amp 150

went for drink andsmallplates...thought it was pretty good.. i met up with some coworkers for drinks and appetizers. we had the duck pate with toast and jam. that was well recieved by everyone. pate was good, but the toast was too thick and the jam was lacking. we also got a duck pizza. that was pretty good too, although a little greasy. we also got an order of mussels that were pretty darn good. lastly, we shared a vegetarian dinner. (i dislike vegetarian dinners that compose of side dishes...that seems like a cop out to me.) despite my blahness about the entree, each side dish tasted pretty good. no real complaints. not amazing, but i would go back again if i was in the area.

not my favorite dining experience.... when i first found amp 150 on the internet, i saw a few positive reviews that piqued my interest. not knowing fully what to expect, i was thinking, weirdly enough, by its name, that it would be more of a nightclub kind of dining atmosphere. not really being into that scene and yet still interested by the little i had read, i was pleasantly surprised to find it styled so differently.

the interior of the restaurant is classy and modern, open and airy, being integrated right into the side of the hotel foyer it shares space with. i found the ambient lighting and decoration to be also very warm and welcoming.

unfortunately, the inviting appearance soon gave way to an upsetting experience with the service. not being used to eating in a hotel restaurant, i inquired at the front desk how to proceed. the attendant gave me instructions to see the hostess at the bar, who would help me. though it was early afternoon and there were only a couple other diners, i stood there waiting, quite visibly, for a good while before being acknowledged.

when i was greeted, rather than kindly explaining where to sit and how to order, i felt as though i had to obtain the information acquisitively, in a manner i can only describe as being very reluctant and brusque. i will say, however, that the lady, who turned out to also be my server, did seem to warm up as our interactions progressed, and even later engaged me in some friendly conversation.

from her recommendations, i ordered the share hand-cut fries, large-bite pan-seared wahu, and brownie trio for dessert. the food is excellent quality, very appetizing and flavorful. yet the portion sizes seem very modest. the menu describes them as bites,smalland large. for good reason, apparently, as that does not seem to be very far from the literal truth. the server explained this clearly, and made recommendations accordingly; and although the three plates, taken together were mostly satisfying, still, i could not help feeling, walking away, that i would have liked a little more food.

the fries were the exception, being share size, and came with somewhat generous quantity. prices seemed reasonable for the quality of the food and atmosphere.

overall, i would not give my dining experience at amp 150 a glowing review for the above-stated reasons. however, the positive points mentioned cause me also to feel that it was not a complete let-down. and my initial, negative service interaction may not be typical of what others may encounter.

so if you're looking for a classy atmosphere with an inviting, open layout, have time on your hands and an appetite that does not require large amounts of certain menu items, i would suggest checking out amp 150. you may be quite pleased with the result.

overall, though, it was a very pleasant meal, with several outstandingsmallplate courses, for a reasonable price. while i’ve got a lot of favorite dinner spots in cleveland, amp 150 is going to stay in the rotation, and i’m looking forward to my next chance to visit.

amp 150 is the hotel restaurant at the marriott on w 150th. situated just off the lobby, the ambiance is actually rather hip and pleasant. the service was very good and the farm to table cuisine was fresh and tasty. the braised lamb i had was a bit too fatty for my taste, but my wife's meal of hungarian goulash was quit tasty. the blood orange salad was also very good. for dessert, i had the tropical trio which had a nice chocolate mousse and coconut encrusted banana ice cream in nicesmallportions. the wine list was reasonable but a bit small, mostly with american wines. overall, it was good.

amp 150 - so good, but.... what do you mean but?????. i had finally gotten the chance to dine at amp150 - the most talked about restaurant as of late. it was killing me that i hadn't had the chance to dine here yet; but finally, my opportunity came last night! i made reservations for a table of 2, way ahead of time, i believe maybe 3 weeks ago (yes, i was that excited) and had even made a request for a quieter table. the hostess at that time had suggested i reserve booth #32 as she told me it was much more quieter; and as i had requested, it would not be right in the middle of the lobby as some of the tables would be facing. perfect. i requested booth#32, for two, 6:30. i was so excited (call me a crazy) but i even called in to confirm my reservations two days ahead of time to make sure i had my times correct, and i double checked to ensure i had the coveted booth#32. i was assured everything was in order!

so i arrived at amp150, not a minute too soon; spot on 6:30 and reported to the hostess. my first reaction i got was, the hostess....wasn't too "amped" to see me and my date for the night - but i dismissed it as; me being too excited to enjoy the food i was expecting. but when she started to lead me to a table right in front of the lobby; i politely informed her that we had requested a more quieter table, in fact on near the back, and if fact, we were suggested and confirmed for booth#32. to my surprise, she without even checking the computer looked at me and reported "that's not possible!". she let me know that they don't do that and that it was fully booked that night and booth 32 had been reserved. i was a little taken a back - yeah; booth 32 was reserved - for me, i had reserved it 2 weeks ago; and had confirmed it 2 days ago. i told her of this but she dismissed the notion, but after some very polite pleading ( i was still very excited for the food so i was still very excited to just get seated nicely) she sat me down next to booth 32. in reality; it was no problem, and i was still happy - i mean, i still got a decent table; inside; away from the lobby, but i was just surprised by her reaction, and way she dealt with the situation. butsmallbump on the road; onto the food!

we started the dinner off sharing the chicken liver pate on grilled bread and sweet jam. this was said to be the amazing! i would say, it was good! the grilled bread was good; good quality bread, grilled well, toasted, with great chunky sweet jam to cut the chicken liver pate. i think the flavors worked very well put all together. i would have asked for a little, just a slightly stronger taste to come from the liver pate; but no complaints - i rather enjoyed the appetizer and would definitely suggest others to try it.

