Forbes Mill Steakhouse — Restaurant in Danville

This review describes our first experience at Forbes Mill in Danville, CA. It was a birthday celebration. My partner and I celebrated my birthday as well as my move in the East Bay. This reservation was during the summer 2020 while the Covid-19 pandemic is still a big concern.

Ambience: Excellent! Contra Costa County allows outdoor patio dining while prohibiting indoor dining. Very cozy and beautiful setup. All staff wore masks. Menu was provided for one time use, whereas cocktail/wine menu was provided on an iPad. Physical distancing was in place to ensure adequate space between tables. Bathroom was also clean with hand sanitizer provided at the exit.

Food: Overall, Forbes Mill does not disappoint. We rated our experience very highly, certainly on par with the likes of other well-known steakhouses. Amazing crab cakes without any slight hint of fishiness. Their clam chowder was great. It was creamy but not overwhelming. Our cocktail was Parma Sutra and Forty Shades. Both were amazing! As for entrees, we tried the filet mignon, shrimp scampi, and Alaskan Halibut. They were all incredibly tasty. One suggestion that both of us would like to offer is to consider hot plates for entrees such as steaks to maintain temperature. Our food could be a little warmer this evening. Nevertheless, it did not reduce the high quality of food. Our free dessert was flourless chocolate cake and mini cream brûlée. Again, both are superb. The cream brûlée is exceptional with the hint of Kona coffee which made a very unique flavor.

Service: Our waitress was Kathy. This was Kathy’s first night at Forbes and she did an amazing job. She provided us with great hospitality. Clear extensive menu breakdown on daily specials. As this was our first visit to Forbes, she gave us a brief history of the restaurant which we found interesting and was greatly appreciated. We observed that this was a busy night for her, as she had to take care of multiple tables as we were seated. Ultimately, Kathy did a great service for us. We certainly would love to come back in the ne’er future, Thank you Kathy!

Conclusion: As frequent goers in fine dining restaurants, we strongly recommend and rated Forbes Mill highly among other well-known steakhouses. Other than temperature issues, its food quality is...

We booked the private room at Forbes Mill Steakhouse in Danville for a special celebration with 20 guests, expecting a high-end experience. What we got instead was one of the most disappointing and frustrating dining experiences we’ve ever had.

They promised $50 worth of appetizers per guest—so naturally, we expected a generous spread. What they gave us? Three tiny plates of what they called “charcuterie” and a small dish of calamari with shrimp. That’s it. For twenty people. It was insulting. Then came the salad, if you can even call it that. It tasted bizarre—completely off—and the portion barely covered a quarter of the plate. A huge plate with a sad little handful of greens. It looked and tasted like an afterthought.

Shockingly, they only assigned ONE server to the entire room. Just one. She was clearly overwhelmed, and while she did her best, there was no way she could handle a party of 20 on her own. That’s a complete failure on management’s part and it set the tone for the rest of the night.

Now for the main course—the part you’d think a “steakhouse” would nail. Wrong. They didn’t even ask how we wanted our steaks cooked. They just asked what cut we wanted, and that was that. What kind of steakhouse doesn’t ask about doneness? When the food arrived, we were stunned. The steaks were dry, flavorless, and so small you’d get a bigger cut at a casual diner. The chicken was drenched in oil—completely unappetizing. Each entree came with one sad scoop of mashed potatoes. That’s it. No vegetables. No garnish. Just a huge empty plate with a tiny piece of meat and one spoonful of mash. When we asked for another side, we were told it would cost extra. Are you serious?

The entire experience felt like a scam. Terrible service, mismanaged staffing, horrible food, and portions that were beyond stingy. This wasn’t just a bad dinner—it ruined a night we were all looking forward to. Forbes Mill should be ashamed to call itself a fine dining establishment.

Save yourself the money, time, and frustration. Go anywhere else. This...

We walked in excited, menus memorized days in advance, ready for a steakhouse experience. What we got was… well, let’s just say Piatti across the way is calling our names next time.

First disappointment: no Cointreau for margaritas, not a big deal. Off to the bread basket—thankfully, the butter was great (which ended up being one of the night’s highlights). The creamed spinach? More like spinach soup. Caesar salad? Tiny—definitely not big enough to split, though no one bothered to mention that.

The starters were a rollercoaster. Calamari showed up covered in garlic oil (zero warning on the menu), crab cakes had a wonderful crisp but flat on flavor, and the French onion soup somehow managed to be bland.

On to the steaks. The Prime Filet was fantastic—exactly what you want from a steakhouse. The Oscar-style filet, though, was giving steak Benedict, crying out for salt, with crab that brought nothing to the table (literally). Oddly enough, the best bite of the night wasn’t steak at all but the shrimp scampi—huge, meaty shrimp that put everything else to shame. Scallops, meanwhile, were so tiny they could’ve passed for garnish. Mac and cheese? Just… fine.

Dessert wrapped it all up with the same theme: the butter cake was excellent, but the “lava” cake had no lava. At that point, I wasn’t even surprised.

Service was just… off. At a supposedly upscale steakhouse, my drink sat empty most of the night, and dirty glasses and plates lingered on the table until we finally asked someone to clear them. Not exactly the polished experience you’d expect at this price point.

All in, this place wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. For the price, I expected more polish and fewer “meh” moments. Call it a 6/10—and that’s mostly thanks to the shrimp...