Had a reservation for a table of 1 at S&A for Thursday, September 18 at 6pm and wanted a table, not a bar seat, but the hostess "convinced" me to take a hightop near the bar, was really hesitant to give up her four tops (no two tops), which on a busy night makes some sense.
Was greeted within 3 minutes by a server who took my order (did not give me his name) and the bartender brought it out shortly thereafter..good pour and good martini. He then took my dinner order (didn't get his name) and was polite and professional. I ordered a bowl of the French Onion (FO) soup, Prince and Pauper with burgundy mushroom topper and a loaded baked potato.
The busser dropped off my bread and it was delicious and warm.
FO was flavorful but the cheese could have been browned a bit more. I did not like the bay leaf in the soup, it didn't belong and was never in the original S&A FO (full disclosure, I managed them in the 80's).
The salad bar was not filled so it looked lousy and messy...I got the last of the salad but that and the toppings were very fresh and my salad was very good (blue cheese dressing).
As I began my salad, I ordered a draft beer, which arrived quickly (frosted glass and cold...good!). This was immediately followed by the busser bringing my meal, including a separate dish of the burgundy mushrooms (lost in translation). So I had a full table of food and the bartender apologized for the dinner coming out that quickly. So by the time I ate my salad, my dinner had cooled a bit.
Hawaiian chicken was more like a chicken with a pineapple on it, not too seasoned but good grill marks..could have been left on the grill an extra minute or two.
The Kensington Club was a perfect medium rare but light on the flavor..tasted like a regular steak...good grill marks.
Baked potato was large and very good.
Due to the nature of the rushed meal, my stomach didn't have time to slow down and I was quickly full and got a to-go box for the leftovers. Was so rushed that I didn't order the Duckhorn Cabernet not the after dinner Irish Coffee.
Being attached to a hotel certainly had its benefits for a restaurant, but does no good for the ambience of a high-end steakhouse, with diners dressed down in shorts and t-shirts, but that's not the restaurant's fault.
Other notes:
-the salad bar was quickly filled by one of the servers after I mentioned it to the bartender
-the busser could have done a better job of pre-busing tables (I sat for awhile with the empty dinner and burgundy mushroom plates in front of me after putting the food in the to-go box while I finished my beer) but he worked hard at clearing tables. He would have been more efficient if he used a busser tub instead if a tray.
-the person filling up the salad bar would be more efficient if he put the salad bar pitchers on a cart instead of going back and forth to the kitchen.
-good music.
So, my first visit to a S&A since the 80's was a bit of a downer and my Uber ride from downtown was crazy high, but I'm glad I went..but they have some kinks to work out. read more