Extremely Disappointing Experience…read more
We visited STK Uptown as a team to celebrate our engineering team, so we were genuinely looking forward to having a nice experience together. Unfortunately, from the moment we walked through the door until we finally left, the experience was disappointing and nowhere near what we expected from a restaurant at this price point.
We arrived around 12:00 PM for our reservation and were a little early, but certainly not excessively early. The restaurant was essentially empty, yet we stood at the host stand for approximately 10 minutes without anyone coming over to greet or acknowledge us.
At one point, as a joke, we started greeting the next guests who walked in and jokingly asked them, "Where would you like to be seated?" We ended up having an entire conversation with them about how we had been standing there for roughly 10 minutes because no one had come to the front. It was funny in the moment, but honestly, it was also pretty embarrassing and frustrating.
Eventually, someone came to assist us and we were seated. We specifically requested a table rather than a booth, which was accommodated, but unfortunately the service did not improve from there.
Our server asked whether we wanted water, and everyone said yes. However, she never actually took our drink orders. When she returned to take our appetizer order, everyone at the table was essentially trying to squeeze in their drink requests at the same time because no one had asked us what we wanted to drink.
Our appetizers arrived in a reasonable amount of time, so we thought perhaps things were finally getting on track. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Our entrées took approximately an hour to arrive.
One member of our group had an appointment at 1:00 PM, so he had to leave around that time. Because we arrived at approximately noon, we reasonably assumed that he would at least have enough time to receive his meal, eat some of it, and leave for his appointment.
Instead, his food didn't arrive until approximately 1:10 PM -- after the time he was supposed to leave.
He had already asked for his meal to be boxed twice, knowing he was running out of time, but the to-go box continued to be forgotten or significantly delayed. When his food finally arrived, he essentially had to leave three minutes later, meaning he barely had an opportunity to even deal with his meal before rushing out for his appointment.
That was particularly frustrating because this entire situation could have been avoided with basic attentiveness and communication.
And again, the restaurant was not busy enough to justify the delays. When we arrived, there were no guests at all. Even by the time our food finally came out, there were only a handful of other people in the restaurant. This was not a situation where the kitchen was overwhelmed by a packed dining room.
Unfortunately, the food itself did not justify the wait or the price.
One of the steaks at our table was extremely salty, and the overall food quality was not what we expected from STK. I also ordered a cookie with ice cream to take home for dessert, and the cookie was honestly one of the biggest disappointments of the meal. It was hard, crusty, tasted like it had been sitting around for a while, and honestly reminded me more of a Pizza Hut cookie than something I would expect from an upscale steakhouse.
By the time we were ready to leave, our group had spent more than $800, and unfortunately, none of us walked away feeling that we had received an $800 dining experience.
Even leaving the restaurant became another frustrating part of the experience.
After we had finished eating, we asked for the receipt so that we could settle the bill and leave. We waited at the table for a while, but the receipt never came. At that point, we thought perhaps getting up would make it clear that we were ready to go, especially since we had already been there for close to two hours.
Instead, our server saw us getting up, began making a drink, and continued helping other tables. We ultimately had to walk over to her and say, "Hey, can you please get us the receipt?" Only then was it finally printed for us.
For comparison, we have had dining experiences at places like Del Frisco's and Truluck's that truly feel like a 10/10 experience from beginning to end. The service is attentive, the food is consistently good, and you leave understanding what you paid for.