Meat Market Boca Raton Steakhouse — Restaurant in Boca Raton

If I could give Meat Market Boca zero stars, I would!

I was so excited to try it after hearing amazing things about their Palm Beach location. For my birthday, I made a reservation for Sunday brunch. When I walked into the restaurant, I was in awe of its beauty and character, but that’s where the positive experience ended.

Service was SLOW, It took over 12 minutes to get any alcoholic beverage. I ordered a Bloody Mary, which tasted like watered-down tomato juice. When I told JB it was not good, he was unfazed. After I mentioned it twice, he finally asked what he could get for me. I waited and waited for my drink to arrive. The service was so slow that as soon as our drinks were delivered, we ordered a second round, which didn’t arrive until long after our glasses were empty. This wouldn’t have been such a problem if the restaurant had been busy. There were only two other tables and a few bar guests. Although the Bloody Mary was awful, I switched to a “Pretty in Pink,” which was delicious.

The food was another major issue. The quality was poor. We ordered the chicken empanada, and it tasted like the fry oil was old and hadn’t been changed since they opened. I had the Cuban croissant, which was just mediocre. We also shared some mac and cheese and cinnamon rolls. Both were extremely underwhelming, especially for $15 and $12, respectively. The mac and cheese were flavorless, and the cinnamon roll, while looking heavenly, tasted just okay. Some people at my table ordered a burger, Rockefeller oysters, chicken sausage scramble, and French toast. I heard rave reviews about the French toast, but everyone else agreed the food was just average.

Since it was a birthday celebration, I brought a cake, and they kindly stored it in the back for me. When I was ready for the cake, they sliced it and then charged me a $50 cutting fee. My issue is not with the fee itself, although it’s hefty for slicing and plating, but with the fact that I was never informed about it until the check arrived. Transparency is important, especially for a $50 charge. JB’s service was slow, and he seemed to hate his job. His personality was flat, and there was a sense of arrogance about him.

The final straw was when I left Meat Market and called to see if I had left my birthday cards on the table. I was placed on hold for a long time while they checked with JB and the host. I hung up because I had just left, and it was slow, and I was left on hold for too long. I walked in the next day and asked the host for help. She said nothing was at the host stand and that she would check with the manager about it possibly being in the safe. The manager argued with the host about the safe and also had a giant sense of arrogance. He grabbed JB, and they approached me. Our conversation went like this: “I remember you from yesterday, but I didn’t see your cards on the table.” I said okay and asked the manager to please check the cameras. He told me he didn’t have access. I was annoyed, and he said someone who just walked in could check them. I asked the host to take my number and have someone call me back. No one did—shocker. I called again tonight (for the fourth time) and was told it was the dinner rush and the manager was in a meeting. I was told he would call back.

I’m not accusing JB of stealing the birthday cards with cash poking out of them. I’m just asking them to check the cameras to be sure no one on staff took them. The runaround is a bit much for such a “fine dining”...

If you're looking for a place to eat on a Sunday night where you can expect to receive what you ordered, look elsewhere because while the meat market does have meat, they don't have a chef that knows the difference between medium rare and medium well. Ordering something as simple as a steak made me wonder why it took 20 minutes to get since I could see after cutting into it, it looked like it was just hit over the head and brought into the table from out in a field somewhere since it was so rare. It's bad enough when you order a fillet of anything, you know it's going to be a certain size, but when they return it to the kitchen only to blast it with a flamethrower and reduce the size of it even smaller to nothing more than three bites which I refuse to even accept that doing nothing less than sending it back was really what was called for. In the meantime, my date enjoyed her churrasco and the oysters rockefeller, while it took me another 25 minutes to get the correct order and by then she had finished and I wasn't about to sit there eating while she's already finished her meal. There are those people in life that live to eat, and there are those people in life like myself, that just Eat to Live. With those two options, I like to think that enjoying a meal with someone, regardless of what kind of meal it is, is what we all strive for on a Sunday night where we get dressed up to go out for dinner. I couldn't even enjoy my time with somebody else because I didn't have anything to eat by the time she was done. At this time of night, my best option was going to The Habit grill or the nearest Burger King down the street to actually get a meal that I would consider my way, because I certainly couldn't get it at the overpriced menu and poor service from the kitchen that the meat market provided. Having only opened in October, I'm surprised it's made it this far because if it was based on service alone from the kitchen, they should have closed 3 days after they opened. Somebody needs to take the chef aside and explained that there are people that are probably available at Home Depot or the Habit that are looking for work which they could probably do better than he did since they actually have more experience barbecuing then he does running...

Disappointing Service for a Special Occasion

I hosted my 35th birthday dinner at Meat Market Boca after hearing great recommendations, but unfortunately, my experience did not live up to expectations.

For large parties, they require a preset menu at a set price per person, along with a signed contract and dress code agreement. I was told I would receive a confirmation call the day before—this never happened. Instead, I had to reach out to Beth myself to confirm details. I also requested to have “Amber’s 35th” on the menu, which they agreed to, but it was not there.

On the night of the event, I selected the $155 per person menu, but the service was seriously lacking—perhaps because the 26% gratuity was already included. I had to ask for a soda three times before finally having to get up and request it directly. The server did not introduce or describe any of the dishes, including the appetizers and sides. Most of us ordered steaks, yet no one followed up to ask if they were cooked to our preference. At one point, another server, Michael, apologized for the poor service and told us to ask for him next time.

As the dinner wrapped up, some guests left while I waited for the server to bring the check—again, with no urgency or attentiveness. While the food itself was good, I had no idea what some of the dishes were because no explanations were given.

To add to the disappointment, the restaurant’s social media team reached out afterward to thank me for celebrating my birthday there. I responded, sharing my concerns about the service. They asked if they could have someone follow up with me, I agreed and provided my contact info—yet no one ever called.

From the booking process to the service during the event and even the management follow-up, Meat Market Boca dropped the ball. For a table of 11 women celebrating a special occasion in the middle of their restaurant, I expected far better treatment. This wasn’t a promo or collaboration—it was my birthday, and I paid for a premium experience that didn’t deliver. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t return or recommend this...