The Beefeater Steakhouse — Restaurant in Medicine Hat

Before I begin I'd like to say this restaurant has been a staple for fine dining in my family. However, we have been disappointed with a few things on the last couple visits, which has affected our choices for going out.

Service is still great, and the beef was fantastic. Steaks came out cooked as requested. The desserts came out quickly and were tasty.

What has been frustrating on the last couple visits was the quality of cooking for the veggies, and the cost for some items. We had Brussel sprouts as the vegetable included in the meal. Rather than being roasted and spiced, they were boiled and soggy with little seasoning (much like a care home may cook them).

For those who don't drink, a pop comes in a small glass full of ice. Even without the ice, it probably amounts to a miniature can's worth of drink. We knew it was not free refills, but for each cup being $3.50, this seemed excessive. I understand the restaurant is considered high end, but this is an unnecessary upcharge.

On our most recent visit, I asked to substitute the complimentary garden salad with my meal for a caesar. I was told no problem, but there would be a small charge. The salad was good, however, when the bill came, I was not charged a substitution. I was charged $10 for less than a starter sized caeser salad. $10 for something that used to come with the salad bar. This is not what I would consider an appropriate upcharge either.

If our experience of the non-meat parts of the meal were reasonable and more fitting of the gorgeous steaks, we would visit more often. But for now, we may be looking for somewhere with more consistent quality and reasonable charges for already...

The Beefeater has been a family favorite for special events for over a decade, however, in recent years we have been going less and less and now I am unsure if we will be going back.

It mainly comes down to the food. The Beefeater has been around for quite some time, and in the decade we have been going there, the food hasn't changed one bit. Now this isn't necessarily bad, but the food now is very dated. The veggies you get with a steak meal are bland and uninspired lacking any thought or creativity, and the stuffed potato is in the same. The steak is decent, however it lacks any resemblance of seasoning, the only saving grace is the nice grill flavor you get from their broiler. I think the best way to summarize the food is it feels like your grandmothers cooking, which isn't the worst, however I would never pay 40$ for my grandmothers food.

The only reason myself, and potentially others as well, keep going back is simply for the nostalgia. We've been going here for years and it use to be our special place. However as of recently there are simply better places to go in town. Many other restaurants have modernized their menus over the past few years and simply offer better constructed meals that do not have a 40$+ price point. While I hate to draw comparison, if you are looking for a 40$+ meal, The Keg is simply a better alternative.

There is still hope for the Beefeater, their steak is definitely unique and that is a saving grace, but they really need to take a look at the rest of their menu and add some character to make myself, my family, and...

I worked in the Service Industry for 36 years. Trained in High end Service. I was disappointed yesterday with Lunch, The Beefeater has a reputation for fine dining. We were seated , the server came to the table with extra settings as we were going to be 4 guests. After some time she asked if we would like a drink, we ordered coffee, when it eventually arrived and put in front of us, the cup handle was pointing across the table and the spoon was pointing to the person beside me, a small detail but not correct. The other 2 guests arrived 10 minutes later, sat for the longest time before being acknowledged, eventually She returned and took drink orders. 3 of us ordered the Lunch Special, and the other person the Yeoman Sandwich. I asked if the potato that came with the sandwich could be put on my plate and my FF put on the Sandwich, I was told the Kitchen would not do that, that we would have to do that ourselves, I was amazed at that. The Sandwich came with Soup first , this was delivered, next thing we have the server at the table with the Meals and the soup plate still on the table meaning we had to hold the plate for her to place meals, again not he best. The Steaks were cooked well, the Caesar salad was soggy, and the FF looked like fast food FF's, The Yeoman Dip was good. We were never offered Dessert. I had not been to Beefeater since 2007 as I moved away, back then their food/service was top notch. Very...