Asana

Fine form and function at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  March 4, 2009
2.0 2.0 Stars

Service generally was outstanding. Veteran servers once covered all the seams in the old luxury hotel dining rooms. Their young successors are a globalized workforce, but fully trained and helpful without hovering. The room is a dramatic setting for dinner, with its high ceilings; abstract blue, black, and red wall art; and giant plants in glass cylinders. The round motif is repeated in the clustered lamps. Bathroom examiners — there's one in every party — will have to decide whether fabric walls are really practical. One drawback is the techno music and loud babble from the adjoining bar.

Unique among restaurants, hotel dining rooms respond to criticism and often improve over time. Asana has an effective concept and some wonderful execution, though some courses still need work.

Robert Nadeau can be reached at robtnadeau@aol.com.

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