[STAR RATING AND SUMMARY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE]
For my first Restaurant Review I decided to visit Bugatti's Steak & Pasta at the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles. This Restaurant is located where "47 Port Street" used to be. I remember eating at "47 Port Street" and remember enjoying their King Size Fillet quite a bit. Having had that good experience and remembering that I rather enjoyed the look and feel of the establishment as well as the service, I felt it would be the perfect choice for my first restaurant review. "Nothing like starting on a good note!" I thought to myself.
Bugatti's is advertised as serving classic American cuisine. The Ameristar Casino website calls it a restaurant "Patterned after the finest St. Louis Steakhouses mixed with Italian flair, Bugatti's specializes in serving the finest steaks and Italian cuisine..." "Perfect! Right in my wheelhouse" I mused. I was excited. I happened to be at Ameristar with my 10 year old daughter on Saturday March 31st around 9:30pm on one of our regular "Daddy-Daughter Days". She wanted to go to the "Landmark Buffet" but they had closed at 9pm. I noticed Bugatti's didn't seem at all busy, so I suggested we eat there or we'd be left having to go sit at Steak & Shake. She agreed and we went in. As the host sat us at our booth she informed me that she could provide us with a kids menu for my daughter from the dining establishment next door. A host, who is probably not payed a great deal when compared to others at the restaurant was willing to put forth extra effort to make us feel special and all at less than 1/2 hour before close. A little check in the "Good service " column. I appreciate the little stuff like that. The Restaurant was pretty much the way I remembered it. Nice higher-end restaurant feel, without being too ostentatious. Maybe a bit more worn looking then I remember but still warm and comfortable.
My daughter's need to use the restroom facilities gave me an opportunity to give them a once over: Clean, albeit a bit cramped but good enough. While waiting to accompany my ten year old back to our seats I looked around at the open kitchen area. All seemed clean as to be expected, yet among the 4 cooks, I noticed no one that struck me as the head chef, I tried not to let that concern me. We were 1 of only 4 tables the other 3 were all wrapping up, maybe he was in the back. When we got back to our table I looked over the menu (shown below):
ANTIPASTI
BRUSCHETTA 7.49
Grilled ciabatta bread, tomatoes, basil, garlic, burrata cheese
CHICKEN SPRING ROLLS 8.49
Grilled chicken, pepper Jack cheese, cilantro, sweet chile sauce
SHRIMP MARTINI 12.99
Chilled jumbo shrimp, cocktail sauce
CRAB CAKE 11.99
Lump crab meat, rémoulade sauce
GARLIC SAUSAGE FLATBREAD 9.99
House-made garlic sausage, fontina, mozzarella &
provolone cheese, arugula
BUGATTI’S TOASTED BEEF RAVIOLI 9.99
Beef & veal with garlic, oregano, Bolognese sauce
SCALLOP “BLT” 10.99
Nueske’s bacon, tomato chutney, lemon aïoli
TUSCAN WHITE BEAN SOUP 7.99
With lamb & Swiss chard
CARAMELIZED ONION SOUP 6.99
Hearty broth, sautéed onions, melted provolone cheese
INSALATE
DINNER SALAD 5.49
Mixed field greens, tomatoes, pepperoncini,
creamy roasted garlic vinaigrette
TRADITIONAL CAESAR SALAD 6.99
Hearts of romaine lettuce, Caesar dressing, ciabatta croutons,
Asiago cheese, anchovies
PANZANELLA SALAD 8.99
Campari tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, red onion,
ciabatta croutons, balsamic dressing
ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD 7.99
Chopped romaine, salami, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions,
garbanzo beans, provolone cheese, creamy roasted garlic vinaigrette 16.99
PASTA
Lasagna
Baked pasta layered with ground veal, béchamel & marinara
sauce, mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan & Romano cheese
GEMELLI CARBONARA 16.99
Apple smoked bacon, peas, Romano & Pecorino cheese
SHRIMP SCAMPI 19.99
Sautéed shrimp in olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, angel hair pasta
LINGUINI DEL MAR 18.99
Crab, shrimp, mussels, clams & calamari in white
wine, tomatoes
CHICKEN CANNELLONI 17.99
Baked pasta stuffed with chicken, spinach, ricotta,
mozzarella & Parmesan cheese, marinara
PASTA RIGGATONI AL FORNO 17.99
Sweet Italian sausage, spinach, artichokes, roasted garlic,
Parmesan cheese, olive oil
SPAGHETTI 15.99
With your choice of meatballs or grilled Italian sausage, marinara
FETTUCCINE ALFREDO 16.99
Fettuccine noodles, classic Parmesan cream sauce
With chicken 17.99 With sautéed shrimp 19.99
SPECIALITÁ BUGATTI’S
Served with your choice of a contorni
BRAISED SHORT RIB 24.99
Roasted corn polenta, rosemary veal jus
GRILLED BERKSHIRE PORK CHOP 24.99
White bean ragu
CHICKEN PARMESAN 18.99
Scallopini of chicken, marinara, Parmesan cheese
VEAL MARSALA 19.99
Scallopini of veal, mushrooms, Marsala wine
CHICKEN PICCATA 18.99
Capers, shallots, lemon-white wine sauce
