Fly above Virgin

The ambiance might be fly at Virgin’s new rooftop bar and restaurant, but their food choices certainly need to be reassessed.

Not many places in the Downtown circumference offer a mood quite similar to that that Fly is trying to reintroduce. A long V-shaped bar breaks up the luminous al fresco space, that’s been lined up with dining tables, cushiony chairs and high bar stools left, right, and centre. The cocktail lounge is airy and has summoned a fine mix of crowd, and the prevailing soundtrack is a medley of cover versions of your secretly loved and most loathed hits. The service is friendly and welcoming, and you can spot a few of the Element waiters running around the floor. We put them to the test when we complained about our lemon and parmesan risotto – the waiter called the manager, who in turn (after inquiring about the problem) asked to be given a second shot at the dish.

The initial risotto was not al dente and the blended flavours did not complement each other at all, leaving you with an unsettling after-taste of bitter lemongrass. The second attempt was slightly better in that it was cooked right, but this time the expected lemony kick completely vanished. The presentation did not match the prices they were charging. The salmon teriyaki, which could only be offered medium-cooked, looked like an orphan on a white plate. We were given a list of sides to choose among – these are served separately, and come for an extra charge of LL6,000-LL8,000 for a dwarf portion.

The long-anticipated gratin Dauphinois could definitely have been creamier, but the grilled wild mushrooms saved the day – how can you go wrong with that, right? From the range of salads and entrées, we settled on the goat’s cheese salad, which should have probably been listed under entrées instead. The miserly portion of greens was centred between tartlets of creamy cheese. The plate was adorned with apple and mandarin wedges and topped with Xeres dressing which, come to think of it, might have been the star of the meal.

(03 030340) Virgin Megastore rooftop, Martyrs’ Square, Downtown. Sun-Thur 7pm-12mid; Fri-Sat 7pm-2am. Meal for two without drinks LL100,000.