360 Steakhouse — Restaurant in Council Bluffs

Unfortunately, I have to leave a one-star review. I’ll lay this out in order.

I made an online reservation and arrived 10 minutes early. We were seated immediately, which was great. The main reason we chose 360 Steakhouse was for the sunset view, but we were seated on the east side facing Council Bluffs. When I asked to move to a west-facing table, we were told they were full.

Our booth faced a screaming baby and a toddler running circles around nearby tables. At nearly 8pm in a pricey steakhouse, I didn’t expect this kind of scene. There were at least four other empty booths they could’ve sat us in, but they didn’t. The family lingered for another 30 minutes, and after they left, their dirty table sat untouched for the rest of our meal — a poor look for a mid-range steakhouse.

After an unusually long wait, our server arrived. I asked for an IPA, and after some hesitation, she landed on Lagunitas. No local options. My wife ordered a Moscow Mule. We were offered rolls and accepted. After more waiting, drinks and two rolls arrived. My bottled Lagunitas had visible sediment, which isn’t typical. No glass was offered. I flagged it immediately and asked for a replacement.

Five minutes later, the server returned with the same beer poured into a chilled mug, claiming the sediment was no longer an issue. I’ve never seen a restaurant reuse a customer’s rejected drink, especially at this price point. The beer was flat and clearly past its prime. I kept quiet and decided to press on.

We placed our order: ribeye (medium), garlic mashed potatoes, and French onion soup for me; pear salad and well-done fries for my wife. Another round of rolls arrived — oddly three this time, highlighting a lack of consistency.

When the food finally came, it was a string of disappointments. My steak was cooked to medium but tasted like unseasoned, low-grade beef. No marbling, no flavor. I left half of it. The mashed potatoes were lukewarm and barely hinted at garlic. The soup tasted like over-concentrated onion bullion with soggy onions, and left a lingering taste well into the next day. The fries arrived in a large portion but were limp and unsalted — nowhere near “crispy.” The pear salad was the only highlight for my wife.

Google asks for ratings for Food, Service, and Atmosphere:

Food: 1/5 — Everything was flavorless, even the beer. An impressive miss on every front. Service: 1/5 — Slow, inattentive, and brought back the same beer I complained about. At $115 for two, don’t seat dressed-up couples next to disruptive kids when other booths are open. Clean tables promptly. Atmosphere: 1/5 — Dirty tables, crying kids, an awkward layout, and a server hovering at the service station next to our booth entering orders.

If this was a $10-20 meal, I could overlook some of it. At $115, it’s unacceptable. Omaha has far better steakhouses at better prices. I won’t be back, and if this is your only option, skip it and save your steak night for elsewhere. My wife suggested leaving a $0 tip — I pitied the server and left 10%, though in hindsight, I should’ve gone...

01/05/2019. My wife and I have been going to this restaurant for years. Reservations for four 6:30 and we were seated promptly but not where we wanted to sit. We were told it would be 45 minutes for us to have a table that we wanted. The restaurant was pretty busy. We were attended to at our table in less than 5 minutes. We ordered drinks and an appetizer and were told that there might be a little bit of a delay as they were very busy. Took about 15 minutes.  From what I observed they were understaffed for a Saturday night. Wait staff was overwhelmed and our salads were delivered by the Sous chef. Drinks were good. Our crab cake appetizer was delicious as usual.  Although it took a bit longer than usual. The Caesar salads were delivered by different member of the kitchen staff. Normally we are offered fresh Cracked Pepper. Not this time. Used table pepper. Did not see our waitress till after we were almost done eating are salads. Not once where we offered our water glasses topped off or filled. The Waitresses helper seemed to be more interested in just clearing plates. Our main meal was delivered by kitchen staff again. My wife ordered her steak medium, it came well done. We like to eat together. So we did not send it back.  Who knows how long it would have taken. I ordered my rack of lamb medium well, was medium. I'm not sure if the waitress or the chef mixed that up. Still it was delicious. I love how the experiment with different recipes with their lamb. My wife ordered the sweet potato fully loaded,  but ordered with the bacon on the side. We were going to share it. I do not eat pork.  It came with bacon bits all over it. Sometime later the waitress showed up after we were about half done eating, one water glass still empty. Said she could replace the potato. A little to late I think. When we were finished we were asked if we wanted desert. We declined.The waitress presented with the bill $150+. About average for two people for this restaurant. When I outlined the problems we had the waitress apologized, made excuses, said she punched in the correct info for our order. She offered free desert. I almost laughed. We had just refused desert. Problems are not remedied with a desert a customer doesn't want. Buy this time all we wanted to do is get on with our evening and get out of there. We have some minor hiccups in the past with service. Nothing this bad. I could not give them More than 1 star for this experience. I wish it had...

I've been going to this restaurant with family for 17 years. And I've been taking my significant other there since we started dating 4 years ago. The food and service has always been good, and the view is wonderful.

TL:DR for below Disappointed in managers lack of care and his going back on his word to accommodate a simple request on one of the most important nights in my life.

Recently, I decided I wanted to propose, so I went and talked to Steve, the manger, about proposing in their private room- The Omaha Room-. He did not seem at all thrilled at my request, which was fine- he did not need to be. I told him my two plan options and asked if they would work, and he told me yes and gave me his card and told me to let him know what I decided as we reserved the space for the date and time discussed.

I contacted him later that week and confirmed which plan I was going with. He responded telling me that it would not work, and that he could not accommodate my request, which was to use the room for 30 minutes to ask the question, and then have dinner in the regular dining area. He said he could not reserve the room if I was not bringing in more people for dinner.

It was disappointing that a restaurant I have recommended and frequented for so long, made me feel like they couldn't care less about my loyalty as a patron. I understand they cannot be emotionally attached to all of their patrons, but it was still quite heartbreaking. It will definitely change my future dining with them, and I will no longer be recommending them to friends and family. I have since made other arrangements at a more accommodating...