CUT Steakhouse — Restaurant in Halifax

Service: 5/5 Food: 2/5 Price: $470, $556 after-tip, for 2 people.

Good: The service was excellent. Some of the best service in Halifax. Foie Gras Poêlé - fantastic. Chocolate Mirror Cake - quite nice.

Not-so-good: The steaks. We got the Canada Prime AAA Dry-Aged ribeye and strip. They were unusually grisly, and rather than being properly marbled, they were just excessively fatty - not intramuscular marbling like you'd expect, but great gobs of unchewable fat everywhere. Beyond the poor quality of meat, we both found that the steaks lacked flavour entirely - no buttery taste, nor any hint of salt/pepper/garlic/rosemary that most steakhouses incorporate in the cooking process. For the price, and all the show-and-tell re: the dry-aging process and the superior quality to expect from it, I was extremely disappointed. These were among the worst steaks I've had in a restaurant. We are quite familiar with dry-aged steaks, we both cook with steaks quite frequently, and though they were the main course, they were the worst (and most expensive) part of our night.

The Mac and Cheese. This seemed to have no cheese in it at all. It was like Panko breadcrumbs on top of a heap of dry macaroni noodles. Not creamy or cheesy at all, just bland pasta.

Béarnaise - this had almost no tarragon in it. When it arrived, I was surprised that it was flatly yellow, with no noticeable chopped tarragon anywhere, and upon tasting, it just seemed like they had double-boiled egg yolk and butter and omitted the tarragon entirely. I make a lot of Béarnaise and I was really looking forward to trying this one. It was not good.

Overall:

I was disappointed with our experience at Cut. This meal cost over $550 for two people. The steaks were very poor quality, both in meat quality and flavour, the sides were incredibly expensive and hugely disappointing, and the steak sauce was a big letdown.

I hate to mention this, but as we finished our dinner, I felt increasingly unwell, and experienced symptoms consistent with foodborne illness, including vomiting, immediately following our main course and the entire night thereafter. I obviously cannot confirm the exact cause, but I feel it's important to share my experience for the awareness of the restaurant and potential future customers. I felt there was something amiss with the quality of our meal while I was eating it, and it would seem I was right given how ill I immediately became.

Anyway, even if I hadn't become sick following our meal, my review would be the same - this was not worth the price we paid. I would expect much higher quality meat from a proper steakhouse. Ours were tough, lacked proper marbling, were quite grisly, and had no flavour. I hate leave bad reviews, but I felt compelled to be honest given how expensive this place is, and how disappointed we were in a dinner we'd been looking forward to for a long time.

Had our server not been excellent, this review would be even lower. We dine at Shuck a lot, another RCR restaurant, and have always had good experiences. I was surprised and disappointed that just upstairs, we'd have an experience...

Visiting a steakhouse like Cut is an experience , its far more than a mere meal. Our experience at Cut Steakhouse in Halifax was nothing short of remarkable from the moment we stepped through the door. The ambiance was inviting and sophisticated, setting the perfect tone for an evening of fine dining. The candelabra on the table was the perfect pinch of posh!

From the start, the service was impeccable. Our waiter was not only fantastic and friendly but also attentive to every detail, ensuring our evening was seamless and enjoyable. The only minor hiccup was his hesitation to recommend a good whiskey for my guest, but this was quickly overshadowed by the overall excellence of the service. The bartender deserves accolades for crafting the perfect negroni for me... well two, they were that good.

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the food. The steaks were incredible, cooked to perfection, and bursting with flavor. The baked potato was perfect, crispy on the outside and delicious on the inside, I like to call it my emotional support potato. The table-side Caesar salad was a delightful touch, expertly crafted with fresh ingredients and presented with flair.

Initially, we were a bit taken aback by the noticeable lack of female serving staff, which gave the impression of a typical boys' club steakhouse. However, our concerns were alleviated when we learned that both the assistant manager and director of operations are women, along with two other serving staff. This knowledge enhanced our respect for the establishment's commitment to staffing.

Cut Steakhouse surpassed all our expectations, blending top-tier cuisine with exceptional service in an elegant setting. It's a place we wholeheartedly recommend for anyone seeking a memorable dining experience in Halifax. But don't be afraid to dress up a bit, it adds to...

We heard about this place from a local while sweating it out in the sauna at the Muir Hotel. The pitch? Best steak in town. We booked a few days later, excited.

We arrived hungry. Hostess was lovely and seated us right away. A server brought over a board of dry-aged steaks. We tried to order oysters but were told we had to place our entire order immediately. Strange policy, but whatever.

We went for it: two boneless ribeyes (medium rare, $68 each), with mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. The sides? Decent — if a bit salty. The steak? Just bad.

Mine was rubbery, barely warm, and looked like it had been sous-vide’d and waved past a grill. No crust. Cool red center. Visible unrendered fat. You can see for yourself in my photos.

I raised it with the server. He insisted it was medium rare and offered to “re-fire it for two minutes.” I declined — didn’t want my wife eating alone while they tried to fix what should’ve been right the first time.

From that moment on, we were ignored. No refills. No check-ins. When I mentioned the steak again to a different server while asking for the bill — most of my steak untouched — I got the same dismissive tone: “Ribeyes just cook like that.” No, they don’t.

We waited almost ten minutes with empty glasses and a bill just sitting there. Ended up bringing it to the hostess ourselves. She was still nice. Then, as we were leaving, the servers intercepted us — not to apologize, but to defend the steak again and explain how hard it was to get a manager to comp it. Cool story. Maybe just let us know next time instead of leaving us dry at the table.

Bottom line: sides were passable, the steak was a waste of money, and the service turned defensive fast. We left annoyed and still...