Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Birmingham

I had come here a few months ago for a business dinner and thought it was a pretty nice place with good service. I decided to book it for my wife's birthday, I really wanted to take her somewhere nice. The experience last night was an absolute embarrassment. You can't be a $100+ per person restaurant and field Coney Island level service. You can't be a $100+ restaurant and come back to the table to re-take the drink order. You can't be a $100+ restaurant and have to ask your server for more water, twice. You can't be a $100+ restaurant and not transfer the bar tab to the table when you tell your guests to wait at the bar for their table. That was wild to me. Do they not tip out their bartenders? I had to stand there waiting to cash out while my wife was at the table, like I was buying beers to take back to my seat at a minor league ballpark.

It was clear our server was overwhelmed, and maybe we were the sacrificial table for their section, but it didn't look like it. I saw them giving the same no eye contact, flip open the notebook and furiously scribble the order then dart away, service to at least two other tables. And I don't blame them, I'm sure they don't control staffing. What I didn't see was a manager or host jump in to help out. There were 4 people at the host stand. I don't think that many people simultaneously control the air traffic at DTW.

And you'd think, at this price point, and them knowing it was my wife's birthday, they would have made at least some effort to make the experience feel more special than fifty cent wing night at an Applebee's. But maybe the chain restaurant experience is universal regardless of how they dress it up. To their credit, there was a card and some confetti on the table, which was a nice touch. But that really only goes so far if you're going to treat the table like a burden for the rest of the night. Never had a manager stop by. I did see a chef wandering through the dining room at one point, but they didn't make it as far as our table. Would have loved to talk to them, the food was good. No complaints there.

Unironically, the icing on the cake came at dessert when the server delivered the creme brulee and the check at the same time. I guess everything else to that point didn't make it clear enough that we weren't welcome guests.

Maybe I'm being an entitled jerk here, but I'm just really embarrassed. I told my wife I was taking her somewhere nice and they made me look like a dope. We're not really in a tax bracket to go much nicer at this point. Not sure how much further you have to reach to be served by a team who cares about their restaurant and their...

At the present we are halfway through our course. Unfortunately it is underwhelming. Being one of the first upscale restaurants we have ever been to me and my wife have now traveled to numerous places trying Delicacies and having fine dining experiences all over. We have returned to Fleming's oh, our favorite Steakhouse and so far we've had cocktail shrimp. The shrimp was thawed from Frozen which is obvious if you've had cocktail shrimp. They were not fresh. My wife had a lobster tail with bearnaise sauce and caviar. There was no caviar oh, and the sauce was completely Bland. I forgot to mention my shrimp used to be jumbo when I came to Fleming's now they were half the size. The lobster bisque is decent. I at the moment I am waiting for a Tomahawk Steak and my wife a ribeye so we will see if the review can get any better. My Tomahawk steak arrived after a fair amount of time which is understandable but there was one problem I ordered it medium and it was sent rare. My wife's ribeye was perfect though. I think if you're I'm going to cook in a Steakhouse the least you could do is learn the most difficult steak to cook. I sent it back and it came out the right temperature and it was wonderful. It was juicy and Moyes even not to be a wagyu. My only other problem is their array of vegetables were very minimal it was pretty much asparagus and brussel sprouts with bacon. No broccoli or broccolini or anything like that. I will leave them at a 3 rating for now. If you look back at it their rating before that I did years ago they were a perfect five. Since this review we have been back to Fleming's mainly because of the Swift reaction of the company to try to appease us by showing us the top-notch capabilities that they have. Unfortunately we were still not severely overwhelmed by the food although the ability to try to redeem themselves and give us a better time than we had is definitely worth upping the star. The shrimp were slightly better but they confirmed that they do come in Frozen. And this time my Tomahawk Steak was closer to the temperature I asked the first time. Although it was...

We came for our anniversary dinner on a Wednesday night and were excited when we arrived based on the ambiance alone. But left VERY disappointed at the lack of execution and consideration by staff.

Food: Brussels and creme brulee were great! Pork belly came out with cold, stiff grits and belly itself was tough. Lobster sauce on mashed potatoes was extremely bland, potatoes would’ve been better without. Crab cakes were good but again the sauce was odd and unnecessarily sweet. Steak texture was underwhelming considering it was filet mignon.

Drinks: ordered the salted caramel espresso martini and received a regular EM instead, had to be remade. Mezcal margarita did not taste like mezcal, I suspect they just used regular tequila.

Service: Our waitress seemed to be extremely inexperienced which made the issues we had feel even worse. Every question about the menu and drinks went unanswered. We were not made aware of the 3 course option and didn’t notice the menu until after we’d ordered. We had to flag down other employees to order main entrees and send back the cold appetizer. We were told Happy Birthday and sent a birthday dessert despite having an Anniversary placard on the table and her being corrected…overall just awkward and embarrassing.

As someone who has worked in service industry, I normally feel more sympathetic towards restaurant staff but ultimately for the price of this experience it was EXTREMELY disappointing to see the lack of care and professionalism we were treated with.

Anniversary dinner was a terrible $400+ and I will never come back.

P.S. The black, male server working that evening seemed much more knowledgeable and better suited to that style of service. He even offered to take our picture. Please give him...