Just left the Truffle Pig on a Tuesday night, and unfortunately it may have been the worst…read morerestaurant experience I've had in years. If you read my other reviews, you'll see that I don't make a habit of criticizing restaurants. I know everyone has an off night. But this experience missed the mark on almost every level.
We were a party of four adults and two teenage girls on our last night in Steamboat Springs. The adults planned to enjoy a nice dinner while the girls did their own thing, but we all agreed on one thing: we wanted to eat at the Truffle Pig. The menu looked fantastic, and we were looking forward to a memorable final meal.
Our first impression was a little strange. When we arrived, the two hostesses were playing cards. It wasn't offensive--they weren't busy--but it felt odd for a restaurant positioning itself as upscale.
We explained that the girls wanted their own table, yet they seated them immediately beside us on the patio. There was only one other occupied table outside and roughly 15 empty ones, but we were seated directly next to that party as well. I politely asked if we could move a few tables away to give everyone some space. I was told they were "managing the servers' sections." The result was three occupied tables packed together while the rest of the patio sat empty.
Our server, Dina, was friendly and pleasant. She mentioned there were no specials and took our drink orders. Oddly, after taking everyone's drink order, she returned to the first person and asked what she wanted to drink. She had simply forgotten she had already asked. It seemed harmless at the time.
After our drinks arrived, I asked about the bacon-wrapped dates. Dina explained they came in orders of three, but we could add an extra one, so we ordered enough for everyone. Five minutes later she returned and asked if we'd like to order an appetizer. I reminded her we had already ordered the dates.
"Oh yeah," she replied.
The dates arrived and, to their credit, they were excellent.
A few minutes later, Dina came back to let us know our dates should be out soon. Once again, I had to tell her we had already received them. Her response was simply, "Oh good, because I saw they started your entrees."
My wife's Spinach & Bib salad with added steak was very good. Our friends ordered the burger and the cauliflower steak. Dina highly recommended the cauliflower steak, but our friend thought it was just average.
Then the evening completely unraveled.
I ordered the $79 New York Strip, medium rare. It was honestly the worst steak I've ever been served in a restaurant. The center was completely cold--well beyond rare--and it was so undercooked it's difficult to imagine anyone checked the temperature before it left the kitchen. On top of that, the steak was overwhelmingly fatty. I understand a New York Strip has marbling; it's one of my favorite cuts. This was something entirely different. I had to send it back.
Remarkably, the teenage girls had also ordered the New York Strip, and theirs was even worse. Instead of preparing a new steak, the kitchen simply threw the already sliced pieces back on the grill. The result was an overcooked, tough, nearly inedible steak.
At that point, I declined another steak and asked for the burger instead, specifically requesting no mushrooms.
About ten minutes later, my replacement burger arrived covered with mushrooms.
I scraped them off and, when Dina checked on us, I pointed out that I had specifically requested no mushrooms. There was no apology--just, "Oh, I know they were in a rush back there trying to get your meal out."
That response perfectly summed up the evening. Mistakes happen. Kitchens get backed up. Servers forget things. What matters is how a restaurant responds. Throughout the meal there was no accountability, no manager stopped by, no chef came out, no offer to remake the girls' steaks properly, no complimentary dessert, and no effort to make things right. When Dina returned with our massive check, she apologized for the (wildfire) smoke in the area - really, for the smoke? I can only imagine the owner or Manager was off tonight, as well as the primary chef - or maybe not?
For a dinner that approached $500, we didn't just leave disappointed--we left genuinely surprised that an establishment with this reputation handled the situation so poorly.
The logo is great. The music and atmosphere are amazing (love the Grateful Dead theme). I just wish the food and service had lived up to them.