GrillMarx Columbia Steakhouse & Raw Bar — Restaurant in Columbia

So just to give a little bit of context to my review I recently had a surprise birthday celebration here courtesy of my girlfriend and best friend coordinating a Birthday lunch.

There are a few things to note which I later found out.

If you have a large party they will ask that you sign a contractual obligation, so just keep that in mind if you're having say 30 people or so.

The day we went we had a little bit of a challenge from the flies in our section, they do provide fly swatters but it's just something to note.

All the staff I met upon arrival were very courteous and helpful. One lady ushered my best friend to the back while I stayed behind for a few seconds as my friends and family prepared to surprise me unbeknownst to me. Once everything was set the lady then came back for me and offered to take one of my presents off my hands to the back as we walked without me having to ask or being prompted. This was appreciated by both myself as well as my girlfriend and best friend who coordinated the event.

Now onto the next piece of the review:

Parking - They have a decent amount of parking available that does not appear to cost. This was helpful for both myself as well as my guests.

Atmosphere - This place has a nice vibe to it with a level of modern sophistication in the decor. It feels upscale and gives a sense of high quality.

Service - My girlfriend experienced no issues when booking other than the contract they made her sign due to the number of people that had certain stipulations, otherwise the day of our visit everything went surprisingly well. Our server was a nice gentleman that was patient and helpful throughout the whole time. He took everyone's orders in a timely manner and they even allowed us to bring in our own cake and have their chef cut it. This was a welcomed offer and everyone was thankful including myself that this level of assistance was offered. This helped to ensure that we didn't massacre the cake.

Food/Drinks - The food here was excellent! They had something for everyone ranging from steaks to pastas. They even had the standard offerings like french fries. We ordered spinach dip, crab dip for our appetizers, others ordered various things. For my entree I got a filet mignon with french fries and a really great drink called The Haven & Hell which came with a fresh jalapeno that was spicy enough to almost bring me to tears LOL. The drink itself was well done and I would have ordered another one as it was a little spicy as well but also sweet. My steak was cooked just the way I like it and overall I feel everyone enjoyed this experience. I give it a 5 out of 5, while also taking into account the aforementioned points as this could be a deal breaker for some. - SupaFlyITGuy approved! - overall the prices are on par with what you would expect for a fine...

Came at dinner to celebrate my son’s 18th birthday. 8 of us, most ordered beef based plates. Appetizers were very good, took much longer than expected but it’s ok, we were having a good time. Dinner didn’t come at least until 40 minutes later, too long. Yes, we were still having a good time but we were hungry! The plates were brought by young servers that had no idea who ordered what, so plates were going from one side of the table to the other, but the worse was their attitude, mad, angry faces, as if it was our fault that they didn’t know what they were doing. All of us got our plates, except for one, my son in law, his ribs didn’t come. So we waited, we didn’t want to start eating without him. But 5 minutes came, 10 minutes and his ribs were not at the table, so we started eating. My son asked for his filet mignon to be medium, but it was well done, and cold!! My daughter’s prime rib was supposed to be medium rare but it was also well done. My other daughter’s prime rib was medium rare as requested, and they were very hungry by then, so they decided to share the wealth (and disappointment) and eat half of each other’s prime rib. We returned my son’s filet, it was his 18th birthday after all! It came back great looking, but jiggling, now it was rare!! By now I had gotten up to talk to the manager, who quickly said he would take care of everything. Five minutes later he came to the table, apologized, gave no explanation, and told my son in law his ribs would be brought in 5 minutes, and desserts would be on the house. What about taking his ribs off the check! No, he apologized again, he couldn’t take it off the bill, maybe half price…but desserts on the house (big smile).the ribs came, but by now everyone else was done with their dinner, so we talked and watched him eat. I decided to talk to the manager again, I needed to at least hear and explanation of what happened. The manager explained, and then agreed to take the ribs off the check. Then desserts came (did I mention the attitude of the delivery kids?); desserts were good (except the creme brûlée that was curdled), and then the check came. Ribs had been taken off, but 5 of the 8 desserts were being charged!! I had to get up again, and the check was fixed. In sum, an extremely disorganized restaurant, from the kitchen to the servers, mediocre food, and clearly some of the staff are stressed and unhappy, and they pass it on to guests. They were accommodating, but the customer shouldn’t have to get up from the table and teach the manager how to deal with a screw up. And my son won’t turn 18 again, we made fun of the whole thing, why dwell on it, right? After all we were together and that’s what matters, but this restaurant has been crossed...

Update: it’s been over a year since posting this review. I’ve tried contacting this restaurant to discuss this incident via email and through this site. No response. I have taken notice that the restaurant has responded to almost all of the other reviews on google, except mine. Just goes to show how much they truly care about rectifying or discussing a situation that bothered a once loyal customer.

Original review: I’ll start by saying that I’ve never written a public review and I’ve been to this restaurant many times. I’ve recommended this place to friends, family, and I’ve had a few business meetings with clients there. However, after an experience yesterday, I will never be back and I will be sharing my experience with my friends, family, and colleagues.

I made a reservation for two, an early dinner for me and a friend. We were on time for the reservation. The horrible experience started when I found a piece of plastic in my glass of wine. Then we noticed that the female manager went to every table to say hello and ask the guests about their experience. However, she never came to our table. It was certainly noticeable when the manager literally talks to the table next to you, skips your table, and proceeds to talk to the next table. We were a little annoyed but decided to give the manager the benefit of the doubt, in hopes that it was not done intentionally. We ordered wine, food, and a to-go order. Our bill came to over $200, not including the tip. (Yes, we always give over 20% tip to the waiter no matter the service. None of our issues were due to the actions or inactions of the waiter…he was great!) As soon as we paid the bill, the female manager comes to our table and asks us to leave because she has another reservation. The manager never said “hello” or “thank you for coming in, how was your experience?” She rudely asked us to leave the table. We were there maybe two hours with appetizers, wine, dinner, and cocktails. If there was a time limit, the restaurant should let me know that when I make the reservation. However, I do not believe this is the case as I’ve had business meetings there with clients that have been about two hours in length and sometimes longer. I’m not one to blame everything on race, but it certainly felt as if that was the reason for the managers actions. We were both dressed appropriately for the restaurant and we were not loud or causing a disruption to any of the other guests. I guess I just want people to know that you may not be treated equitably when visiting this restaurant depending on your skin color, or other...