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Borgata :: Dining

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DINING
In 2006, the Borgata completed a $200 million expansion which added three fine dining restaurants, along with a ton more casino space. We are only able to write about three of the restaurants in-depth but believe us, there are several more options for dining at the Borgata. And don't forget about room service!

BOBBY FLAY STEAK

Not Bobby Flay but just as good! Lewis, our waiter.

Bobby Flay Steak was bumping when we hit it up on Thursday night, and this isn't even the restaurant's biggest night--Saturdays are particularly busy. Flay is the celeb chef behind Mesa Grill and Bar Americain in New York (as well as a Mesa Grill in Las Vegas). His specialty is steak with a Southwestern flare, although the menu's appetizers were pretty much all seafood. Part of what makes this place great is the David Rockwell-designed interior and the other part of course, is the food.

The highlight of our meal here came when we quizzed our waiter Lewis about his past--his employment past we mean. Turns out Louis was a big-time waiter at the Sands Hotel and Casino in AC where he and his partner (another waiter) were the favorites of Frank Sinatra. Since he's had the new gig at Bobby Flay, Lewis has seen pretty much every famous person from New Jersey. And thanks to his charm, we opted to try the Spicy Southwest Ribeye with roasted red and green chiles and garlic which could feed four people but it was so good, we didn't want to share.

OMBRA

Ombra can be hard to find--it's in the basement of the Specchio restaurant, the Borgata's five star Italian restaurant. But once you are down there, it's quite special. It was designed to look like a rustic wine cellar somewhere in Venice. The only problem was that the restaurant has a cheese bar and it stinks. Like it smells a little too much like aged cheese.

Once you get past that, you should order some of the delicious appetizers from the menu like the Truffled Grissini, a signature dish from Ombra's chef Luke Palladino. Thin breadsticks are coated with white truffle butter and parmigiano reggiano, then wrapped in prosciutto. Also delicious? The Arancini, crisp risotto fritters with shaved black truffles and scallions.

But don't order too many otherwise you won't be able to eat dinner or be able to get up from your chair for that matter. One thing that we found a bit odd was the flat-screen TVs above the bar that were playing travel shows about Italy. It could have been worse--it could have been a basketball game.

SEABLUE

This is Michael Mina's only East Coast restaurant. The chef is well-established in Las Vegas and California but so far, the Borgata is the only lucky East Coast recipient of one of Mina's outposts.

Seablue has a funky exterior which carries over to its bar. Metals were crafted to created a wall of bubbles which gave it a very modern look. The bar has a pretty cool "blue-veined marble bar" that is also quite interesting. Yet inside the restaurant, the scene is so-so. Bobby Flay has a much more impressive interior. But never mind that, onto the food.

The most interesting part of Seablue's Menu (which is an art form in itself, practically like a novel) is the Create Your Own Salad menu. Diners are given pencils and they can choose the ingredients they want in their salad. Our choice for the main entree was a flat iron steak (yes, steak again) since we're a little wary of seafood.

But our fellow diners ordered some delicious seafood appetizers and meals so we sampled the Roasted White Corn Soup (creamy heaven), a Tempura Gulf Prawn with avocado-lime sauce (we like Southwestern sauces) and the Dayboat Diver Scallops with short rib ravioli which was so good, that we would order it on our own next time. And that says a lot since we really don't like seafood.

OTHER OPTIONS
Fine Dining: Old Homestead (the original location is in Manhattan's Meatpacking District), Wolfgang Puck's American Grille, Specchio.

Casual Dining: Cafeteria (the upscale food court), Bread and Butter, Borgata Buffet, The Metropolitan, Risi Bisi and Noodles of the World.