Yadkin Valley Steakhouse — Restaurant in Albemarle

I’m a very tolerant and forgiving person and really don’t like leaving bad reviews but just so much about my 65th birthday dinner out was wrong. This was my first meal at this restaurant in over 20 years. It was Saturday Feb 15th. When we arrived we’re told 30 minutes wait. I passed through to the restroom and saw it wasn’t very crowded and there were many tables open. Finally was seated and overheard waitress that they only had 2 waitresses working. Upon seating we were given warm rolls and butter. We were there another 10 minutes until she took our drink order. Another 5 minutes before they arrived in small tumblers. Waitress spent a lot of time dealing with next table from their complaints. At first I felt sorry for her and thought they were just too picky. I noticed about this time that all the music playing was from the 40s. She finally took our orders and I checked my watch. We had came in 75 minutes ago. It was 35 minutes later our salads came. Then within a few minutes all the rest of the food showed up. I had to ask for more to drink having long since emptied my glass. She bought out a small pitcher of tea but no ice and after asking I never got any more. My steak, a 10 ounce ribeye, supposed to be medium rare was well done, completely grey though out, and it was lukewarm at best. Baked potato was about the same in temperature. At this point the waitress asked how everything was. I just made a motion with my hand and said, nahhh. She said please be honest. So I mentioned the steak being overcooked. She asked why I hadn’t said anything and I told her it took so long to get it I didn’t want to wait even longer for a replacement to be made. She then apologized and mentioned they had a new cook and had had many complaints. At this point I just wanted it to be over and get home. I had to request the bill. There was no offer to reduce the bill, not that I expected but saw on other reviews that they have offered this to some other people. There were 4 of us dining. As I mentioned I had 10 ounce ribeye, my wife ordered chicken, my granddaughter got 14 ounce ny strip, and her small son got children chicken strips plate. My granddaughters steak was also ordered medium rare but cooked medium at best. My wife said her chicken was okay. My great grandsons child’s plate was much larger than I expected with 3 very large pieces of chicken and a big order of fries. All the food was lukewarm. That tells me that it sat before it was brought out. I left a $20 tip on a $123 bill. The cashier also asked about the service. I just told her it was terrible and left my wife to explain. I just wanted out at this point. I checked my watch again and it had been 2 hours 20 minutes since we came in. As I said it was my first meal there in over 20 years but I can guarantee it will...

We had sat down at a table after a slight wait which was no big deal. Ordered our drinks and proceeded to order our appetizer of onion rings. It arrives a few minutes later cold and stale then the drinks were wrong. 6 dollars for 5 maybe 6 cut in half rings. What a joke. Flavorless and greasy. We had placed our entree order by this point. We should have left then, but we had never been there before and thought it was a fluke. Our salads arrived about 15 minutes later. Everyone ordered French dressing and received ranch. Come to find out they didn't serve it. I'm already half annoyed at this point. By then our drinks were all empty and had been so for over 10 minutes. Our waitress paid us zero attention. And we had to stop the dining room manager to get a refill. So after a long hour later our entree shows up stone cold and no corn. Which was on the menu and were told 40 or so minutes after placing the order there was none. How come nothing was bothered to be said sooner? My steak was barely lukewarm however was correctly cooked and sat a long time on a warmer rack ( my guess was well over 20 minutes with how much juice was poured on it as a piss poor attempt to warm up the steaks). The rest of the tables meals were as cold almost if they were placed in a fridge for several minutes prior to serving. I had stepped away to find the guests who were with me wandering in the parking lot. By then the restaurant manager was standing by my wife asking her how she thought a steak should be cooked then had the audacity to ask for a reheat. No it's a refire on that bad of a screwup and I'm not gonna wait another 2 hours to eat. We ended up heading to Bulldogs for a better meal. Don't get me wrong, Bulldogs has some great wings. I was about to make a scene but chose not to. I am a trained chef and have many years in various types of high end restaurants including steakhouse. It would take another management or owner change for me to even think of considering setting foot back there. I definitely don't and won't recommend this place to anyone and don't waste your time or money on overpriced food. I almost left...

I went here not knowing what to expect. As soon as I walked in, I realized this wasn't your typical steakhouse. This meal was gonna definitely put a dent in my wallet. And boy oh boy did it. I tried the Whiskey DelMonico Steak, cause go big or go home, amiright? They brought it out and I could smell the bourbon before the plate even hit the table. I ordered it medium rare, because that is the only way you should ever eat something so magnificent. I was not disappointed. Every bite was so tender and flavorful, definitely a win in my book. However, the side salad was subpar, and so was the cheese sauce for the broccoli. I mean this place is centered around Stone Grilled steaks, so it's to be expected. Definitely not a place to bring the whole family, unless you're just rollin' in dough. Also, would not recommend to those who prefer leather over an actual steak. My grandfather ordered medium well, and it was most other places version of a medium rare. If you don't want to see color in your steak, then this is not the place for you. If you like to hear a slight moo before each bite, then sit down, eat some bread, and get ready for some of the best steak you can get at a restaurant. I wish I took some photos of my steak before chowing down so others could gawk at the beauty, but alas, I am left alone to reminisce in its once...