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Highlights: With a gorgeous dining room and a menu as unique as their name, Apsara offers a dining experience that must be tried. Open for lunch and dinner, their asian inspired fare features a long list of familiar favorites as well as several that aren't so familiar, including a full sushi bar and a drink list that's almost as long as their edible options, if not longer.Food Overview: With a full menu of asain inspired cuisine, from curries to stir-fry to a full sushi bar, there is something here for every fan of oriental dining. For sushi enthusiasts, the Playboy Roll offers a unique taste, while the Panang Curry with Roasted Duck provides a bit of spice for those looking to try something new. Whatever you should choose, the wine and sake list has something to compliment any dining selection.Price Range: Over $20Attire: CasualFeaturesFine dining, Outdoor dining, Reservations accepted, Specialty desserts, Take-out offered, Vegetarian friendly
Thai on a grand scale Taking over a restaurant as large as the former Watson Bros Brewhouse calls for thinking big. So in creating his new restaurant Apsara, owner Chanaka Delanerolle hauled an entire wall of Angkor Wat out of the jungle and installed it behind the sushi bar, garlanded it with vines and cut a skylight for illumination. At least, that's what it looks like. The soaring temple wall is, of course, a reproduction. Carved into it are figures of the dancing Buddhist/Hindu nymphs called Apsaras, which give the restaurant its name. It's the most ambitious interior design in an area independent restaurant that I can remember. The rest of the restaurant has rust-colored walls and simple furniture, and smaller statuettes and carvings in cases. There's more seating outside on the patio overlooking a big pond and offering views of small planes taking off from Blue Ash Airport. Delanerolle owns Teak restaurant in Mount Adams, along with the Celestial and Mount Adams Fish House. The menu here is most like Teak's, but goes well beyond Thai to include other Asian and Western styles. Any Asian-fusion restaurant has to have a sushi bar, and Aspara's is large, well-staffed and offers classic sushi along with those kitchen-sink rolls that everyone seems to love. We tried a Playboy roll ($15.95), which includes everything from shrimp tempura to asparagus and mango, and comes to the table wrapped in foil on a flaming plate. Even the regular nigiri sushi was overboard, topped with pieces of fish too big to pop into your mouth. You shouldn't have to cut sushi. The best dishes from the rest of the menu were traditional ones. A Panang duck curry ($18) with cashews and pineapple had a rich combination of crisp duck skin, flavorful meat and creamy sauce. A Thai seafood clay pot ($19) was also a treat, jammed with shrimp, scallops, crab, mussels and squid cut into little pine cone shapes. The clay pot kept it piping hot. But my cilantro-garlic swordfish ($24) was served with a clear sweet sauce flecked with bits of red that looked like it had come from a bottle; and the rack of lamb ($26) was cold and undercooked, almost raw, daubed with peanut sauce and propped around a salad of cucumber that was flavored with vinegar. We did have good service: there is an army of servers in rust-orange shirts who are cheerful and speedy. Apsara - 3 out of 5 stars (good) Recommended dishes: Chicken lettuce wraps, Panang duck curry, seafood hot pot Prices: Appetizers $4-$12, entrees $12-$26 The scene: Lots of business groups, room for large parties Sound level: Unusual compilation of music, from classical to clubby electronic; large parties can be loud Vegetarian choices: Not much on menu; jackfruit curry pad thai, stir-fries |
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