Big Horn Steakhouse Larvik — Restaurant in Larvik

I just went there solo to get a bite to eat and a glass of wine. It all started fine, the waiter brought me a glass of Rioja which tasted excellent. I was not allowed to sit near the window, while 95% of the seats were free; I was however allowed to sit at another 4 seat table, weird. Anyway, I wanted to order my Sirloin with the waiter but he referred me to a little form I had to fill out myself. Weird, but okay, I had never seen this before, but why not. It seems he outsources most of this own work to the guests... I could choose between Rare and Medium, but I like my steak Medium / Rare so I wrote Rare behind Medium option which I had ticked. You need to fill out the form with numbers of the dishes, just like in some Asian take-away restaurants.

The food came quickly, perfect speed to be honest. The steak however was not Medium/Rare but Medium and more towards Well-done although not overcooked. It tasted fine, so I did complain with the waitress without making a scene or big issue out of it, she did not apologise at all but offered to return my steak (assume they throw it away and cook a new one). When I said, it is not that bad, I don't like to throw away food she did not seem to understand that. I said, well an apology would be in place, and so she did. Of course, it did not mean much to me, who wants to ask for an apology but anyway. She could have offered me something else, like topping up my glass of wine! *tip

Anyway, I finished my meal, the waiter came and asked if I wanted any coffee or desert. I said no, but you could offer me a glass of wine as the steak was slightly overcooked. "I can't do that", he said. Weird, I thought, as I did not see any technical reasons why not. You can throw away my steak and cook a new one, but you can't top up my wine, I thought. Mistakes happen, perfectly normal, but in hospitality it is essence to make the guest feel better, even after the mistake happened. These people have no comprehension about that, nor about hospitality in general. Anyway, I asked for the bill. He said, you can pay near the door. I tried to make a joke, asking if he also wanted me to clean my own dishes. He replies: "What is your problem?" Well, lack of customer service, I thought but I did not say a word, shocked as he seemed so upset (bearing in mind it was my stead that was overcooked, not his!).

I was by that time very happy to leave the place to I went to the entrance / bar to settle my bill. The same waiter came, he typed in the amount NOK611 in the payment terminal, pressed [2] for payment in NOK and not [1] which is EUR. This choice is up to the cardholder, but [2] is the best choice but it is my choice not his. His face turns red and he seems not able to stand criticism. I worked in the payments industry for 1.5 decade so I know how the card schemes work. He just typed in the amount, I was never offered or shown a grand total or an invoice with line items. Also weird and unprofessional, at least in my book. After all, it was an upmarket restaurant!

Then I asked, are you the owner. I remained calm during the entire process. He said yes, I could not believe it. I thought maybe an underpaid waiter, but the owner?! Wow! He said yes, and am proud of it too. I can imagine, I have to admit, the food was good, despite the steak slightly overcooked. The place was quite lively too for a Tuesday night. Most restaurants in the centre were empty, but this level of customer service. Even for Norwegian standards, completely unacceptable. I will never dine there again, it is pity. I conclude it is a place where they treat locals like Kings (as returning customers and regulars) and Tourists like trash (as they probably never see them again, like in my...

Very small portions and expensive. I had a burger and it was like 100g and dry over cooked meat, absolutely no juice, with stale plain bread and low tier tomatoes and veggies. The whole burger with cheese felt like it was made yesterday and just microwaved. The chips and potatoes were not the freshest either and you had to order sauce separately adding 15% more to the already stiff price. The service was under par for the price range, and you have to fill in these cards on how you want your food, instead of just telling the waiter...

Not worth a return visit, on my opinion. Steak was a 3/5, sauces a 2/5. There are steakhouses you want to come back to - this isn’t one of them. The restaurant was completely empty before, during, and after our visit, yet I was still told where to sit. Why not let guests choose their table in an empty dining room? That alone ruined the atmosphere. But most importantly - the food just isn’t good. And that’s what a steakhouse should...