Cupola Samarkanda II
Cupola Samarkanda II
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
1 review
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So, it's evident that there has been a change in chef, or if not, then some life changing event has left its mark on the kitchen talent.
I was tempted this past Friday to see how their quality had held out in intervening years, and had a series of unhappy realizations.
First, while their impressive menu (impressive for its breadth) still remains, quite a few of the items weren't available.
Next, there was a palpable deterioration in quality across many of the items. The Korean fish salad tasted funny, but thankfully I had no health issues. Next the Lepyoshka bread wasn't hot off the oven, but an obvious re-heat and hardened so quickly that I was barely able to eat half off it. Third: the Lagman soup while appropriately spicy, was watered down compared to in the past. Finally: they didn't even have the ubiquitous drink, Kompot.
The only redeeming part of the meal were the Kebabs and I really enjoyed the lamb kebabs and the Lyulya Kebabs. These would hold their own against the best in the city, ergo the 3 stars overall rating.
However, much like the menu, the restaurant seemed a faded copy of what it had once been. The disco ball and singer are still there, but the large groups of festive diners have been replaced by smaller groups of 2-3 men huddled separately, as well as the odd group of women catching up on each others lives.
While disappointed, it brings to light the challenges of rating an ethnic restaurant, where quality is often impacted by staff turnover. I see this most commonly for Indian restaurants, but am beginning to see this across other cuisines as well where management needs to be more professional.
On a positive note, I can finally stop getting irked at the 1 star review that cast aspersions on the integrity of the solitary 5 star review (mine). I was so convinced then that the review from the 0,1 orange head was a hit job, for none of my 5 star reviews are without multiple visits that ensure consistency of quality, and it was unfathomable to me that my rating could be so off. It was. That's what review updates are for. I'm beginning to believe in them.