1.5x mark up. The champagne was as expected, crisp and slightly yeasty with a short to medium finish. I enjoyed it quite a bit and have no problem at all drinking a half bottle myself with dinner.
The sushi arrived first. I was prepared to be underwhelmed. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be very fresh with great, firm texture (except the toro that displayed the signature melt in your mouth feel) and wonderful flavor. I was so happy! And during this time, I had also struck up a wonderful conversation with the amusing and charismatic bartender, Stephanie. She had fabulous stories about growing up in the Bahamas, raising her two little girls and what it was like working in Atlantis for the past fourteen years as the resorts first female bartender. We're now FaceBook friends!
The arctic char arrived sometime later on it's bed of crispy, baby spinach and soy sauce. While not quite as mind blowing as the original dish we had at Nobu in NYC, this one was quite nice. A little too salty from the sauce, but the fish was nicely cooked and the spinach was wonderful. Such a nice evening! Would I recommend this Nobu over the one in NYC? No...but as far as resort dining goes, this one didn't do so badly.
Jenn's rating: 82
The first experience was a solo dinner at the bar at Nobu. I got into town a day earlier than my family and went looking for somewhere I could eat and people watch without the uncomfortableness that sometimes accompanies eating in the main dining room. I was told that both Nobu and Mesa served the full menu at the bar or in their lounges. Not in the mood to hike it over to the Cove for Mesa, I opted for an early dinner at Nobu. I arrived at 6:30pm on Friday night. The bar was empty with a few couples in the lounge area relaxing and drinking on the sofas. I went to the far end of the bar to set up camp. This allowed me a great view of the length of the bar, the lounge and into the casino. I let my bartender know that I was going to be eating and hanging out. During the next two hours the restaurant, lounge and bar filled up with lots of interestingly dressed people ranging from early twenties to mid fifties. Great people watching with both great and horrible outfit choices ~ plus some fabulous shoe choices to critique!
From their rather large menu I selected the arctic char with baby spinach from the hot dish section and four pieces of sushi (mackerel, big eye tuna, toro and hamachi). They brought me a dish of edamame to begin that I munched on while waiting for my dinner to arrive.
To go with my food, I perused through their wine list and thought a half bottle of Tattinger brut would hit the spot and was very reasonably priced at a 1.5x mark up. The champagne was as expected, crisp and slightly yeasty with a short to medium finish. I enjoyed it quite a bit and have no problem at all drinking a half bottle myself with dinner.
The sushi arrived first. I was prepared to be underwhelmed. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be very fresh with great, firm texture (except the toro that displayed the signature melt in your mouth feel) and wonderful flavor. I was so happy! And during this time, I had also struck up a wonderful conversation with the amusing and charismatic bartender, Stephanie. She had fabulous stories about growing up in the Bahamas, raising her two little girls and what it was like working in Atlantis for the past fourteen years as the resorts first female bartender. We're now FaceBook friends!
The arctic char arrived sometime later on it's bed of crispy, baby spinach and soy sauce. While not quite as mind blowing as the original dish we had at Nobu in NYC, this one was quite nice. A little too salty from the sauce, but the fish was nicely cooked and the spinach was wonderful. Such a nice evening! Would I recommend this Nobu over the one in NYC? No...but as far as resort dining goes, this one didn't do so badly.
Jenn's rating: 82
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