Kincaid's Fish, Chop & Steakhouse — Restaurant in Bloomington

Went here for birthday dinner spent over $150 for two people. Service has really gone downhill we reserved table in advance got there sat us at tiny table with dead knats flies visible on window ledge. Before sitting down asked for bigger table we were ordering apps drinks meals wanted more room server acted at first (Joel) like he could not accommodate restaurant was empty time 3:35 pm. Then he left us standing disappeared for a bit then did give us larger table. I should mention before he sat us we asked for booth like table. Joel’s service was slow all the way around, drinks apps bread all took a long time we observed he had one other table at this point. Artichoke Dip was tough tasted like dried out artichoke could not eat that part yuk. Meals were good we ordered steak filet and seafood trio were happy with quality of meals. Service really dropped off after meals delivered no Joel had to flag him looked for him for 15 mins not visible. Then asked for dessert to go check one small box leftovers let him know we had somewhere to go soon. He did drop off dessert check but no box. Then gone again after 10 minutes he was in bar area entire time jaw jacking with bartender I had to get up flag him to start payment process. He did come over after seeing me waving at him said is there something you need? I said yes for you to process our payment I politely said again we had somewhere to get to. He did go back in bar to register fumbled around for over 10 minutes then back to bartender. So my husband and myself got up left our table approached Joel asked for our credit card back he was rude to us but finally enlisted Mgr to help we had $ 50 giftcard to apply and he didn’t have a clue. Two days later Mgr named Steve calls me I was sent review directly from Kincaids and it was not positive he apologized to me sort of in mentioning Joel was newer server and said he had 6 tables ?? Steve said not that I am making excuses ?? There was no apology from Mgr Steve for extreme rudeness from Joel which was big issue for us no excuse for that. We were being nice polite customers were ultra patient but had to get going. Also Steve Mgr said we might send out giftcard to you he mentioned they all read these reviews higher up Managers also. He left it at he doesn’t send out anything not up to him but someone might send me something?? I should note we never asked for anything and even if we received a giftcard you would still be spending over $100 of your own money to return. No thanks there are plenty of other nice restaurants to give our business to why would we return for bad service rude waiter mgr that makes excuses never addressed rude comments from waiter. We have been going to Kincaids for over 25 years for special occasions we will not returm. On final bill they charged .50 cents for the box for our dessert unacceptable. Skip this location do yourselves a favor. They also tack on a 3% fee on every bill to help cover cost of employee benefits...

*This review will sound like I'm complaining -- I am merely relaying our experience and you may draw your own conclusions. We normally don't go out to eat on Christmas Day but that is the situation my son, husband and I were in this year. We called ahead to the Bloomington location for reservations but were warned that a cancellation less than 2 days prior would result in a $150.00 surcharge for the 3 of us. With Covid etc. being at a high we declined and decided to look elsewhere. But we really wanted to go to Kincaid's as that had been a favorite for close to 30 years (but we haven't been in many recent years). I called a week later (and a week before Christmas) to ask if there was a chance we'd get a table if we came at 4 pm and was told no problem. Of course when we arrived at that time the restaurant was full and we were seated at a tiny table in the bar. After waiting about 20 minutes we attempted to flag down a server who was polishing silverware at an empty table, who then very unprofessionally and confusedly tried to explain something about the server who was supposed to be ours.....Anyway, we all chose the Maytag Bleu salad and while I like my salad dressed on the drier side, this was THE driest salad I've ever had, and half of it consisted of white ribs of the romaine. I had prime rib and it was very good and appropriately cooked, but one end was covered in plain horseradish which was too hot to eat and I tried to flag someone down for some sour cream (good luck -- we never saw our server after the salads were brought until he delivered our check). The potatoes were a gluey, tasteless, pre-formed mound that tasted like they were made days ago. The guys had steak and lobster / shrimp respectively....the lobster appeared and tasted like it had been made long ago, and had to be pried out of the shell. Steaks were both good (if bland), but the accompanying 3 small shrimp were rubbery / cooked long ago as well. These dishes were brought out to our table that had never been cleared, and the person stood awkwardly and waited for us to scramble clearing and stacking our own plates and extra silverware -- good thing we were 3 people at a 4 top so we had a place to pile everything (where they remained stacked up). Creme Brûlée was perfect, but my husband's Key Lime pie had a pale, unbaked "crust" that was nothing but crumbles, and the filling was pale and bland -- it looked like it had been thickened with gelatin vs. egg yolks, with only a hint of lemon. Of course there was the usual 3% "discretionary" charged tacked onto our already high, pre-fixe bill. Thanks, Kincaid's, for the Christmas memory, I just wish it had been a better one. Luckily, the company was excellent and patient / understanding (2 of us have been servers). I realize this was their attempt at dealing with Christmas (and why we never go out on holidays) but they fell far short. No need to...

Kincaid's Fish, Chops and Steaks review Summary: Hit-or-miss on food, nice ambiance and terrific service.

Appetizer: Coconut shrimp. Grade: C-. I could see shrimp but I could only taste the batter. I didn't get any coconut or shrimp flavor at all, just a dull breading flavor. The dipping sauce was "Cajun marmalade" and the flavor was too mild, it didn't help the shrimp. This dish is something I would pass over at a buffet.

Main course: Rigatoni Bolognese. Grade: A. Delicious with a great blend of garlic and herbs, I would have liked some fennel in the sausage but won't knock it down for that. The garlic bread needed more butter, more salt and a good deal more garlic, but the bread itself was high quality artisan bread that made up for the shortcomings.

Main course: Fish and chips. Grade: D The fish pieces were thin and the batter thick, but what made it worse is that the fish was dey, had a mealy, pasty texture and tasted like cheap canned salmon, which was very strange since it appeared to be some white fish. It was barely edible. I wouldn't eat this again even if it was free.

Side dish: Smoked roasted mushrooms. Grade: A. While I didn't taste any smokiness, the flavors of the herbs and spices (dominated by rosemary) balanced very well with the taste of the mushrooms. I wish there had been more, but the portion size was fair for the price.

Service. Grade: A+. Our server, Rachel, was super attentive, super quick and super courteous, even when it got busy. I can't think of any way she could have done better. If I were a drill sergeant in the Army, I would want my company to be ALL Rachels.

Nit pick: Regarding the 3% "Living Wage Surcharge", I think I get what happened. Your costs went up and therefore you had to raise your prices, but your menus are all in fancy, whole-dollar amounts and you don't want to spoil the visual by switching to dollars and cents, nor do you want to pay for all-new menus for a tiny 3% price change. However, by raising the prices on the bill but not the menu, with the only notices a mention in the fine print at the bottom of the menu and a small, easy-so-miss sign in the entrance, it makes it look like you're trying to hide the increase, which I'm sure wasn't the intent. Also, blaming the price hike on the increases in minimum wage is questionable. The consumer price index measure for inflation increased more than 18% since 2016, and Minnesota minimum wage increased just under 10% during the same time, so adjusted for inflation, minimum wage is less now (2022) than it was in 2016. Since the inflation-adjusted amount you pay your workers has actually decreased since 2016 and presumably your other expenses such as rent, utilities and supplies are the major reason for the small increase in your prices, why would you only claim the raises in the minimum wage (and "associated costs") as the reason for...