BISTECCA
WE SERVE ONLY THE FINEST HAND-SELECTED, AGED BEEF
Served with your choice of a contorni
FILET MIGNON Petite 34.99
King 38.99
NEW YORK STRIP 33.99
RIB EYE 36.99
PORTERHOUSE 39.99
PRIME RIB
Saint Charles cut 33.99
Saint Louis cut 28.99
FRUTI DE MARE
Served with your choice of a contorni
PAN-SEARED SEA SCALLOPS 24.99
Sea scallops, pancetta, corn purée
PAN-SEARED SALMON 20.99
Roasted fennel, cannellini beans, oregano, tomato confit
BUTTER-ROASTED SEA BASS Market Price
Sautéed spinach & fennel in a saffron-seafood broth
COMPLEMENTARE
ADD KING CRAB LEGS Market Price
ADD LOBSTER TAIL Market Price
CONTORNI
4.49
MASCARPONE MASHED POTATOES
BAKED POTATO
LINGUINI ALFREDO
SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS
ASPARAGUS
CREAMED SPINACH
CHEF’S FRESH VEGETABLE
My overall first impression of the menu was not very positive. The "antipasti" seemed to be most exciting items on the menu', all else just seemed very ordinary: Lasagna, Cannelloni, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Fetuccini Alfredo reminded me of a Pasta House menu'. Pan Seared Scallops, Salmon, Veal Marsala, Chicken Parm... BORING! I understand you should have a few of these Italian/American mainstays, but add something with some POP. Even the steaks seemed fairly dull. No interesting dipping sauce, or even mention of a garnish that would add some uniqueness to it all. I asked Giorgi our server, about the Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes and he simply explained them as mashed potatoes that had a creamy Italian cheese called mascarpone mixed in. I'm sure he was right and to no fault of his own, that was all there was to the dish, but once again... BORING! I almost felt as though I needed to check the sign out front to make sure that in Twilight Zone like fashion, I hadn't walked into Boring's Restaurant at Ameristar instead of Bugatti's.
I convinced my daughter a big pasta lover to try a pasta from the main menu. She chose the Spaghetti with meatballs. I was confident that at the price of $15.99 the portion she would receive would be enough for her and would certainly leave some for me to try as well. We were told bread was coming and so I decided against ordering an appetizer. I figured that for an "American Restaurant with an Italian flare" tasting their best steak, the most traditional of Italian pastas, and the restaurants bread would be litmus test enough, to give me a clear picture of the restaurants quality.
The bread was brought to us expediently by Giorgi. Now, you must understand that I am perfectly happy eating plain bread even for dessert when I find a good loaf. However the 3 sauces that came with the bread peaked my interest even more. There was a nice sun dried tomato sauce (my favorite), a whole garlic cloves spread, and a spiced butter, all quite good. Even the bread whose blondish crust and soft feel had put me off was better than average. My daughter and I polished off the bread promptly. Just a few minutes later Giorgi brought us our dinners. He had done very well refilling my water which I was drinking like a camel after a week long trip through the Sahara desert.
My daughter who to my shame will eat any white or red sauce no matter the quality as long as it is on top of a pasta noodle, took only one taste before deciding she was not going to eat any more of the two large meatballs on her plate. The plate had come with a very modest serving of pasta. It was hard to tell exactly how much because in typical American fashion it was drowning in tomato sauce. Suffice it to say that I can't image any grown man being filled with a pasta entree of that size. I moved to cut a piece of the meatball with my fork to see if my daughter's assessment was accurate. It was quite hard and took considerable effort to slice through without sending it flying across the restaurant. Once I managed to chip off a piece, I understood her issues with it. All you could taste was the overwhelming savour of the spices completely overpowering everything else. The pasta was more of the same... actually exponentially worse. No tomato taste could come through at all just the overwhelming taste of the spices and a lingering sugary sweet flavor typical in most American red sauces. At times, I've had to politely endure similar sauces, at a well intentioned persons home who proudly served me spaghetti with a freshly opened jar of "Ragu' pasta sauce". How do you people eat that stuff anyway? It was an even greater shame when I realized that the spaghetti noodle had been cooked to perfection. My daughter who I remind you is 10 years old, was able to finish the entire pasta plate by herself. There is no justification for charging $15.99 for a child size plate of Spaghetti and meatballs, even if Bugatti's had any idea how to make a good pasta sauce; Ridiculous. However as I would learn this appears to be the embodiment of Bugatti's philosophy: Poor ingredients and small portions at high prices.
