Mastro's Steakhouse — Restaurant in Columbus

We were there to celebrate our friend’s birthday and my husband, who lives with a medical condition that causes visible scarring on his forehead and head, wore a hat for comfort. The first manager, JB, approached him and told him he needed to remove his hat. He informed us, awkwardly, that it would be ok if he had a medical condition, but, he didn’t think to ask us that first. My husband was uncomfortable disclosing his medical condition, nor did he need to disclose it. He waited to escort my husband to the restroom, to make sure he took off his hat. My husband was flustered and embarrassed, to say the least. It was extremely awkward & ruined the mood, immediately. Still feeling uneasy I complained to our server, Ginger, and she said she would escalate things and address the issue. The other manager on duty, Ajay, approached us and claimed his attire violated the dress code. He had an attitude immediately as he approached our table, with the false pretense that he cared. He started rambling about the dress code because I had complained to Ginger that a few other patrons at the bar were in direct violation of their dress code. However, nothing was said to these patrons, at all. One of the patrons at the bar was wearing a sports hoodie—clearly against your written dress policy—yet Ajay explicitly stated that this did not violate the dress code. One patron was wearing patterned, yoga leggings with Converse. Another patron was also wearing Converse. Furthermore, Ajay boasted about working in previous fine dining establishments, in Chicago. He tried to intimidate us and kept boasting. Mastro’s is “new money” in terms of “fine” dining at Easton. If you want classy, well established, and old school-The Refectory & Jeff Ruby’s have been around for years. I feel that we were also profiled due to our ages. This double standard was not only inappropriate but discriminatory. We strongly believe we were targeted due to both my husband’s medical condition and our race, while other patrons were not subjected to the same scrutiny.

This experience was humiliating, unacceptable, and in direct conflict with your stated policies. It is also worth noting that our server, Ginger, was wonderful and professional throughout the evening. BJ & especially Ajay didn’t handle things well at all! It made things tense and ruined our evening. The complimentary appetizer did not appease us. Why were we not informed, at the door, about this if it were an issue? We would have complied or explained, privately, that my husband has a medical condition. None of the hosts addressed this with us. Furthermore, they didn’t address the patron at the bar wearing an Ohio State hoodie, AT ALL. Nor did they address the other two patrons in athletic attire. Per their own dress code, the patron wearing the Ohio State hoodie falls under the athletic wear category. Especially with the “imagery” for Ohio athletic attire. If you’re going to enforce a dress code-know your own rules.

To make matters worse-the food was extremely disappointing for a fine dining restaurant. We had to return two dishes—both filet mignons. The first one had every gradient of cook temperature in a single cut. Parts of it were raw, others overdone, and the top was completely charred. Our friend had ordered his steak Medium. On top of that, the filet was served fully sliced, which we’ve never experienced before and were never informed it would come out that way. The second filet was medium rare, also fully sliced. It was supposed to be cooked “Medium Plus”. For a steak that’s over $70, the quality and presentation should be far higher. The execution and consistency of the dishes were not up to the standards of a restaurant that prides itself on a “fine dining” experience.

The GM will just respond with another generic, AI fabricated copy & paste message to this one star review-so check that out below. So to the GM-don’t bother. This has already been escalated beyond you.

To any other patrons, local, or visiting. AVOID this place...

Hi What started as a bad experience ended as a lovely one. When I heard Maestro’s was coming to Columbus I was so excited because I’m a NYC transplant living in Columbus for three years now. My experience with your MidTown NYC location as always been an excellent experience! With that said our initial experience with your hostess stand last night (which is your absolute most important part of your establishment) was very disappointing. I will say I was accommodated due to me making a reservation for three and we came as four. Upon entering your beautiful restaurant of course I let the hostess know we are there for our 8:45 reservation. The restaurant was not packed and there were several empty tables on both sides. We waited several minutes while it took three people to figure it out and at last they decided to seat us in the dining room that had no ambience. I asked if it was possible to please sit the other room being that it was a Saturday and we were not there for business. The woman said to give her a moment left us standing in the middle of the dining room then came to us to then escort us to a table that was located right next to the speaker of the band. Needless to say that told me that your hosts do not care about your guests or your business for that matter. We sat there trying to deal with what was going because we were trying to have a good time despite the blaring sound which was starting to give me a headache because I chose to sit in the chair inches away from the speaker so my friends could maybe enjoy their dinner but after about 25 minutes of that we could no longer handle it and I asked Emma our server if we could be moved to another table. She could tell we were not having a good experience and thanks to her our evening turned into what we thought was going to be a really bad one into a lovely evening! Emma is a star! Coming from a luxury retail business in NYC my absolute main concern was to insure my clients walked away wanting to always come back and wanting to brag about their experience with me in our store. With that said your host stand is the first point of contact in your in business, your staff should be polished, kind and always making sure that your guests have the best experience possible. Unfortunately last night did not represent any of those categories. There many tables available and the crowd at the stand chose to sit us in the worst table in the room. And no we were not rude at all and in fact sat at that awful table until we could no longer take it and even then we were not rude. Since I have been living here I have seen a few of what could have been very successful business close due to poor management. Most of the time the company does not know because I feel no one is informed properly. And from mine and my friends the consensus is the same the staff is not properly trained for luxury experiences. But Emma the server was a superstar! If you have any questions feel free...

We recently celebrated my sister’s birthday at Mastro’s Steakhouse in Columbus, marking my second visit to this location. Much like the first time, the evening was beautiful, the ambiance elegant, and the food nearly flawless—almost. While the overall experience remained enjoyable, there were a few notable differences that stood out compared to my previous visit. During my first time dining at Mastro’s, I recall being impressed not only by the food but also by the high level of service coordination. A visible team of white coats—likely floor managers or service assistants—worked together seamlessly to ensure every table was attended to with precision and care. That extra layer of support and structure elevated the entire experience. This time, however, the dynamic felt noticeably different. Our server, Tiara, appeared to be managing an enormous workload almost entirely on her own. She was covering what looked like an entire section near the bar, handling multiple tables, large parties, and all the details in between. As someone with years of experience in the food industry—including serving, bartending, and now managing a restaurant myself—I recognized the signs of a staff member under pressure, yet still doing everything possible to keep things afloat. Despite the apparent understaffing, Tiara rose to the occasion with determination and grace. She remained attentive, professional, and warm throughout the evening. When I found my Branzino to be slightly too salty, she didn’t hesitate—she had a fresh one prepared immediately, and it was perfect. Her commitment to ensuring my sister’s birthday dinner went smoothly, especially for our party of nine, was admirable. Toward the end of the evening, I was thankful to have had the opportunity to speak with Tiara, especially considering management did nothing but pass by this visit. No table touches or anything, even after our food was sent back to the kitchen. I could see how much Tiara had taken on that night. She expressed her gratitude for our visit, and we talked briefly about the challenges of working in the restaurant industry. It was clear she was doing the work of several people, and it left me wondering whether Mastro’s had recently scaled back its team. The absence of support staff—those white coats who once roamed the floor—was conspicuous. While the service wasn’t flawless this time, it was heartfelt and sincere. Tiara put our needs first, and that alone deserves recognition. I truly hope she receives the support she needs going forward, because her effort was not only noticed, it was deeply appreciated. Mastro’s remains a special place for celebrations, and while this visit felt different than the last, it was still a memorable evening thanks to one very dedicated server. Shout out to Tiara—you held it down, and then some. Keep your head up. The food industry is demanding, but your work ethic and heart don’t go unnoticed. We’ll be back. — A...