O Steaks & Seafood — Restaurant in Concord

I was staying at Lake Opechee Inn and Spa with a friend for the weekend, O’s Steakhouse had good reviews, the food was great, but the service is lacking in professionalism. Our first night dining here we were impressed until we were asked to move our table mid-dinner to accommodate a larger party. We obliged and the host tried to make things right by giving us complimentary desserts. This was a nice touch, and we figured a one off experience. We gave them the benefit of the doubt and came back our second night for drinks and apps. Upon settling the tab and getting ready to move over to the bar for a night cap, we quickly ran into some fairly serious issues. Our waitress had charged us the wrong bill and was trying to fix that while we were moving over, and we had already paid. Once again we agreed to do the right thing to accommodate this restaurant. I’m not a fan of giving my card back over to resolve a $10 difference though, the mistake was not ours and should’ve been resolved by the establishment. Canceling authorizations and recharging can take a few days to resolve and again isn’t fair to the customer. Even so, we figured these indiscretions were fairly minor until we got to the bar tonight. We were told the actual bar seats were first come first serve, so we waited for 2 to open up and sat down. We were then rudely told there was a waitlist for the bar seating which, quite frankly, I’ve never heard of in my life. At this point, frustrated by the lack of respect for their own customers let alone hotel patrons, I told the bartender that I was told these seats were first come first serve and I could sit here or take one of the empty high tops behind me as the rush hour for the restaurant seemed to be dying down. The bartender told me that she wasn’t going to argue with me and proceeded to ignore my friend and I until we decided to leave. In the last two nights we had dropped $300+ at the restaurant, close to another $300 at the spa, and $600+ at the hotel. This is completely unacceptable. If you want to make all the seats in the restaurant reservation only, or a wait list, that’s fine. To turn away repeat hotel customers who sat at two empty bar seats, who you’ve already inconvenienced twice before is not ok. Especially when the night prior, as well as tonight, we were clearly told that these seats were first come first serve. Which, for those that struggle with what that policy means, it means that the first person that shows up to the empty seats gets the seats. I don’t have anymore words for this other than simply just a terrible attempt at professionalism. Hopefully the staff will learn from this experience and do better going forward. I come up to NH often and will not be coming back here, even if I stay at this...

Very disappointing to say the least. The steak was awful. Will not go back.

Adding the details I sent to Magic Foods on their request:

I am writing to share my recent dining experience at O Steaks & Seafood in Concord, NH, which left me deeply disappointed. Despite the initial excitement about dining at your restaurant, the experience fell far short of my expectations.

My companion and I were eager to enjoy our evening out. We started with drinks and appetizers. My friend found the $15 Paloma to be underwhelming, and the two Athletic non-alcoholic IPAs I ordered were not sufficiently chilled. One of them also had some dark sediment floating in it, which was off-putting.

The appetizers, calamari and potstickers, were passable. The calamari, however, was a bit heavy on the sauce. We ordered our main course at the same time as the appetizers. My friend's salad was described as "okay."

My main concern, however, is with the NY strip steak I ordered. The steak arrived with an unappealing presentation, without garnish, on a large white plate. Not only did it look dry and cold, it was tough and difficult to cut, especially through the connective tissue.

The steak was not warm and lacked flavor, being overly chewy and the color inside was a dull pink-grey rather than the vibrant red typically associated with medium-rare. Upon complaint, the steak was taken back and returned with a minor increase in temperature and a garnish of cress. Unfortunately, the taste and texture remained the same.

Adding to the discomfort of the situation, when the steak was returned, someone other than the server stood by my side until I took a bite. I found this practice to be unsettling. Despite the unsatisfactory taste, I said it was fine, to avoid further awkwardness. If that person was the manager, there was no conversation other than delivering the food. If that person was not the manager, then no, we did not speak to a manager while at the restaurant.

Usually, I finish my steaks entirely, but this time I left a portion on the plate due to the steak's poor quality and difficulty to consume.

Additionally, the timing of the food delivery was lengthy and came across as unprofessional and unorganized.

I am sharing this detailed feedback because I believe it could be helpful for you to address these areas if you wish to uphold your reputation as a quality steakhouse. Regrettably, based on this experience, I do not intend to be a patron at your establishment...

Edited to Add:

The manager reached out and we were able to go back and give it another try. We had a FANTASTIC evening. Our server was attentive without being overbearing and made good recommendations

Pot stickers were still great :)

My steak was perfect melt-in-your mouth good. I can't remember my husband's order, some kind of fish, but he said it was great. Shout out to the warm bread and butter (honey and cinnamon or something like that?). We got the carrot cake to go because we were too full for anything else.

This is pretty much everything I had been hoping for when we went the first time :) We went there last night around six for our anniversary. I've lived in Concord for about eight years and have been dying to check it out but the timing was never right or they didn't have any open tables. Last night (possibly due to the labor day lull) we were able to sneak in.

We ordered the pot stickers as an app and they were awesome. My husband ordered the ahi and said it was perfect.

I ordered an 8oz filet medium well and was really disappointed. I know that's not the preferred temperature for steak, but it's how I like mine and I assumed a steak place would nail it. This was definitely just well done. For filet, I was very disappointed with the texture, dryness, and lack of flavor.

I was also incredibly disappointed by the service. Our server was polite but seemed bored and uninterested. For a slow night, he didn't come by ONCE during our meal to ask us how the food was. I had planned to ask him about the steak, but after a while I just gave in and finished it. By the time he came by to take our plates, my wine had been empty for a while. I would have had a second glass had he come by to check.

When he took out plates, he didn't offer us a dessert menu; I had to request one.

All in all it was a pretty big let down after all...