Derrick's Steakhouse — Restaurant in Kelowna

This is a steakhouse pretending to be a 5 but barely a 2 in our books. We had made online reservations for Monday March 24th, approximately 2 weeks prior, maybe longer. The online system asked if this was for a special occasion, and I ticked birthday, as this was my partners 59th birthday. We arrived at the restaurant promptly at 6 and were seated at a nice little booth next to a loud party of 30+ people, right next to the kitchen, with bright lights shining onto the table. We asked if we could be moved to another table, and the Maître’d, Scott was his name I believe, informed us quite rudely that the restaurant was sold out tonight and he could not get us such a nice table (the table was indeed nice, the loud party and BRIGHT lights from the kitchen, not so much), but moved us to another table in another part of the restaurant (which in my opinion would have been perfect to seat the louder party of 30, but thats not my job). Once seated, it was approximately 15 mins before our waiter Cody approached us for a drink order. We decided to order off the fixed price menu ($72). The first course, a mushroom bisque was cool, and beginning to congeal, but acceptable, and we left it at that. The second course was a tasty, hot risotto. The 3rd/main course, a 5 ounce steak, arrived 25 minutes later, the peppercorn brandy (?) sauce was most definitely congealed, and cold. In fact the plate was cold, and the french fries that came with the steak, with were barely warm. Both my partner and I rarely send back a meal, having worked many years in the restaurant industry, we understand some of the challenges. However, this restaurant is very expensive (although the fixed price menu was a reasonable deal, if presented properly) and this was unacceptable. After waiting 2-3 minutes, no servicing staff were seen, so I got up, and approached our waiter who was around the corner chatting with a colleague in the service station. I explained the unsatisfactory main course and he immediately took both meals back and within 5 minutes we had 2 hot perfectly cooked steaks presented. Cody, our water did apologize, however, what we found interesting is, Scott, the Maître’d, who moved us from our original table, who had done a steak and steak knife presentation at our table, prior to our first couse, and had told us repeatedly that he was responsible for the restaurant, never approached our table after the meals were both returned back cold and returned unsatisfactory. Then dessert arrived, it was not impressive, more on the store bought side, and not even so much as a candle or sparkler. What is the point of asking of the reservation page if this is a special occasion if it is not acknowledged? The restaurant is dark, which is nice for a romantic dinner, but do not get the table near the kitchen. The walls are dark, no artwork, no pops of colour. The bill came, we normally tip 20-25% in an upscale restaurant, however begrudgingly paid a 10% knowing our waiter Cody, would have to payout of is own pocket, to the kitchen staff despite the overall lack luster/poor dining experience. Oh, and by the way, the restaurant was not sold out as per the Maître’d earlier comment to us, but was busy. Remember, Derrick’s Steakhouse is trying to present as a high end steak house, as per their expensive menu. We will not return, or recommend. 2 is an overall generous rating. Very disappointed, so much so, that I am writing this review almost 2 weeks after...

I wanted to share a detailed experience when I came in on Saturday, August 3rd. I had made a reservation and got an amazing seat; I was bringing two friends from Toronto to this restaurant because I knew they could provide an amazing experience. From offering a choice of sparkling at the beginning and choosing the table side Caesar salad, it was outstanding. Having a maitre D and a server was such a unique experience, and my server helped me choose a beautiful bottle of Syrah. Then came the steaks. My friends were splitting a medium 6 oz steak, and I had chosen the feature cut of the night, an A4 steak cooked rare, which was not listed on the menu. The steaks seemed to be taking awhile, and our server came shortly after to tell us the chef wasn’t happy with the cook on them and that they were being refired. Finally, the refired steaks hit the table, and to my dismay, my steak was still overcooked. I was fine with the first refire; mistakes happen, but when my steak has to be refired twice on such a luxurious cut? It was sent back once more, and by the time mine came out, my friends had finished eating, and I was left eating alone. The experience was beautiful up until the steaks, by the end I had just felt rushed and disappointed. Additionally, I was told the price of my cut was $79, but when the bill came I discovered it was in fact $95. Not a huge difference but the price was incorrectly communicated to me as it was a feature and not actually listed. After all this, they gave me the bill (which was originally full price which is how I noticed the difference in price for the steak) and after inquiring they gave me 50% off of only my steak, but truthfully I still felt disappointed. I brought my friends here because I thought they would get a great experience out of it, but overall how the situation was handled in an establishment that specializes in steaks, I was a little taken aback. After all this, I don’t know if this will still be...

Unacceptable Customer Service at Derrick's

I'm writing this review to warn others about the deeply disappointing experience I had with Derrick's restaurant. What happened to us was nothing short of unprofessional and frustrating. We had made a reservation for a group of 10 people, but unfortunately needed to cancel. I later found out their policy requires 24 hours of advance notice for cancellations, but I was never informed of this when cancelling. I personally emailed to cancel our reservation THREE HOURS before our scheduled time because I could not reach them by phone. They never even bothered to respond to this cancellation email or send any kind of notification that a charge would be applied. To my shock, they charged us $350 CAD anyway without even bothering to inform us that a cancellation fee would be applied! I sent a follow-up email the next day which they also ignored. I then had to call them AT LEAST TEN TIMES before someone finally answered the phone. Even when I finally got through, the staff wouldn't even give me a chance to explain our situation or discuss a potential refund. Despite my persistent efforts to resolve this issue, they completely dismissed my concerns. For a restaurant to charge such an exorbitant fee after we gave them advance notice of cancellation, and then to completely disregard attempts to resolve the issue, shows a complete lack of customer service and basic business ethics. I understand that restaurants need to protect themselves from last-minute cancellations, but $350 is not a small amount, and to ignore multiple contact attempts is simply unacceptable. I would strongly advise anyone considering Derrick's to think twice. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area that treat their customers with respect and have reasonable policies. Save yourself the frustration and financial loss we experienced. 1 star out of 5 - Would not recommend under any...