Buena Mesa Downey Mariscos and Steaks — Restaurant in Downey

We were excited when we found out Verdugos just opened up not too far from us so we thought we'd check them out. Plus we purchased two of their Groupons, one for a sandwich and salad of choice and the other for wine tasting for two with an appetizer.

We decided to have lunch at this restaurant and as we walked in we noticed a cheesy 'now open' banner outside of this so-called "fancy" steak restaurant. This should have been a sign to go somewhere else.

We walked in anyways and since the restaurant just opened we were the first ones there. We sat at a booth and let them know we wanted to use our Groupons for a Reuben sandwich and the ahi tuna salad and the wine tasting for two and we wanted to get the oysters as our appetizer. The waitress seemed confused by the Groupon and asked her manager. The manager came out and scanned my Groupons before I even placed my order.

The waitress then took our order, but said that the appetizer would be chef's choice and that we couldn't choose. A few minutes later she brought out two glasses of wines that were small pours as part of the tasting. After we finished the one glass we had to waive down the waiter asking if we get another wine as part of our tasting. He said one moment.

Before our food came out our waitress said that the salad is supposed to be for just a no meat or seafood salad but she'll give it to us this time. When our food finally came out the fish in the salad smelled so fishy that it attracted all the flies in the restaurant towards our dish. We could not eat it. The waitress never asked us why we weren't eating it either, however she did ask us how we like our sandwich. The sandwich was alright 5/10. The fries were good with the chimmichurri sauce.

We finally received our wine tasting and we each received a tower with 4 small glasses of different wines. The wines were not that good.

But yah the restaurant was warm, has flies and does not look like fine dining at all. We will never go back again. At the end of our meal the waitress handed us a bill. Lol really. We used a Groupon. She went to go ask her manager and came back and apologized. Horrible!!!

Oh I forgot to mention the chef's choice appetizer. Well yah we never got it! I guess the chef's appetizer was that we don't get an appetizer. We used a Groupon but didn't even receive the worth of what we paid for it. $85 spent for both Groupons and an hour and a half of our time wasted and tummies not satisfied at all.

Save your money and eat...

Well, my wife and I went here for our anniversary and were completely bamboozled, led astray, sheisted!!! We went after hearing about this place on a FB group, all reviews were raving. We get there on this Saturday evening and notice the huge mirror in the corner of the room followed by multiple TVs on the opposite wall. You walk in and a bell rings with the desserts on display at the front door as if it were a Marie Calendars (my wife says it used to be so it makes sense). Also, the neon “open” sign outside should have been another sign to stay away.

The servers were courteous and semi aware of the odd layout of the room. This included the dancing hologram of Super Mario on display. The “wine wall” showed the best that Target and Ralph’s had to offer.

We ordered a Caesar salad along with a beet salad. Beet salad had maybe 2 beets, the Caesar salad had very little dressing. The salads were huge so I’ll give them that you get your moneys worth there..

I ordered a Bone In Ribeye Med Rare that arrived to the table with no bone and not evenly cooked. My wife ordered a Filet, Medium that was parts rare, black and blue and Med Well. I had a side of garlic mashed potatoes that weren’t terrible but not great for a “fancy steakhouse”. My wife ordered the mushroom ragu that was supposed to come with a tomato sauce but it arrived with wild mushrooms and a ton of bell peppers… no sauce.

We had the food boxed and claimed we were so full in order to not eat anymore.

I don’t recommend this place at all. The food did not meet the quality you’d expect for the prices listed. If this place lowered their expectations and prices I think it could be okay, but at this point they seem to be ripping people off. Take the steaks off of the menu, add a couple burgers, more TVs and this place would make a killing as a mediocre run of the mill restaurant. Until then I won’t...

Went for the first time on New Year's Eve to have dinner with my family and was really disappointed. As we walked in, we weren't greeted by anyone and we stood by the door for a good 20 minutes before anyone noticed us. As we were finally seated, it took even longer for any waitress to take our order. The waitress just kept apologizing for the slow service, and even the one drink we ordered took so long that we just wanted to walk out, but didn't do so since the only reason I went there to begin with was because I was invited by the owner, Ralph. When the food finally arrived, the filet mignon was ridiculously small, so much so that even the waitress laughed and apologized once again. It was so overcooked that it ruined the steak. The sides were mac and cheese and garlic mashed potatoes, which were so flavorless. Everyone at the table got their food except me because the kitchen forgot to make my grilled chicken salad, and once again, the waitress had to apologize for something out of her control. We finally got the 1 drink we ordered and then my salad but at this point I just wanted to leave. The waitress did offer us a complimentary dessert and I so regret accepting it because there goes another 30 min before they would bring it to our table. It was a nightmare I'm sorry Ralph but I'll still going to Buena Mesa location.

*The food did not meet the quality you’d expect for the...