The STAGE California Fusion Restaurant and Cafe — Restaurant in Burbank

TLDR: Bad service. Party of four seated shortly before 7pm. 7:31 received first entrée. 7:41 received second and third entrée. 7:55 asked where the last entrée was and was told they were having issues with the stone for the steak on a stone. 8:02 again asked about the steak on the stone and they said they would check on it. 8:09 we were informed they couldn't heat up the stone for their steak on a stone, which is their signature dish, and wouldn't be able to fulfill the order.

FULL REVIEW: My girlfriends family and I decided to go on a walk to downtown Burbank for dinner last Sunday. We quickly ended up at Stage, which I have never had before, and we all decided to eat here. My girlfriend and her family have all eaten here before, and have had hit or miss experiences with the service. We walked in and were shortly greeted by the host who asked what we needed. I was a bit confused by the request as we were customers walking in to a restaurant, but wasn't too bothered by this and told them we needed a table for four. I could see several empty tables, but the host said they needed to check if they had any available tables. He then walked away and came back saying there was an available table, which ended up being one of the several we saw while standing there. We were then seated next to a large party. The large party consisted of two tables, an adult table and a kid table. We unfortunately were sat next to the kid table. I don't blame the restaurant for the behavior of guests so I didn't hold them accountable for this. Our server came shortly after being seated to take our drink order. Once the drinks came they took our food order. We ordered two lobster raviolis, the seafood linguine, and I got the steak on a stone for myself. It seemed this would be a good day for the service, but in time that thought would be proven wrong. I wish I had checked the time when we ordered because it seemed to be about 30-40 minutes before the first dish came out. The seafood linguine came out at 7:31, I was watching the time at this point. At 7:41 the two lobster ravilois came out. I told the rest of my party to go ahead and start eating as I figured my steak on a stone would be out any minute. Them being polite said they would continue to wait. Of course them being hungry they eventually started to pick at their food which I encouraged and even joined in trying their dishes. The ravioli was cold but fine, and probably would have been good if we had ate it when it came out. It was now 7:55 and no waiters were coming by our table so my girlfriends dad went to go ask what was going on. He came back once they told him they were having trouble getting the stone to heat up(huh?). At 8:02 he went again to ask for an update. At this point we could see into the kitchen, it's in plain view for the restaurant to see, and they seemed to be figuring out what was going on. At 8:09 nearly 40 minutes after receiving the first dish someone came out and told us that they still couldn't get the stone to heat up(what?!) and asked if I wanted to switch to a different dish. They informed us they would get whatever we ordered started right away and would give us a complimentary appetizer while we waited. This was totally unsatisfactory and we decided to leave. We asked for the check, and while we waited we discussed how ridiculous this was. If they had told me there was an issue with what I ordered immediately after ordering I would have been disappointed, but understanding and simply have ordered something else. If they had told us when the first dish came that there was an issue with my order I would have been frustrated, but understanding and ordered something else. Instead we all ended up eating cold overpriced food. I really like to support local small businesses, but I will never be coming back here. Unless you have a high tolerance for terrible service I would highly suggest not...

I will caveat this review to say that I have not ACTUALLY set foot anywhere within the restaurant. We have been staying across the street at the Springhill Suites (a lovely place), enjoying a corner suite up on the third floor facing the establishment. I did notice the restaurant as soon as we checked in, the idea of enjoying a nice dinner in their obviously well-shaded patio area seemed enticing. Upon looking at the menu online though, $40 for steak on a stone gave me pause, as much as I adore that entree. I have been able to enjoy their ambience for absolutely ZERO cost, however. For the last two nights, after a long day taking in all that the LA region has to offer, right around the time one is ready to just tuck in for a good night's sleep...a Sound. It begins innocently enough, a simple piano chorus. You wonder, "Is that the room next to us? Is it their TV??". But then you can hear the rising crescendo of the voices trying in vain to compete with the Sound. You realize, "No, that's from outside...that restaurant!". You can hear the noises of plates and glasses clinking, also captured by what must be an AMAZING sound system...it's like they're right in front of you...YOU up in your room in the sky over a hundred yards away. The Sound grows as the night goes on. The Sound of salsa, the Sound of jazz, the Sound of SO many cheesy covers, the Sound shouting "TEQUILA", and the most insidious multiple renditions of the Sound throughout the night exhorting "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!". As you huddle in your room hostage to the Sound, praying for the Quiet, you still can't help but wonder, "Is the Sound even more overwhelming down there at the epicenter? Are all the speakers pointed directly at my windows?? Have all of the locals been driven so far beyond the edge that they can no longer hear the Sound???". As much as Rest is not coming any time soon, dear reader, rest assured you will have hours to contemplate all of this and more as you join the din of the...

I will have to mirror Tom Pease with my experience a few days ago. First, I will say the ambiance is excellent (minus the unseen road noise a few feet past the foliage-more electric cars would be nice!) but that's as far as the good stuff goes. Like Tom, the timing for my table of four was awful, I received my over cooked salmon almost an hour before the three orders of filet mignon showed up. We never received a warning that the meals were delayed until we asked and then were told it was taking a while to heat up the cooking stones that they bring to the table. When the three entrees showed up it simply was an unseasoned piece of raw meat that you cook yourself on the hot stone (Korean BBQ style) but for $33 all you get is a piece of meat, some brussel sprouts and that's it. No bread, no salad. The menu did not make it clear that everything is a-la-carte. In addition, the three sauces that were served with the steaks was not enjoyed by anyone in our party. After being there three hours we considered dessert but didn't see our waitress for the last hour we were there and was never offered dessert. We decided it was finally time to go and had to get up and track down the waitress to get our bill. Even that process was painful since we were given the receipt for everything ordered and were told to calculate what each party needed to pay with the matching name from the credit card to be used! It was a very odd request from a upscale restaurant. Yes, the setting of the restaurant is nice but that was the extent of anything else pleasant about our first visit to The Stage. Unless I see that they addresses some of the glaring missteps they are prone to do from both the back and front of the house, we don't intend to...