next, we decided to share a plate of the kimchee spicy soy and peanut wings. they were said to be wings from free range chicken. now, i loveeee wings; and although i've had wings from all walks of the earth; and enjoyed wings of all types; i'm not picky. but, i know good wings when i taste them. i expected these to be out of the world, because of the reports i had been getting from fellow bloggers and foodies. so when i tasted these - i would say...they were ....decent. they were not ...that...flavorful...or special. they were pretty much...wings; fried; with a little bit of peanuts chopped on top and soy sauces flavor. sure, kimchee was tasty; but i could have gotten that from any korean store in asian town. now - don't get me wrong; there was nothing wrong with the wings; they didn't taste bad; nope. they were just very, regular fried wings. to be honest; i was disappointed because people had made me expect more; but they were pretty standard run of your mill fried wings you could get anywhere. although i found nothing wrong with them; i wouldn't suggest getting these just because you can get these anywhere else.

next, we decided to get both the calamari salad and the chopped salad and share both of them. stephanie our servers was nice enough to split our two salads into half orders, so both me and my date could have half an order of each of the salads. these were good. great in fact. i especially loved the calamari salad and would definitely recommend everyone to get this. the fried calamari was done perfect;smallrings of calamari fried perfectly; to keep them still tender; and crunchy batter; mixed with a frisee salad that was cut with a sour lemon vinagrette and some speck ham i believe. the flavors played together so well with thesmallfragrant cubes of cheese incorporated into the salad. very nice. the chopped salad was, for a lack of better description; sooo fresh. very good. i was scared that the salad would turn out too bland since it was just purely veggies without too much to compliment the veggies; but the white vinaigrette it was dressed with; was tremendous.

next, came the entrees. these were highly anticipated. i ordered the marinated flank steak. when it came out, i was......a little taken a back. i mean....i've eaten at expensive places and have hadsmallportions, but.....this was slightly laughable to me. my portion of the steak was...as you can see from the portion as respect to the baby carrots...were pitiful. the entire portion of steak ran the length of one and a half baby carrot. maybe 3 ounces of steak? but portions aside; i was ready to taste the steak. unfortunately....and this is were the big part of the but from the title came in. the steak....wasn't that great. i was still a fan of chef ellis. i still am. really. but this steak was a let down. no flavor. medium rare; sure. giving me flavorless flank steak; when your menu is telling me its; marinated flank steak was disappointing. the sauce didn't help; and the portion size just, didn't make matters any better. big let down.

but; like i said, i was a huge fan of chef ellis from before; and so....i decide; hey, i'm here at amp150, lets give it one more chance right???? so call me crazy, but i put in another order of the braised lamb.

now, when the lamb came out; what hit me was...two things. the smell was tremendous. it smelt wonderful, and secondly - the portion was normal! it was a generous portion of braised lamb with normal sized sides. i think the flank steak order was a mistake. they may have given me an accidental, tasting size or something because it was just pitiful. now the braised lamb...good portion; amazing smell. and the taste? wonderful. i was definitely impressed. the meat was so tender and flavorful. not too strong of the gaminess, but enough to impart the lamb flavor to you. enough fat to give you flavor, but not too much to overwhelm and take over the dish. what was even better was the sides. the creaminess of the couscous on the side and the fruitty salad really cut the rich taste of the lamb when taken together. i was super impressed with the lamb dish; i loved it; and would suggest anyone who goes to amp150 that likes lamb; that they must get it.

we decided to end the night with some sweet dessert. we chose to get the chocolate panna cotta. oh gosh was this the best choice we made. this was amazing. so good. sweet; but not overpowering, so fresh and light and just amazing.

so in the end, i would say, amp150 was great. i enjoyed myself. the food was good. but there were problems, serious problems, but the good things shone through that i would have decide by going one more time. they may have had an off night; maybe there were just the once in long shot mistakes with the flank steak and wings....but the lamb and calamari and dessert really shone through. so in the end; i challenge amp150 with this. i will come again. definitely come again. the lamb/salad/dessert is too good not to, and i hope the issues i had this time; were just an off night!!! oh, and i hope the hostess doesn't lie next time either. if you're going to give me booth#32 when i reserve, and someone special comes in last might (someone that chef ellis knows) please don't tell me that i didn't reserve it. i did. just tell me the truth; i'll understand. =)

wonderful food on a winter's night. dined at amp 150 last night at the cleveland airport marriott. the food and service were wonderful, and the newly remodeled space is more like south beach than north coast! we tried severalsmallplates in order to taste a variety of offerings, and they were all deliciously different. we started with their truly velvetty mushroom soup and hearty chicken soup, both tasty and warming. then we sampled some tasty appetizers like the crispy clams (a nice little change from calamari) and black mussels in a savory broth. i particularly enjoyed the roasted chicken flatbread, light and tasty!
then came the entrees, and they were all new takes on old dishes. the braised rabbit cavatelli was outstanding, with its tasty sauce and generous amount of light tasting rabbit (sorry, bugs). ditto the austrian goulash, served with an herbed spaetzle that was creamy and smooth. the surprise star was the glazed cod, which was both tasty and light, and the accompanying veggies were outstanding.
then came dessert, and though we were all quite full, we couldn't resist the chocolate cake and the wonderful honey and vanilla ice cream. and, of course, the creme brulee was simply to die for, with its lemon accents.
start to finish, a fabulous meal and dining experience. and with nothing over $20, a great value to boot.

small and large plates. not your average hotel restaurant. cool decor and extensive menu of apps,smallplates, and "larger plates" which are basically entree portions. seasonal menu, emphasis on local and fresh. very inventive menu.