Steak Market — Restaurant in Atlanta

I GOT FOOD POISONING FROM STEAK MARKET!!! Yes, food poisoning. By the time I got home from dinner here, I was vomiting profusely, which was actually good because the food did not have time to settle in my system for too long (otherwise I probably would have been sick for days). I went to Steak Market for the first time to celebrate a friend's birthday. What I will say is that it is definitely a trendy, upscale hotspot for Insta-worthy photos. The ambiance is beautiful inside, the female DJ was great and the service was exceptional (Marta was our server and she was fantastic). And although pricey, the drinks are also great! I had the $30 Lychee & Rose nitro martini and the presentation was so adorable. Unfortunately that is really where the compliments end. I was with a party of nine people and we had a little bit of everything -- two dozen oysters for the table, octopus, several crab cakes, prawns, fettucine, salmon, the Tournedos steak for three, as well as purple mashed potatoes, the albino asparagus, black truffle fries, broccolini and several orders of lobster mac & cheese. Our bill was around $1200 including the 18% gratuity (actually more, if you consider the drinks we closed out at the bar, before having dinner upstairs) and it is important to note that they only do ONE check... which is always a hassle that I will never understand why some restaurants burden patrons with. Again this is a very pricey restaurant, so if you go, make sure you dine with people that aren't going to give the servers problems when the bill comes out. This is also a family-style steakhouse, which means the portions are large and shareable. Steaks are usually able to be split amongst 2-3 people and so are the sides. All in all, the food was very UNDERWHELMING! I thought the lobster mac was going to be the highlight, but it was very bland and flavorless. All the other sides were just okay. Although I didn't try any, my friends said the crab cakes were delicious and I personally thought the octopus was the only decent dish of the entire meal. Also I prefer my steak medium-rare, but the two other people I shared it with preferred theirs medium-well. Not only do they not offer accompaniments (i.e. chimichurri, béarnaise, hollandaise, truffle butter) with their steaks, my steak ended up being RARE and my friends ended up with well-done after sending theirs back to be temp-controlled. However, I just ate mine because I hate complaining at restaurants. Finally we had the cotton candy dessert head and the giant sundae, which was loaded with four different ice creams, whipped cream, candy bars, cherries, etc. Again, both cute for pictures but other than that, this restaurant is merely a failed marriage between "Salt Bae's" Nusr-Et restaurants and Barton G. restaurants in Miami/LA. Unfortunately, Steak Market definitely missed the mark for me and is more of an overpriced, novelty restaurant than it is an establishment that I would frequent on a regular basis for a great meal. Definitely had better cow at Marcel or even Little Alley Steak. The food was well below average, especially since I got food poisoned. Could have been the oysters, could have been the rare steak, could have been unsanitary food prep -- I don't know. What I do know is that I will not be returning. My friend did enjoy her birthday though and after burying my face in my toilet for the rest of the night (followed by a couple Alka-Selters)... I did manage to survive. Long story short, dine at your own risk and be prepared to spend. P.S. Avoid the valet and just use the garage located to the left of the restaurant. It's literally feet away and the whole night cost me $5.00 on the...

