Sirloin

My lasting impression of Lago Ristorante on Mill Street in Worcester ended up being much more favorable than my first. From the outside it just doesn’t look like much, but once you get inside and see the long bar extending almost all the way across the room on one side and the picture windows overlooking Coes Reservoir on the other you begin to change your mind. Although the bar and dining area of the restaurant consists of just one large room, the interior looks new and inviting. Usually when I go to a restaurant with just one other person I prefer the bar — and the bar here looks like a great place to sit and have dinner. On this occasion, there was a group of us so we sat at tables near the window. I didn’t see any large tables and the room was not set up in a way that you could put two tables together so I think you are pretty much restricted to the bar or tables for four.

The menu is a single sheet of heavy paper printed on one side with four sections: Starters, Salads, Main Courses, and Specials. We were informed that they also have homemade deserts. Since I am doing the low carb diet, right now my eyes automatically skipped over the pasta dishes and went straight to the 16 oz. sirloin. Again, my first impression, the price of $17, lowered my expectation, but I went with it anyway. It came with two vegetable dishes, summer squash and a mixed vegetable, as well as a small side salad served before the main course.

Although we waited patiently for the meal, it ended up being really good. The steak was cooked to perfection–despite the fact that the server never asked if I knew what medium rare meant. It looked great, it was very tasty, and it appeared to be a true 16 ounces. The two sides of vegetables were delicious as well. The salad crisp, fresh, and simple. Overall, it was a great meal and a fun experience — I would definitely return. –RS

Mill Street is one of the more well-known and bustling streets in the city. One would think that this would be the perfect location to open up a restaurant such as Lago Ristorante. Although the restaurant was marked clearly with a large sign on the main drag, the building in which the Lago is located in, is not marked and I almost had to guess which door to enter in order to dine. Once inside, we were greeted by a sleek, modern Italian interior with a long bar and industrial piping lining the ceiling, giving the atmosphere a touch of class, yet while still knowing that you’re in Worcester.

As we ordered our meal, most entrees came with a complimentary house salad. The dressing and red onions added a bite of bitter and acidity to the dish, however the choice of using iceberg lettuce fell flat. Although a decent starting salad, it could have benefited from croutons or some shaved carrots to lend a textural contrast to the dish.

When my main entree came out, I found that my 16-ounce sirloin was cooked perfectly medium-rare. The chef could have trimmed a little more of the fat off the steak as it made it difficult to cut at times. My sides were rice pilaf and mashed potatoes…I find that you can never have enough starch. Unfortunately, the rice was very disappointing. The taste was very bland and needed a decent amount of salt and pepper just to render any kind of flavor from the rice. On the other hand, the mashed potatoes were delicious. They had been mashed with the skins on and were left a bit lumpy, which is a deviation for most restaurants to do, but I found it paid off. The potatoes were rich and were the perfect combination of silky and delicious. -ED

Tag: Sirloin

Steak