February 14, 2008

My restaurant review: "5 Degrees/Amuse"
By Stan Dyer

While visiting the "restaurant.com" website looking for values, (like $25 gift certificates for $5), I came across a restaurant called 5 Degrees, (with the little degree circle above and to the right of the five). It looked interesting, I like trying new things, and I love a bargain. I bought the gift certificate and made plans for a visit.

It is interesting to note that I bought the certificate last September, but only used it recently. We planned to go there around Thanksgiving when we were staying at the Brown Palace, but, when we stopped by, they were not open. Fortunately, we ended up at Pulcinella's across the street from the Old Spaghetti Factory and made a new friend. Nonetheless, we still had the gift certificate and needed to use it. When the YourHub bloggers got together recently at the Wynkoop Brewery, we took the opportunity to stop in, say "hi", and then go check out the 5 Degrees.

Five Degrees is an interesting place. It is actually two establishments at one place and part of a four-establishment confederation called Lotus Entertainment.Five Degrees works in concert with Amuse at 1475 Lawerence Street, and the other two establishments, (located nearby at 1416 Market Street), are Monarck downstairs and the "bottle service discotheque" 24K upstairs.

My first impression of 5 Degrees/Amuse was that it was nicely decorated. I liked the lighting, the design, and the concept, but I was not sure which establishment I was in or if it even mattered. It did not take me long to figure out that they operated differently here. Instead of focusing on dinner and offering a happy hour, they focus on happy hour and offer dinner as an option. Rather than a place to sit down and enjoy a meal, it is more a place to have a beverage, unwind with friends and enjoy some gourmet appetizers. In fact, the best deals at 5Degrees/Amuse are the appetizers and the happy hour.

Happy hour is from 4 to 8 Monday through Friday and features $4 Martinis, Wine, Mixed Well, and Aperitifs. Beer is $3. Here is where it gets confusing. There is also a list of 38 specialty Martinis for $8 or $9, glasses of wine for $7 to $10 and bottles of wine and liquor from $28 to $300 on the same menu during the same hours. If you want to eat, that is easier. You can choose items from their Apres-Work Menu featuring ten Amuse appetizers priced at one for $4, two for $7 or three for $10, or you can choose servings from five imported cheeses at the same prices. There are also 18 entrees with six in the Garden category, six in the Ocean category, and six in the Farm category. There are a number of vegetarian options and all are unusual, gourmet and compliment the beverages nicely. To sample the restaurant, we had three appetizers, three entrees and one of the cheeses.

All of the food we had was good and priced fairly. It occurred to me that it is actually a better value to order three appetizers for $10 than it is to order one entrée for $6 to $14, even though the $6 Three Bean Soup was my favorite of the entrees. I suppose we could have chosen lower fat options, but even what we ordered seemed to have more fat than one would expect. Everything we had tasted very "rich" and highly seasoned but all were representative of what was on the menu. Of the appetizers, we had the Mediterranean Olives, the Toasted Tuscan Bread, and the Gourmet French Fries. Our entrees were the Arugula Salad, the Fusili, and the Three Bean Soup. Overall, it is a cute place with decent food and offerings to fit all tastes and budgets, but they do have some problems needing mention.

One big problem was the restaurant was dirty. I noticed as I was sitting down that the booths needed thorough cleaning, and, later, when the waitress brought me my coffee, there was residue dried food on the pot that she left at the table. When my girlfriend used the facilities, she reported that the design of the restroom made it difficult to use and the entire room was "grubby". Another problem was inattentive service. This may be because they seemed to be setting up for some other event, but we felt almost ignored as customers, and that should never happen.

In a Health Inspection Report dated December 2007, Five Degrees/Amuse had five violations: two, Type 1 and three, Type 2. They are 1b for unwholesomeness and signs of spoilage, 3c for hot water below 140 degrees, 9b for food unprotected from contamination, 11c for no chemical test kits and 14f for personal items stored incorrectly. This report does not reflect the cleanliness of the establishments and only presents a snapshot of the day inspected.

Overall, this restaurant/club gets a "B". I grade up for being nicely decorated, having an interesting concept, and decent food. The younger crowd who like the high fat, trendy foods will love it. I grade down for cleanliness, service and the design of the facilities. I would go back to meet friends there for beverages and snacks, but it would not be my first choice for dinner.

Five Degrees/Amuse

1475 Lawrence Street in Downtown Denver, (next door to the Comedy Club)

Phone: 303-260-7505

Full menu and information for all four restaurants: www.lotusentertainment.net