I really wanted to enjoy this new restaurant. My family and I were celebrating my daughter's 18th birthday and we had a party of 7 people on a Saturday night.
Bottom line is the food was adequate. Not an adjective one should use to describe what turned out to be an almost $1000 dinner which included 2 cocktails, a bottle of champagne, a bottle of wine, 2 appetizers, 2 salads and 7 entrees.
First the good. Marquis our server was excellent. He was attentive and was hustling. The kitchen definitely let him down at entree service time but I'll get to that.
The restaurant is LOUD. I feel like that is their vibe, but it's distracting how loud it is. So if you are expecting a quiet dinner, this is not your spot. It's located in what looks to be a commercial strip mall, not at all a purpose built restaurant location, but once you enter the front doors, you couldn't tell except the lack of windows apparent from the main dining area - which to me is a little sterile and disconcerting.
The drinks order was taken quickly (thanks again to Marquis) and that's when the disappointment started. While the two cocktails came out relatively quickly, the champagne took a while. First the stand for the wine bucket was placed, then 5-10 minutes later the wine bucket itself was placed. The. 5-10 minutes after that, the manager brought the champagne bottle over. So what should have been accomplished in less than 5 minutes from ordering was easily 10 to 20 minutes. But the time the champagne was poured, the two attendees drinking cocktails were empty.
Apps were ordered and arrived 10 to 15 minutes later. While the presentation was flashy on the charcuterie board, the meats and cheeses tasted like something I could buy at Trader Joe's, and opened the plastic container to slap them on the board. Nothing special. And for $29 it should be VERY SPECIAL. The Wagyu Flatbread was a highlight of this course. Excellent.
The salad course was next with a Caesar salad split for 2 and a wedge for another guest. The Caesar was very disappointing. I expected a smaller portion having it being split, but to have literally 2 leaves of Romain on the plate was very sad. The dressing seemed like something from a bottle and the presentation was poor. The Wedge reportedly was much better and our guest of honor enjoyed it! But for $13 each - I won't order either again.
Twenty to 30 minutes later, the entrees arrived. Our excellent server Marquis informed us that the "kitchen was backed up". When the entrees finally did start arriving the pasta and one burger arrived. Then 5 minute later, 2 filets arrived, then another 5 minutes later another burger and a ribeye arrived, and finally 5 minutes later my Prime Rib arrived.
Reportedly the pasta was of poor quality, and overly sauced. I didn't taste it but I trust the guest who made the assertion. The burgers were acceptable, but one of our guests had a very specific taste profile and ordered her burger in a specific way. It did not arrive that way, rather it was prepared to menu specifications.
The highlight of the entree service were the two filets. Apparently they were cooked correctly and were of high quality.
Now the downfall. As we asked our guest who received their food first to begin eating while it was still warm, with a belief that our entrees were "coming quickly" the final two plates were placed, a medium rare ribeye and a rare prime rib. The ribeye quality was almost inedible. The steak was tough, and not seasoned at all. Just a very poor cut of meat and a very poor preparation. The Prime Rib, I would expect to arrive with a cold red center and I'm ok with that. However, this cut looked like they had removed it from the refrigerator and put it under the heat lamps. It certainly was NOT freshly carved off of a rib that had been prepared for Saturday night's dinner time. The fat was hard and not rendered in the slightest. The cut was literally 1/3rd fat cap, and the au jus was cold.
The sides served included the Lobster Mac and Cheese and the Fingerling potatoes. Both typical and uninspired.
We are sad from this experience. And even the multi layer chocolate cake served to us gratis for my daughter's birthday was dry and seemed it had been baked a few days prior.
I really did want to like this place with all the excellent reviews. I'm just wondering if something has happened in the kitchen recently that has negatively affected the quality of the food.
The highlights of the evening were:
Marquis our server
Champagne (of course priced at triple retail as is common in the industry)
Wagyu Flatbread app
Mt. Veeder Cabernet (triple retail again)
And the filet.
We will not be returning as there are just too many excellent steakhouses in the DFW Metro. This one will likely not survive if our meal was any indication. read more