The Steakhouse at Flying Horse — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

Was so excited to take my husband and daughter there to celebrate his 45th birthday last night. We live close by, so it was the perfect new restaurant to try...or so I thought.

Yes, the view was beautiful and tranquil; the golf course was looking quite surprisingly lush already despite the lack of rain this winter. The front range obliged with a beautiful sunset setting the scene for what we hoped would be a memorable experience for all the right reasons. When I'd called to make our reservation, I had specified it was for three (3). The table, while located near the window, was only set for two. I knew then that it'd gotten off to a bit of a shaky start, however was determined to remain open-minded. But no. It was not to be. Service was poor and slow. Our server, Erin, was distracted. The wait for our entrées seemed interminable. A couple who'd arrived a good 20 minutes after us was served first! That was disconcerting, to me at least. Our starters, calamari and shrimp, were ok. The calamari batter was too salty. I couldn't finish it. Our daughter's fettuccine Alfredo wasn't al dente, it was mushy and the Alfredo sauce, curdled. Her salad was basic and very ordinary, with vinaigrette on the side. I felt disappointed for her. She decided to leave half of her pasta because it was overcooked. My husband's steak was "Ok" according to him, "I've eaten at some illustrious steakhouses and this isn't one of them" he added. My filet mignon was medium rare, tender and lacking a little seasoning. The béarnaise sauce arrived congealed with a film on top, but fortunately added much needed flavor to the filet. The crimini mushrooms were perfect, the cauliflower was properly cooked. Our server forgot the soft drink our daughter ordered. She apologized profusely and was polite, yet when it came time for dessert completely forgot it was my husband's birthday and that she'd offered him dessert on the house. We decided to pass on the dessert. She was quite sweet, but very distracted and we just couldn't quite understand that as the restaurant was not overly busy mid-week! Our drinks were acceptable. The red I'd ordered was a little too astringent to my taste; husband's cocktails were decent. We were very disappointed though. The quality & service left a lot to be desired. We had mistakenly thought that for the price we'd be enjoying a first class culinary experience...that was sadly not the case. My husband and I both agreed "lackluster" and "subpar" were the two adjectives that sprung to mind when reviewing this restaurant together afterwards. We've never paid so much for such an unsatisfying meal. In response to the question if everything was fine, I told the maître d' I could cook better than their chef, and I honestly meant and believe it. Perhaps s/he was having an 'off' day.... We would never recommend the Flying Horse Steakhouse to...

To prefix, after tip, my wife and I dropped over $500 for our meal. With that being said, I am writing this review in comparison to other $500 meals for two. This would include the 21 Club in New York, The Intercontinental in San Francisco, Bliss in San Antonio etc.

The Pros: The drink service was good, the standard selection with a variety of top shelf that you would expect. They also had a nice wine selection.

The Cons: I have never been to an establishment where the staff would pour my wife to taste the wine. This is typically provided to the husband in case the off chance that the wine has turned. Strike 1

I have not been to an establishment at this price point where the patrons pour their own wine. (This might be a COVID thing but it didn’t appear to be as the only time the staff appeared to voluntarily pour was when the check was presented.)

The appetizers had a good flavor. My wife had the prawns while I had the calamari.

The dinner rolls were room temperature and not warm.

The Caesar salad was in a good portion that we landed up sharing.

My wife had the Duck and I had the Filet Mignon with the Oscar Crab topping.

My wife enjoyed her duck but the chef needs to get a thermometer or retrain his staff on preparing prime steak. The waiter warning me ahead of time that the steaks were typically undercooked by stage. So I thought a medium steak would be fine even if it were a tad rare.

This is where they dropped another star. As they have a Chop house I had thought I would be able to select a steak much like Morton’s would allow. This was not the case. That would be ok but the center of the steak went beyond rare and was more to at the tartare level. I sent over 4oz of the 8oz steak back.

As we were celebrating an occasion, they provided us with a complimentary dessert. It was appreciated and it had a nice amount of flavor.

We took the remaining to go dessert with us.

My comments are as follows:

Great atmosphere, nice views, this unfortunately did not justify the training needed on the wait staff nor the kitchen staff.

In other restaurants at this price point the chef would have been embarrassed and would typically have came out to apologize. There was no apologies nor a comp on the meal.

A picture is always worth a thousand words. So I have provided the good and the bad. In this case the steak.

Strike 2 was self pouring the wine Strike 3 was the steak that was served tartare when asked for medium. If the waitstaff knows the Chef undercooks the steak at a steakhouse, that should be a key hint that you need a new Chef if they allow undercooked steak...

On Sunday February 27th of 2022, my primary partner and I had a truly incredible dining experience here at this restaurant. The food was delicious, but the service was what made this night particularly memorable and enjoyable. For that reason I will start with the food, and save the best for last: For appetizer we order the Calamari and Ice Berg Wedge, for our entrees the Sunday Prime Rib and Roasted Chicken, and for our sides the Lemon Herb Risotto and the Giant stuffed Idaho Baker. And finally for desert, I do not remember what it was called but we were beyond happy with both the quantity and quality of the sweet dish. Everything came out hot, fresh, and satisfying! However, the food could not compare to the quality of service. Our waiter, whose name is aptly Chancellor, (We checked, that REALLY is his real name) was like a diplomat trained in the highest quality of behavior. Each interaction was smooth and uncomplicated, pleasant and familiar. I, at points, felt like we were being waited on by a friend of the family rather than a stranger doing a job. Two interaction, stood out above the rest I want to have said in writing. First, there was a moment when the Prime Rib came out that Chancellor did something that my partner and I later joked could have only come from extensive training in the skill of avoiding man-splaining. We asked about the Yorkshire pudding and when he gave us an answer he ASKED if we wanted him to explain it to us! We were blown away. And then at the end of Dinner, he brought the check and placed it directly in the center of the table neither toward myself nor my partner. This may seem like small thing to many, but to my partner who often pays the check after the waiter automatically brings it to me this meant everything. We of course told him to his face we were over-joyed at his thoughtfulness and exemplary service but that was not enough for me - I want this tiny corner of the internet to know that the food here is amazing, but Chancellor made a good dinner into an outstanding dining experience and...