Family style steak experience is what I was expecting prior to our show at the Fox last night. What we got was a non-family friendly steak lounge experience. I should have read the reviews first before selecting this place. My fault. We have enjoyed introducing fine food with traditional & unique experiences to our young adult and adult children over the past several years. This was not close to the fine food or experience I was anticipating to share with the fam! My 20yr old son arrived first, to be padded down by the bouncer/security door man for, I don't know...assuming weapons? My husband dropped my youngest daughter and I off to find parking between the restaurant and The Fox(we planned to walk over to the venue). The majority of the tables were open at 5:45 when we arrived(called ahead to let them know our ETA) but we we were placed at the bar... knowing my son 20yrs and my daughter 17yrs were not drinking. My husband always makes our wine selection, so I wanted to wait for him. So we sat at the bar, just waiting...no one asked if we needed anything... not even water(come to find out they don't serve any water but only the $10 bottled water we had w/dinner). After my husband was padded down prior to joining us(which he was not happy about). The hostess came to the bar & asked if we needed to bring our drinks to the table?!? I said "No, my children weren't drinking and I was waiting for my husband to order the wine." Hummmm... was this part of their strategy for not seating us? Strike 1. We take our seat, decor was nice, seating seemed comfortable...love the fish tanks, but the music was so loud and it was like electric club dance music we couldn't even hear the server! Strike 2. Ok, now for the wine selection... My husband & I enjoy good wine, we understand & know the mark up to be up to 100% or a bit more... but 300% is a bit ridiculous! The bottle selected was a go to Decoy, Pinot Noir(one of the few bottles under $100). After 20min, wondering where our wine is... the manager comes over to let us know they are out of the bottle we selected and offered some other selections. I noticed they have one of my favs... Silver Oak Cabernet, Alexander Valley(yum). But, to my chagrin, my hubby was so put off at this point he was ready to leave. So, I just picked a glass of the only Cab they had by glass(pretty good). Strike 3. We ordered the crab cakes and two caesar salads(tasty) to start. We had a few questions about some of the "family style" entrees which, again, we could not hear the sever over the music... but, we did realize they weren't family portions. We ended up ordering the Sea Bass, Tournedos, tenderloin(apx 10oz) & Turkish Delight, tenderloin(apx 7oz) for entrees. Lobster Mac & Cheese & broccolini for our sides. They all came out together, which I expected for family style and price of selections. Although, the tenderloin(Turkish Delight) came out as medallions, not sliced(had the best flavor though) and was cold. The Tournedos presentation was impressive, but really had no flavor as unfortunately, the same for the Sea Bass. Lobster Mac & Cheese pretty good, but a bit more oily from the cheese and not as creamy as you would expect. The broccolini was the selected to be the fam favorite. Kind of sad... considering the cost of this dinner(they added 20% gratuity too). 3 up, 3 out. We have eaten at many, many other wonderful steak houses in Metro Atlanta and around the US states & abroad. I/we would not put it in my/our top choices, especially for price and atmosphere. It really was more of a disappointment & not a great way to start off a family...

Honestly, one of the worst dining experiences we have ever had. Although they advise up front that this is an “elevated dining experience” and have notice at the door entrance about proper attire being required, it is not enforced. The foursome arriving in front of us were dressed for a bar and not a fine a fine dining establishment.

As Georgia is a “carry” state, I (as the man) was required to submit to a “frisk and search” for weapons upon entry. The reason given is that they don’t want patrons drinking alcohol which would lead to unwanted behavior with a gun. Understandable, but there are two problems. #1 – performing a frisk and search by unauthorized personnel is against the law. #2 – why is it that only the men are frisked and searched? This rationale assumes that a woman would never carry and that there is no risk to a woman entering their establishment, which is simply short-sighted and not correct. For this policy to makes sense, everyone needs to be frisked and searched. I am not advocating for this for women – or anyone for that matter – but simply pointing out the hypocrisy and flawed thinking with relation to the intent of the policy. I was uncomfortable and horrified having been treated like this entering such an establishment.

It was very interesting and disappointing to see how the wait staff was dressed – particularly the women. Something I would expect to see at a Hooters, and not a restaurant of this caliber. Dressed in clothing that rivals S&M wear is not something I am looking for as part of my fine dining experience. Be aware of the 20% “service charge” added to every bill but NOT disclosed!

Being our first visit we had to ask the service and wait staff several times if they would provide some insight to the menu, different dishes available, and recommendations. This is standard practice and service delivery at restaurants of this caliber. Yet the wait staff did none of that and wasn’t proactive or inviting as it relates to our visit, the menu, or the offerings. At a minimum, I would expect the staff to welcome us at the table and inquire if this is our first time here or if we are a returning patron. Yet none of that happened. Additionally, on three different occasions, I requested ice for my still water, and on all three occasions, the ice was never delivered to the table even though they acknowledged the request and indicated they could and would deliver it. And given that they automatically charge a 20% service fee for everything, regardless of the party size, I would expect top-notch, first class service, which simply wasn’t there.

While the food was good for the most part, the shenanigans and the “show” they attempt to display only goes so far. Good food, at a restaurant of this caliber, only leads to a memorable and recommending experience if the service delivers to the level of what the restaurant is advertising and beyond the level of expectations of the patrons. The service side of this restaurant pales in comparison to any other fine dining establishment we have ever been at or even any “second-tier” dining establishment we have been at.

In the end, we made the most of our time there, given our birthday celebration. But not as a result of anything offered by the staff or restaurant as a whole. We spent nearly $1,000 for this poor experience. A very disappointing and over-priced dining experience that failed miserably to meet...