For our 22nd anniversary, I wanted to take my beautiful wife out for a very nice dinner and enjoy an upscale dining experience, along with my teenage daughter, who is equally beautiful. These girls are my world and deserve everything and more and normally we go to Flemings, but I wanted to try something different, so I searched around and while this place did not come up as one of the top 10 steakhouses in Tucson, I still wanted to give it a try, something different and special for my girls.
Now for the results, but first let us focus on the positives, the staff is very attentive, professional, clear, quick to serve, but by no means rushed and the atmosphere is very pleasant and does have an upscale environment and more like a modern industrial feel, lighting is brighter, while Flemings is more inviting and has a warmth too it. More of what you would expect in an upscale dining establishment or what we enjoy.
An evening out with my wife and daughter is always a joy, even if we were out for hotdogs at BKs, which would have been a better meal. Now we get to the unfortunate and disappointing portion of the evening. Keep in mind, my wife and daughter loved my attention to detail and my desire to please them, which was a win for me no matter the meal.
However, the meal ... It was not what we expected. We all ordered filet mignon, three sides, their roasted mushrooms, mac 'n cheese and Yukon whipped potatoes. We expected a very nice meal, mainly from the way we were received, from the hostess, to the waiter's assistant and the waiter, all very uniquely poised.
The steaks were over-cooked, dry, lacked much of any real flavor, aside from an excessive amount of salt, yet still tender ... odd, I know. The potatoes were very creamy, generous garlic favor, but very salty. The mac n cheese, nice amount of bacon, pasta well cooked, but little or no cheese and yes, excessive amounts of salt. The mushrooms, typically my favorites, were well cooked, well amounts of shallots and garlic, but ... yes, very salty.
The presentations of the plates were impressive and could have been prepared for a lovely magazine photo shoot, but in the end, not worth the price of admission. Both my wife and daughter are blunt and direct, yet still loving and caring, and while we fortunately have the means to do so, they sweetly told me that Texas Roadhouse would have provided us a pleasant experience, with a far better steak at fraction of the cost and as usual, we would have enjoyed our evening out.
Something to think about, when dining out, it is not where, but who you enjoy it with and how it tastes, and when you consider that you might settle for a mediocre meal at an upscale location or have four meals for the same cost, and leave satisfied, plus bring home a doggie bag for your pooches to also enjoy.
I generally only leave reviews when I find value, appreciate service or quite the opposite and tip accordingly. Food for thought and sorry for being truthful and will be our one and only visit. read more