Drake's Hollywood — Restaurant in Dallas

I recently visited Drake's Hollywood Steakhouse in Dallas for the first time to celebrate a friend's birthday. Unfortunately, what I had hoped would be an enjoyable evening turned into a highly disappointing experience due to misleading menu information and a complete lack of customer care.

The issue began with the restaurant’s menu, which advertised that caviar could be added to a pizza for $30. This was both on their physical and online menus, so I confidently made the selection. The bartender said there wasn’t caviar on the menu, and I had to go back and point it out to him. He still insisted it couldn’t be done, until another bartender corrected him. He then advised this wasn’t apart of the happy hour menu, as if that was all I had budgeted for was happy hour items. He never explained the menu or what was available for happy hour, so I am not sure why that piece of information was relevant. He then went to the back of the restaurant and came out to speak further with me. To my dismay, I was later informed that this price was a typo and that the actual cost was $130—a dramatic and unexpected increase. Which was also mentioned to me is a typo or a mistake that has been here since it’s been reprinted.

As a first-time customer, I expected the restaurant to acknowledge their error and provide a reasonable solution, such as honoring the listed price, offering a discount, or even a goodwill gesture like a complimentary dessert. However, none of these options were extended. It was evident that the bartender had shared our conversation with most of the restaurant staff but the Manager specifically approached me and said “Someone had a question about the caviar?” Although I did not request to speak with a manager and thought the exchange was over, the manager outright told me that I could not have the menu price honored, nor my meal comped, canceled, or receive anything complimentary for a future visit. She cut me off several times during our conversation in attempts to have to last word, and I decided to just say ok to avoid further upsetting myself.

This was disappointing enough, but the experience was further soured by the behavior of the staff. Throughout the evening, employees were whispering and making uncomfortable eye contact with me, which made me feel singled out and unwelcome. Another bartender said right in front of us to the original bartender who served us that “your night will get better later on” insinuating that we put a damper in his mood. Unlike the rest of my party, I was not offered drink refills or attentive service. I had to request a plate and napkins when my food did eventually come out. I lost my appetite and only ate one slice of pizza. I was excluded and ignored until it was time to pay the bill.

As someone excited to try Drake’s for the first time, this experience was a major letdown. I understand that mistakes happen, but how a business chooses to address them says a lot about their commitment to customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, Drake's Hollywood failed to meet even the most basic standards of courteous customer service in this situation.

I left feeling disappointed, disrespected, and certain that I would not return. For a restaurant with such a glamorous image, I expected much more...

I’m deeply disappointed to be leaving this review, especially as someone who works in restaurant management myself and understands the importance of hospitality and service. Unfortunately, the way our visit was handled was unacceptable.

We had a 6:30pm reservation and, wanting to be proactive, I called earlier that day to see if we could push it back to 7:00pm. The woman who answered the phone was very short and dismissive, saying it wasn’t possible due to a fully booked night. I understood and said we would do our best to arrive on time, though I mentioned we might be a few minutes late.

My mother and I arrived at 6:44pm — 14 minutes late. We checked in and were told to wait at the bar or in the lobby and that our table would be ready shortly. We waited patiently at the bar, but after about 30 minutes with no updates, I asked a manager-looking staff member for an update. She briefly said they were still waiting for a table to open, but gave no real timeline or apology. Another 25 minutes passed. Finally, the hostess came by to offer us a round of drinks “on the house,” but still gave no clarity about when we would be seated.

By 8:10pm — an hour and a half after our arrival — we approached the hostess stand for answers. Only then were we told that, because we were late, our original table had been given away and we had been moved to the general waitlist without being informed. This information should have been communicated immediately upon our check-in, not an hour and a half later after multiple inquiries.

What made the situation worse was how dismissive and defensive the staff became when we asked why we weren’t told the truth earlier. Instead of acknowledging their mistake, they began arguing with us, falsely claiming we were “30 minutes late” (we absolutely were not). Being told to “calm down” after being treated so poorly was completely inappropriate and only further added to the disrespect we felt.

Ultimately, we left without dining there, as it was clear that our presence was seen as an inconvenience rather than guests to be cared for. This was supposed to be a birthday celebration for my mother, and instead, it was a frustrating and uncomfortable experience. There was no genuine apology, no manager stepping in, and no attempt to make things right.

Fortunately, we found another restaurant nearby who welcomed us warmly, turned our night around, and reminded us what true hospitality looks like.

I hope Drake’s Hollywood takes this feedback seriously. Treating guests with honesty, empathy, and respect should never be optional — especially at a restaurant of...

I want to start by saying I have always loved this restaurant. In fact I proposed to my wife here. The staff was wonderful. They sent a bottle of champagne and treated us exceptionally. My in laws live a few blocks away and we were very excited about the opening because we are regulars at the sister restaurants.

I have been back multiple times because of the great experiences we had since the opening but last night was the worst dining experience I have ever had in my life. We had a reservation for a group of 6. We had friends visiting from out of town and were raving about this restaurant so everyone was really looking forward to the evening.

First off, the service was very slow from the beginning. We were seated for 10 minutes before we got any service. We promptly ordered cocktails, appetizers, multiple bottles of wines, and entrees. At the end of dinner the waitress asked if we wanted desert and dropped the menus. We decided on a round of espresso martini’s. 5 minutes after we ordered our after dinner drinks, the manager arrives at our table and tells us that the next group that would be seated at our table had arrived and we need to leave. The manager said that he had cancelled our drinks and just dropped his bussiness card and left. We were in shock. I understand that it is a popular restaurant but we ordered every time the waitress came by. When you are spending that kind of money you expect a certain level of service. At the very least he could have asked us to enjoy our drinks at the bar or comp’d an appetizer for the misunderstanding. The first thing we all said was that something like this would never happen at any other steakhouse.

I run a bussiness and understand customer service. This manager is clueless. I spoke with him after and he just told me that this is policy. I don’t understand the bussiness strategy. They have repeat customers who are supporting their bussiness, spending lots of money and they want to send them home. I can understand sending a customer home who is drinking water not ordering high dollar items and lingering at the table but this was not the case. This used to be one of our go to spots but I will never be back and I would never send anyone I know to this restaurant again.

I am not one to complain…frankly this is the first review I have ever written on a restaurant but our experience was so bad I believe the owners need to be aware of the problem. My hope is that they understand that they have a significant problem and fix it!

They need a serious staffing makeover…until then me and everyone I...