Bob's Steak & Chop House — Restaurant in Carlsbad

As a Carlsbad resident, I have been a regular patron and supporter of this establishment up until Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2022. We booked our Thanksgiving dinner and had THE WORST EXPERIENCE from start to finish. The waiter was HORRIBLE. The food was mediocre. The attention to detail was non-existent. Examples: Waiter's job is to 'sell the sizzle' and enhance the experience. He was completely out-of-touch and lackluster in his presentation and in his responses when asked questions about items on the menu. He seldom came back to our table to check on us. No fresh ground pepper was ever offered for our salads. I asked for light caesar dressing and it came drenched. I flagged down the busboy and he brought me back another salad with dressing on the side, after I had clearly asked for it lightly applied and tossed in. The table remained full of crumbs after eating our bread and was never cleaned/serviced. The 'Glazed Carrot' was NOT glazed and was flavorless. My filet mignon was less than stunning and more chewy than a cut of this meat should be. At the end, the waiter LITERALLY comes to our table with our bill in hand and DROPS it on the table with ZERO thank you or anything!!! FLAT OUT RUDE BEHAVIOR. Nor, did the waiter ask if we wanted coffee, cappuccino, etc. I explained our experience to the Assistant Manager on duty, Rachel. She offered a $25 gift card for our troubles and instead came back with $50 which, I said to myself, 'ok.' I then followed up in an email with the General Manager, Greg Van De Velde to which his last reply was: 'My only comment would be...only judging a restaurant on its busiest day of the year is perhaps a little imbalanced.' Unbelievable! Well, Mr. Van De Velde ... I have dined at your establishment on several occasions ... during holidays, personal special events and non-special events ... NEVER, was our experience THIS POOR. If what you are saying about my judging a restaurant on its busiest day of the year is imbalanced, then perhaps you should instead shut down the restaurant that day if you already know the customer experience is going to be less than favorable. I wrote Bob's corporate TWICE and have yet to receive a reply. Having been in the service industry myself for three+ decades, how would have I handled this? By offering the customer an 'on the house' experience for their next visit - rather than offering a partial gift card. WHY, after having spent nearly $250, should I be required to shell out ANY further monies following my MISERABLE experience, on Thanksgiving no less?!?!? And, for Mr. Van De Velde to reply the way he did ... Bob's has 100% LOST my business for life AND I will no longer be referring my clients and friends. Customer acquisition is FAR MORE COSTLY than customer retention. We have LOTS of other options for steakhouses in San Diego. Although you will survive just fine without me, you have done us wrong and will NOT be receiving any future referrals and endorsements from us. Word of mouth can be a good thing ... and, it can also be a bad thing. Your handling (or, shall I say MIS-handling) of our concerns is testimony to just how much you DO NOT CARE about your customers - in particular, us LOCALS who have frequented your location multiple times. Good riddance, Mr. Van De Velde and Bob's. And, interestingly ... it appears as though Bob's management prefers to reply to mostly or all the 'positive' reviews, rather than addressing the reviews containing the slightest bit of...

I’ve been to multiple Bobs Steakhouses- Dallas, Austin… all of the Texas locations were absolutely amazing. Best pieces of meat and always exceptional service. They impress every single time. Not here tho. When I say this may be the worst steakhouse I have ever been to, I mean that. This is worse than Ruth Chris’s, Chart houses, Del Friscos… I went with my father, we each order 3 courses in our initial order. My soup- was mediocre- a little cold but not bad. My fathers salad was alright. The entrees are where it got baaaaad. The steaks- prime filet mignon- ordered the 9oz each. Was maybe, and I mean maybe 7 ounces. They were both tiny- and according to the waiter they were supposed to be 9oz post cook… he agreed they did look small. Each entree comes with a potato and carrot. The carrots were very shriveled and hard to even cut with a steak knife- I assume not fresh and maybe over cooked… (on the small side too compared to the big carrots they claim to serve like the do in there other locations.) the mashed potatoes- look as if the butter and potatoes had separated out. There was like a film and a liquid layer on the potatoes- tasted off and left uneaten. Going back to the meat- it was chewy which is not how a filet mignon should be - definitely not at the prices they are charging. And in my opinion the reason we canceled our reservations for the following day on our way out- was the horrendous dessert. I’ve never had a worse creme brûlée in my entire life. The top was hot- very warm and had condensed from overheating (sugar burnt to a crisp on top) and the bottom was ice cold with hard frozen ice crystals. A true tragedy. This on top of the fiasco of noisy neighboring tables- lots of kids, probably because this is part of a resort, issues with Peking and finding the restaurant with poor signage and mediocre service led us to cancel our reservation for the next day. Would not recommend -it ain’t worth the trouble at that price. A true embarrassment to...

Hostess offered a warm welcome and had our table ready on the patio where we requested to be near the band. They were our main reason for coming here, noted by 5-6 other tables as well.

Antonio our server was polite, although not as attentive or anticipatory of needs/progression of the dining experience. He was offended we didn’t order a main entree, perhaps that is what altered the experience for us. We just weren’t that hungry, or interested in a huge meal. The smallest steak is 9 oz., and the sea bass filet he said was also similarly a large portion, so we opted for the 3 scallop appetizer.

We also ordered a bottle of wine, a cocktail, two wedge salads, along with the scallop appetizer.

The bread was surprisingly delicious, crispy crust yet ultra soft and fluffy inside. The scallops were decent, but we couldn’t finish. They were tender and very rich, accompanied with a lemon buerre blanc sauce. The wedge salads were a nice portion with plenty of bacon, blue cheese, and a beefsteak tomato cut in half.

I ordered a bottle of Chardonnay knowing I’d cork the bottle after a glass and a half, and take the rest home. My friend had a classic mule.

We were mindful not to take the table up, but had to wait a long time to get our plates cleared, water refilled, and flag him down for the check and a bag for the wine.

We moved down to the lower tables and had much better receptivity.

We thoroughly enjoyed the band playing…The Swinging Johnsons. We came specifically for them.

I personally wouldnt come back if it wasn’t for the band. Next time they play here, we will skip the upper tables and just have a drink and appetizer at the tables by the band. Service was better and the...