Upstream Restaurant

Great Sunday Brunch. Normally I have a more descriptive headline, but I really didn't find much that stuck out to me other than the food at the Sunday brunch here at Upstream. This past sunday I popped into Upstream, located in Phillips place in South Park for their perpetual Sunday brunch. The set up is unique for the fact that they have both a brunch buffet as well as a small tapas menu which you have unlimited access to for as long as you choose to stay.

I'll break the food down between tapas and buffet. First, the tapas. There were about 8 selections to chose from for the tapas and each one I had was great. I tried the crabcake with poached egg, smoked mahi mini tacos and the brioche french toast (my least favorite). Each of these delicately worked tapas are of great quality and have good flavor. The waffles with peanut butter cream looked great, but just was too stuffed at that point to try that out.

Now for the buffet, this is a rather intricate buffet for brunch, but it works. To start off you have a table with fresh fruit, rolls and croissants. The next stage is a made to order omelet station. The omelet chef is very friendly and may get you to step out of your normal liking to try some of his freshly prepared ingredients. Your best bet is to order the omelet, get some food and go back to your table to eat for a bit and come retrieve your omelet a while later as the waiting line gets a bit long at prime times. After the omelet they had a seasonal shrimp and grits table which I did not try. After that section, there are hand carved prime rib roast and salmon tables with skewered chicken and shrimp. The next section has a nice selection of starches ranging from mac & cheese to roasted potatoes and a few options in between. The next two sections were unique to a buffet for me. A sushi bar and raw shellfish bar. I'm still not too sure how I feel about that...Finally a dessert bar with yougarts, puddings, lemon bars, brownies, coffee cakes and more fresh fruit...All were good and fresh.

Overall for the price tag of 25.00 per person it is a good move IF you're hungry. There is something for everyone whether you want breakfast or lunch. The quality of the food is good and the only real problem I had was with the skewered shrimp which were extremely overcooked and almost inedible. I think that the hand carving stations could use a training session on how to cut portions better, more specifically excluding the majority portion of fat that comes on the standing rib roast cut of meat.…

Wet Pants. My husband and I dined here a few months back. While we were fairly pleased with our dinner (not overly, considering the price, and our service had been VERY slow). It was when we got up to leave that our experience began to fall apart.

We decided to sit outside on the patio since the weather was nice. When I got up, I heard the people behind me gasp, and I looked down to see that I had a huge water stain on the back of my pants. Apparently, the cushion that I had been sitting on still had a little bit of water in it. Now, you might be thinking, how could I not notice that? Well, it must have been very slightly seeping through, and, since I had been sitting there for an hour, I just didn't feel it as it was happening.

When I got up, I was so embarrassed. The mark covered half my backside. We had wanted to head to Dean and Deluca for dessert, but there was no way after this. I quickly dodged out of the restaurant and showed my husband. He was very upset and told me that I should tell the management. So I went back inside and did just that. They could have cared less. At first Ken, the proprietor, didn't even believe me. He argued with me, and acted like I was trying to get a free meal. After about 10 minutes of going around with them, he said that they would give a coupon for one free meal at another time. Oh boy. Well, after all that, there is no way that I will EVER return to this place. I left feeling humiliated.

Spend your money elsewhere. There are many other great restaurants around with better service and better food for the same price.…

Best seafood in Charlotte. We love this restaurant. I cannot say enough about the overall experience, from the helpful staff, the amazing food that I think about for days later, the quiet atmosphere, etc. My husband brought me here for my birthday in February. I still remember my meal clearly it was so good. We had the appetizer tower special, and I loved each and every bite, especially the calamari. The dinner we had was the Bento box for the night, which is different depending on what the chef chooses to go in there. There were four selections in the box, my favorite being th tar tar. I cannot wait to go again!…

Overrated!. Read a few reviews...some were negative, but my boyfriend and I decided to try it anyway--it never hurts, but after the first appetizer, we realized we made a big mistake--SHOULD HAVE LISTENED! We ordered a few of the skewers and the Dim Sum Trio; the food was cold and tasteless (something you're better off making at home with it tasting BETTER)! I would never recommend nor would I ever return. The sushi was decent; you'd be able to find the same quality every where else (and more variety elsewhere), but the rice was not fresh and was also cold. The presentation was not up to par with other fine dining restaurants. Although the service was good, the food was of mediocre quality and not fit to be categorized under "fine dining" or rated so highly, especially with a well-known reputation.…