Sawmill Prime Rib & Steak House — Restaurant in Grande Prairie

Disappointing. Mediocre at best.

We debated between a few places to visit for our anniversary dinner. Grande Prairie doesn't exactly have many options for high-quality dining, so the list is always short. Sawmill was mentioned and we decided to try it since we hadn't been here in a few years. On a Tuesday night, there was only one other table occupied in the dining room. Even for a weekday, not a great sign. The noise from the lounge could be heard, even over the "ambient" music, which was too loud and sounded like the free music that comes on your brand-new cell phone.

The service was not extraordinary. We waited too long, in my opinion, to be greeted when we walked in. To the point that I almost considered leaving. The hostess left and a few minutes later another staff member came to give us water and tell us our server was on their way. The waiter was friendly and knew the (apparently new) menu well, but when asked questions gave clearly scripted answers.

For the person who likes to check a menu before eating somewhere, you may be upset to discover that the one you can download from the website has not been updated.

We started with wagyu meatballs, which were decent. The sauce was good, and I see why this dish also comes as a pasta entrée, although it could have used more seasoning.

I had the "braised short ribs" which sounded delicious with its sauces and accoutrements. The wilted kale, however, was a sad sight. With absolutely no seasoning and tough stems still included, I ended up picking most of it out. The "ribs" themselves are not ribs at all. This chain restaurant has taken to the practice of using another piece of beef (likely chuck roast, which is cheaper) instead of the bone-in tender short rib cut. I asked our server about this and he said I was not the first to bring it up. A proper short rib should be fall-apart tender. Certain pieces of this beef were actually quite tough. Aside from these factors the rest of the meal was fine, creamy mashed potato and crispy fried parsnip created a nice texture juxtaposition.

My husband chose the cordon bleu, which came out looking fantastic on a bed of mushroom marsala. However, he said that the chicken left much to be desired. It had very little seasoning aside from the ham and Swiss cheese inside of it. This lack of seasoning was extremely apparent with the "seasonal vegetables" on his plate- a plain as the day they were born hunk of broccoli and whole carrot, which appeared to be steamed. Why do restaurants do this? Who wants to eat that? To simply roast these vegetables with a little garlic and butter would make a world of difference. He mentioned that while working in Peace River recently he had a cordon bleu at the hotel restaurant which was surprisingly much better than this one. How embarrassing for the Sawmill.

I suppose if you have less discerning tastes, you might be satisfied (or even impressed) by a dining experience here. But, for those with a higher caliber of expectation, we know there are only 2 or 3 passable options in Grande Prairie. This is not one of them.

Skip this chain and visit a...

Went in the other night table for 2, was excited and craving some prime rib. Wasn’t too busy but the service was slow. I ordered the 16 oz prime rib. The prime rib wasn’t good. The crust was too charred and had a bitter burnt taste to it and the seasoning was off. I mentioned this to the server and she replied how they “bake their prime rib and don’t char grill it” which did not make much sense to my concern. Also the vegetables on the side, I wasn’t a fan of so I asked the server if I could have something else instead. Server helped me out and said she could bring out a side of mash potatoes instead. After waiting patiently for about 10 minutes, the server came back empty handed only to tell me they can’t do mash potatoes as a replacement because it isn’t free. This frustrated me and it felt disrespectful as I never asked for them to be free and would have no issue paying for the them. I simply wanted a side of mash instead of the veggies. Being frustrated, I called to speak to the manager. I was polite and then spoke to voice my concerns. Manager was helpful in understanding my concerns on not being treated properly and apologized for the server. When i mentioned not enjoying the prime rib, the manager told me that’s just how it is. Manager did thank me for my kindness and being open about the concerns. Not wanting anything else but to leave, I just asked for the bill. Manager ended up giving the mash potato no charge and a small discount on the meal. However, expecting better and due the poor service & food quality I don’t recommend this sawmill and would not want to...

Have been for lunch a number of times, and is usually good. But the few times I've been there for dinner - not impressed. The last time I was there a few days ago, they don't know how to cook a steak - asked for medium rare, came out medium-well, sent back, then a new steak came out between blue and rare, sent back, then it came back rare so I ended up just eating it as the rest of the table was nearly done dinner already. Then for dinner, got the creme brulee, the bottom part was good - nice and creamy the custard - but the top part had curdled and was very eggy. something weird happened there. they ended up just taking these two items off the big bill. but still, the steak was the most disappointing, it's a steak house.

Edit: cannot leave a second review so editing review for 2023. Went here with my wife for valentine's day. They had a "special" menu which of course is 3 course and they significantly raise the price. Okay. Well need to find out info about dietary restrictions but no one was able to answer questions relating to this, the server said every time she went back to ask the chef a question for us she would get yelled at by him (seriously?), so we asked for a manger and she came back saying she couldn't find one, no one was around. So we left. Thanks for ruining valentine's day for us. We will never set foot...