Big Rock Italian Chophouse — Restaurant in Birmingham

Cameron Mitchell and his partners spent nearly $13M to redo this restaurant. Loving Ocean Prime, I was geeked to experience it.

Perhaps it would rival Jeff Ruby's, Mastro's or even Pappas Bros. And finally the Detroit area would have a signature restaurant.

Alas, it wasn't to be. The bar area is compact for a place that seats 360. Cocktails are $18 and nicely done.

Service should have been impeccable with each server only having three tables. Of course a server called in sick so our server had four tables. But still, why did we wait more than 30 minutes to order apps? Why did our favorite employee from Ocean Prime, Tiffany, take care of the apps for us?

The menu is questionable at best. The Italian Steakhouse concept doesn’t work here. I don’t want rice balls and chicken parm with my seafood platter and steak. I want hot fresh fries, mashed potatoes and good bread to dip the cocktail sauce in. Alas, they don’t serve any of these items.

Oh, there is a bread service for $12, the first of its kind in the Detroit area. It matches the valet cost both not including tip.

The apps were mediocre at best. Calamari was luke warm, wedge salad was so unwedge it wasn’t edible and the paper thin ahi was OK.

The wait for the entrees was excruciating as so many reviewers have stated. Clearly the kitchen is either too small or overwhelmed with the menu selection.

None of the pastas looked interesting. Steak? No filet larger than 10 oz. No bone-in filet or porterhouse. The potato dish they had was hard and disgusting.

Desserts? Forget butter cake, key lime pie or fresh baked cookies. They have 10-layer cake slices that are tasteless.

Overall, tremendous disappointment and there is zero reason for us to return. Management is well aware of the issues, but sorry Cameron, you need to step in and update both the menu and service level.

Last comment. They have a second bar area but $100 to enter the cigar lounge or $5000...

NOT high end, just high priced . Extremely, disappointed in this relaunched venue. Had a reservation on a Monday night, restaurant was only half full and had to wait for a table. The atmosphere is dark and decor dated ( even though it was just renovated). So dark you can not read the menu. The tables are small and not adequate for service. It’s very awkward. The service was not good. Slow. Waiter consistently tried upselling the menu, touched and moved plates with their hands multiple times while we were eating, not all silverware was not replaced between courses and had to request them. The worst part was the waiter was training someone. Also, we were told that we needed to order all at once. That the apps, salads and mains would be paced out. They were not. Each course came out while the other course was being consumed. We were there for 2 hours and no manager ever came to check on the table. . Food was average at best. Limited options for vegetarians. Wedge salad you had to cut everything yourself including large slab of bacon, egg and tomato . Cacio de Pepe is on the wrong pasta and overly creamed. Butternut squash pasta was extremely rich. Anchovies were overly fishy on salad . Was not asked about any allergies or dietary restrictions. A dish came out and inquired if it had a specific ingredient. That ingredient looked to be on the dish but was not listed on menu. Serving staff did not know. Had to ask them to go ask chef due to an allergy. The best part of the meal was the cocktails. The bathrooms look like a strip joint. At check out, they bring you a handheld to scan your own card and select a tip while standing over you. Completely classless. Service and food do not warrant the price tag. We have absolutely no desire to return unless it changes ownership again. Do not let the rating fool you. They are getting credit from the old venue reviews from over 3 years ago included in the rating. See...

When we stepped out of our car, we were greeted by very kind valet employees who immediately helped us out. The restaurant from the outside is beautiful and lit up with eye-catching lights. The inside is just as stunning with beautiful furniture and decorations that display a luxurious feel. We had a reservation at 8:30 PM, and there was a slight wait. We were standing for a while until we were finally seated. The wait was no issue for me since it gave me more time to take some pictures. The employees seated us in a beautiful part of the restaurant, which is very nice to see that there are so many different areas inside. The service itself was very pleasant and I found the staff to be quite friendly and helpful. Our server was a sweet woman who was kind and made our entire table very comfortable. She also gave me a great recommendation to order the Parmesan potatoes, which I loved. They were to die for. We ordered the burrata and calamari as appetizers to which were up to our expectations. They were very tasty and we enjoyed them. Then, for my meal, I ordered the chicken saltimbocca with a side of Parmesan potatoes. I enjoyed my dish very much. The table ordered a variety of things ranging from the pennette alla vodka to the carbonara, and I tried some of these dishes and found them to be quite delicious. The dessert was a tiramisu for my birthday and I was in love with it. The taste was incredible as I shared it amongst the members of my party. The only issue I had was that there was a small spider crawling on our table that we had to remove with our napkin, and we informed a kind employee and she apologized many times and gave us a new one. It was a bit scary, but I was glad that it was not in any of our food or drinks. Either way, the food itself was very tasty and the aesthetic made up for it. Overall, my experience at Big Rock Italian Chophouse was pleasant and I was satisfied with...