My plate showed up with a potato that clearly dwarfed the "King Size" fillet. The potato only came with butter and sour cream since that was all that was available on the spud, I was told. The fillet had a few eye-drops worth of butter and 4 or 5 pieces of chopped green stuff. It could not have been more than 2 inches thick with a diameter of no more than 3 1/2 inches. That was it. I squeezed it between my index finger and thumb and was immediately disappointed. It had either been overcooked or it was not a piece of "Prime" cut meat. I feared the latter was true. As I cut into the middle of the steak I realized my fears were correct. The fillet had been cooked right, it just simply was not a top quality cut of meat. Once again the staff seemed to have done everything well, it was just a poor product and recipe. The first taste was final confirmation the flavor just wasn't there. Close my eyes and I would have sworn I had just taken a taste of a nicely prepared Sirloin, definitely not the Fillet I had been eagerly awaiting. The words "We serve only the FINEST hand-selected cuts of Aged Beef" resounded in my head.
My daughter who to my shame will eat any white or red sauce no matter the quality as long as it is on top of a pasta noodle, took only one taste before deciding she was not going to eat any more of the two large meatballs on her plate. The plate had come with a very modest serving of pasta. It was hard to tell exactly how much because in typical American fashion it was drowning in tomato sauce. Suffice it to say that I can't image any grown man being filled with a pasta entree of that size. I moved to cut a piece of the meatball with my fork to see if my daughter's assessment was accurate. It was quite hard and took considerable effort to slice through without sending it flying across the restaurant. Once I managed to chip off a piece, I understood her issues with it. All you could taste was the overwhelming savour of the spices completely overpowering everything else. The pasta was more of the same... actually exponentially worse. No tomato taste could come through at all just the overwhelming taste of the spices and a lingering sugary sweet flavor typical in most American red sauces. At times, I've had to politely endure similar sauces, at a well intentioned persons home who proudly served me spaghetti with a freshly opened jar of "Ragu' pasta sauce". How do you people eat that stuff anyway? It was an even greater shame when I realized that the spaghetti noodle had been cooked to perfection. My daughter who I remind you is 10 years old, was able to finish the entire pasta plate by herself. There is no justification for charging $15.99 for a child size plate of Spaghetti and meatballs, even if Bugatti's had any idea how to make a good pasta sauce; Ridiculous. However as I would learn this appears to be the embodiment of Bugatti's philosophy: Poor ingredients and small portions at high prices.
My plate showed up with a potato that clearly dwarfed the "King Size" fillet. The potato only came with butter and sour cream since that was all that was available on the spud, I was told. The fillet had a few eye-drops worth of butter and 4 or 5 pieces of chopped green stuff. It could not have been more than 2 inches thick with a diameter of no more than 3 1/2 inches. That was it. I squeezed it between my index finger and thumb and was immediately disappointed. It had either been overcooked or it was not a piece of "Prime" cut meat. I feared the latter was true. As I cut into the middle of the steak I realized my fears were correct. The fillet had been cooked right, it just simply was not a top quality cut of meat. Once again the staff seemed to have done everything well, it was just a poor product and recipe. The first taste was final confirmation the flavor just wasn't there. Close my eyes and I would have sworn I had just taken a taste of a nicely prepared Sirloin, definitely not the Fillet I had been eagerly awaiting. The words "We serve only the FINEST hand-selected cuts of Aged Beef" resounded in my head.
As my server Giorgi came by to refill my water once again, he asked how our food was. I never take out my frustrations on the server, the quality of the food is not under their control, but I was frustrated enough to clearly and politely let him know how disappointed I was with the entire meal. I had been looking forward to a great fillet mignon and had been completely disappointed. I told Giorgi that my steak was not a USDA Prime cut to which he quickly confirmed that it wasn't it was a Choice cut he said. Maybe at 43 I am getting that early senility that I hear talk about every once and a while amongst my peers but how is that "only the FINEST... cuts of Beef". In my expert opinion it wasn't even a good quality Choice cut. Giorgi was polite and didn't argue. He did exactly what a server should and promptly sent a manager over to the table. I explained the same to him in no uncertain terms. He offered a different selection and I believe he was even offering to take it off my bill when I interrupted him. I thanked him but told him I had not come there to get a free meal but to get a good one and that prospect had long passed. He left a bit frustrated but was polite enough through it all. My daughter scolded me and told me I had been mean. I explained that I was a bit bitter having payed $38.99 for a steak and potato and having eaten the potato much more eagerly than the steak; even if I am a quarter Irish, there is something definitely wrong with that.
In conclusion, I miss 47 Port Street! Apparently I'm not the only one. Looking at reviews of Bugatti's on other sites I realized that most if not all positive reviews of the place are from 2005 - 2006. Bugatti's has basically reaped the benefits of 47 Port Streets reviews for themselves. Lucky for them. The only real positive things that I can say are that my server Giorgi was good (I tipped him well), the free bread spreads, and the baked potato were the highlights of my $55+ Dinner. It's a sad first review for an even sadder excuse for a fine dining restaurant. My suggestion to all of you, if you are considering dinning at Bugatti's, is to go somewhere else... anywhere. Bugatti's at Ameristar is simply put a bad bet!
Pros: Good service and above average atmosphere.
Cons: High priced poor quality food and mostly boring menu choices, a place to avoid.
Conclusion: I should have gone to Steak & Shake.
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