Parker's Steakhouse and Brewery — Restaurant in Castle Rock

My family of four came into this restaurant absolutely gawking at the desserts because they looked so good. We didn't wait very long to get seated at all even though the restaurant was clearly very busy. My mother ordered a beer which was fantastic, so I decided I would have one as well. The waitress was cheeky, which I'm a huge fan of. She just became unprofessional very quickly. She generally gave me hard time for being young, which was fine. I don't take myself seriously enough to take offense. After a couple of minutes someone else approached my table and told my mother that the porter beer was not available and I recommended the heif (which was delicious). I did so not because I've been here before (because I haven't) but because I generally like that kind of beer. She then left to get the beer. When she came back, the waitress approached as well and whispered to the other person, 'I all ready changed that on my screen'. So I clarified with the waitress that I also wanted a beer, after ordering it just moments before. I clarified because it sounded like the lady that brought the beer was under the impression that only the beer change was in order and nothing else further, when I also wanted the beer. So to prevent confusion I just wanted to clarify. At that moment the waitress said, "yes, that's what I have all ready told her, but you know what?," as she takes off her apron," maybe you want to wear this instead." Implying that I wear her apron and do her job. This was the straw that broke the camel's back and I had to maintain my composure from being rude. I then said, "maybe I should, I bet I'd do a good job at it." And she answered back with,"no, I don't think you could." I then sat and thought "would a reasonable person be upset about what happened? My answer was at that moment was when things became unprofessional. So I bounced what just happened off of my wife and mother and they agreed that things became unprofessional too quickly after being sat down to warrant requesting a different server or requesting a manager. I then asked them to wait in the car while I cancelled the order and got the check. The waitress asked me why and I told her because I didn't appreciate the way she spoke to me and that I would like to pay for my beer and leave. She said," Are you serious? I'm just a kidder. I was kidding." She charged me for both beers even though I never received the second. She probably didn't know that, but I didn't want to exacerbate the problem. I then called and the manager wasn't available to speak until 2:30. So instead I'm writing this review.

TL;DR

Gorgeous looking dessert - 1 star Steakhouse with no steak menu for lunch - no star Service I would have expected from Dick's Last Resort restaurant chain - no star Didn't receive beer; subsequently overcharged - no star Manager not available to register complaints...

Parker's Steakhouse appears very unassuming from the road. A plain white building with no telltale signs of it being a restaurant (and full service bar). It has a large menu, mostly burgers, but also some pasta dishes and salads. There were only two steak options, which seemed odd for a "Steakhouse." There were no seafood dinner options.

We arrived around mid afternoon. There was one waitress for the whole dining room. And she was also bussing the tables. She greeted and seated us promptly with menus. Although she was quite busy, she was able to return soon to take our orders.

My wife ordered a Chopped Chicken Salad with a side of Coleslaw. I ordered what appeared to be a typical "Bay Shrimp Po' Boy" with Coleslaw. We had a slightly longer than average wait before she appeared with our food. We didn't mind, we could see she was quite busy and she was very pleasant and attentive as she served us.

To my surprise, what appeared in front of me was anything like the description on the menu. What I had received was a hoagie bun with shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, dill pickle slices, and a slather of mayonnaise topped with over a half dozen Cajun seasoned, breaded, deep fried prawns and sautéed red onions. The prawns were just a little overcooked for my taste but were still quite delicious. I had to eat about half of them off the sandwich before I could get my XL hands around it to pick it up. Although I was expecting something else, I was pleasantly surprised by what I got.

My wife, on the other hand was not happy with her salad. Her chicken was overcooked, dry and poorly seasoned. The mostly iceberg lettuce was limp and turning brown on the edges. Her hard boiled eggs were turning green from being overcooked. She left most of it on her plate. Both of us thought that the Coleslaw dressing was bottled and uninspired.

The highlight of the meal was dessert. Generally, we don't order dessert. But as we were waiting to be seated there was a pastry case with some of the largest most beautiful looking cheesecakes and strudel we've seen in a long while. We had to try a piece because my wife loves Heath bars and they had a Heath Bar Cheesecake. When it arrived at our table it was much larger than any piece of cheesecake I recall having before. The plate was drizzled decoratively with both chocolate and caramel syrups and you could see that the Heath bar was incorporated throughout the cheesecake as well as crumbled atop. As good as it looked, it was even more delightful to eat causing our mouths and tongues to do the 'happy dance'.

In conclusion, come for the surprise Po' Boy and cheesecake but...

We have eaten at Parker's since they opened in Longview, WA. We have also watched the service steadily decline since their move to Castle Rock.

Had a dinner reservation to celebrate our anniversary (and they knew it was our anniversary!) on a Friday in December for 6pm. We arrived 20 minutes early and expected to wait to be seated but didn't wait in the lobby at all. What we DID wait for was: 1. drinks. Took over 30 minutes sitting at our table with 2 glasses of water before a server finally showed up and take our order. "Do you know what you want?" Took another 5 minutes to receive a cocktail menu. 2. Took another 20 minutes to get my drink from the bar. Ordered a 'stratocaster' but received a 7&7. Asked the server if this was a stratocaster because I wasn't tasting any pineapple or coconut. "I don't know!", she snapped as she grabbed the drink and took it back to the bar. came back in another 5 minutes with the correct drink and the excuse "they set it on my ticket so I just grabbed it." 3. Got the seafood fondue appetizer over half an hour AFTER the drink orders. When we asked about it the server snapped "We have a party of 30 in the banquet room! The chefs can only cook food so fast you know AND it IS Christmas time!" 4. Got our app, which was followed almost immediately by our soup and salad. And 1/2 the amount of dinner bread than the rest of the tables. 5. Then we sat there FOR OVER 40 minutes waiting on our steak dinners as others who had been seated AFTER us got their meals.

No one, and I do mean NO ONE came by to ask if we'd like more drinks or to give us a reason why our meals were taking oh so very long. Two hours after walking in while holding a reservation, we finally left.

Blonde pony tail server needs to be a little less snotty, change her eye rolling attitude and be a little more attentive to her tables. Kindness to customers who have been sitting in a booth for 2 hours goes a long way. It is NOT the customer's fault that the restaurant is overbooked and understaffed. One anniversary dinner experience: ruined.

Sorry, Parker's. You just lost a couple of customers that have been with you from the beginning. We...