Kelsey's | Pechanga Resort Casino — Restaurant in California

(WARNING: this is lengthy)

My friends and I used to go to Kelsey’s almost every other week: For birthdays, celebrations, reunions and for just a fun evening out to relax and enjoy with one another. However, I’ve had several negative experiences in the last three months that have steered me away from ever coming back to Kelsey’s and after my experience last night, I will NEVER return.

We had a dinner reservation for a party of 15. While waiting to all be seated, I overheard the manager at the front tell their staff that we better be ordering more than just drinks. That struck a nerve initially, but I hoped I heard it wrong and just kept walking in. We had one waiter, who seemed to be attentive and ensured everyone’s order was placed and filled in a timely manner. Each of us ordered a drink or two along with a meal.

This next portion is about the food

One of my friends is vegetarian and when asked what vegetarian options they had, the waiter said that a salad would be her best choice. Really?

Another friend ordered several appetizers: macaroni, tater tots and fried pickles. -The macaroni was too watery -The tater tots were soggy -The fried pickles were EXTRA crispy and stayed in way too long.

Another friend ordered a brisket and the meat was not tender at all and was actually very dry.

However, several friends ordered the chicken nachos to start and definitely seemed to enjoy it. (Just don’t expect to find a lot of chicken... they really should call it Jalapeño Nachos with small traces of chicken).

*Here’s the icing to the cake my friends and the main reason for this review: * The issue I’m having is with the payment. The waiter took everyone’s form of payments, left and returned with them for us to sign. Then we left.

About thirty minutes go by and I get tapped on the shoulder by two security guards saying I need to pay a remaining balance. I asked, “what remaining balance” and the balance I was told was not equal to any transaction on my receipt. When I questioned it again they directed me to go with them to sort it out. They began forcing me to go with them and while one of my friends tried to go with me, they denied him and said he must stay where he is!

At this point, I felt like I was being treated like a criminal.

As if that wasn’t humiliating enough, I had to be escorted between the two of them throughout the entire resort and the restaurant as other patrons stared at me.

They escorted me back out and had me wait for a manager. Their manager came out, did not even glance at me when he was talking and stated that I did not present my card. He spoke directly to security and told him that there is no way there would be a double charge and that I need to pay and sign. (I have absolutely no problem paying, and quite frankly didn’t even care if there was a double charge). The point is, is that I had already put my card in the book and assumed when he returned with it and three receipts, that the payment had been processed.

I was livid. I presented my card initially. I signed like anyone else would. Maybe amongst all the books and cards, my bill was missed. I’m not too sure.

But all of this over a $36 charge?

Had the manager listened to me instead of being angry about the situation and it nearing closing time, this would have been resolved more effectively.

The way I was persecuted and accused for something I would never in a million years commit is the reason for my negative review. As a manager myself, I understand having the back of your employees but you also must take into account your customer. This was THE WORST customer experience I have ever had.

Not only did you lose my business and the business of my 15+ friends that were there last night, but you’ve also lost all of my respect. I would never recommend Kelsey’s at Pechanga Resort and...

My husband I tried Kelsey's for the first time tonight and had pretty high expectations because our meal last week at "The Great Oaks" also at Pechanga was AMAZING but our experience at Kelsey's didn't just leave us disappointed but also appalled and hungry.

The menu looks and sounds great and we were really looking forward to our meal. For our Starters, my husband ordered the Southwest Chili and I ordered the corn fritters. The chili was very dark, did not taste fresh and was extremely spicy hot burning my husbands mouth, esophagus and stomach and he normally likes things a bit on the spicy side but in no way could he take more than two bites and had to send it back. When the manager came to our table he stated that he had the chef taste it and it was a little spicy but not bad and stated, "well, I'll go ahead and take it off your bill anyway." My corn fritters were the size of tennis balls! When I cut into them I had to search for the corn "in" them between the doughy goo...being they were so large there was no way to cook them thoroughly without burning the outside. We advised our waitress and she stated there isn't corn in them but just loose corn on the top of them. We explained that there is and suppose to be corn IN them but they were doughy and under-cooked and she "asked" me if I wanted her to take them back and have them remade...???Seriously??? The new corn fritters AKA tennis balls came again with a slightly darker coloring and on the edges they were cooked but the centers were still doughy and terribly bland. It took FOREVER for the waitress to return again and now we are 40 minutes in since our arrival and our main meal still hasn't arrived. We advised our waitress of how long we'd been there asking where our food was because by now we are starving and more than annoyed and disappointed with our experience and choices. This is when our waitress said she didn't put our food order in because she thought we would want to finish our Starters first...this is when I reminded her that we were unable to eat ANY of the Starters!!!

FINALLY our meals came - my husband had the Philly Steak sandwich with Steak Fries and I had the Bar-B-Que Chicken sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries. My husband said his was "just okay" and has had FAR BETTER from a local diner. My first bite was of my Sweet Potato Fries and they had a nice texture and flavor though a bit more greasy than they usually are but they were hot...I wish I could say the same for my chicken sandwich which was cold to the touch (it was suppose to be hot). When the waitress came to "see if everything was good" we advised her of my cold chicken and my husband's mediocre Philly Steak. I am holding the chicken between my fingers and invited her to touch it but she declined. I simply shoot my head side-to-side as I said "I'm DONE!" She found the manager again and we expressed are disappointment, frustration and by this time, anger, making it very clear that it's OBVIOUS there is a problem back in that kitchen and he KNEW IT because we had observed tables all around us complaining to him and sending several plates of food back.

The wooden tables are beautiful and this is definitely an upscale sports bar only with REALLY, REALLY bad food! We will NEVER eat at Kelsey's EVER AGAIN!! On the flip-side, we will definitely revisit The Great Oak Steakhouse also inside Pechanga - even though it is substantially more expensive it is worth EVERY penny with consideration to portion size, quality, care and attention...DEFINITELY worth your...

I have been extremely critical about the other venues I've eaten at within pechanga's network of restaurants. So, coming from someone that did not like any of the other places, this one was on point.

I opted for the steak and it came with crispy seasoned steak fries with an inverted bed of either arugula (or frisèe) that was lightly coated with dressing. Hiding under the greens was a textured dollop of chilled garlic butter resting on top of the beef. The steak was sizzling upon arriving to my table so it slowly melted the garlic butter which created a great added flavor that also ensured the steak remain moist and tender throughout the entire time I spent munching down each savory bite of this extra juicy piece of beef. If you don't like the extra butter flavor, you could easily slide it off the top but I can't imagine anyone wanting to do this. The burst of rich flavors was extraordinary. On the side included a house special sauce that complimented either the steak or the fries or both, if you so choose. It is a very unique sauce that has special ingredients which blend together very smoothly. The fries were perfectly seasoned and had that nice snap with every bite but kept that steamy mushy potato insides that nicely rounded off this circle of flavor overload.

Really impressed. Everything was on point. On a side note. I've been to numerous steak houses in Vegas and LA. This one is easily in the top 5 if not the top.

Funny bonus story : I would always laugh at certain steak houses that give a giant steak knife thinking this would impress the guest but when I was given a butter knife, I knew right away I was getting a good steak. Great steak should cut like butter so getting a crocodile dundee knife is basically saying the steak is tough and needs a sharp knife. In the high class steak world, giving a guest a sharp knife to cut steak is the equivalent to giving A1 sauce at a lower end steak house. You just don't do that....