PY Steakhouse — Restaurant in Four Corners States

I really wanted to like PY steakhouse more. Visited Tucson and wanted a have a fancier meal, so we booked here and had the 8 course chef’s menu.

The meal started out with slight hiccups, which over the course of dinner became progressive more noticeable. Water was brought out promptly, however, it took at least 15 minutes for bread and close to 20 minutes for our orders were taken. Managed to flag someone down to order cocktails (which were very nice), but this took a few courses to actually materialize.

The bread was good. Butter was excellent, as were the cheesy breadsticks. Service, however, was fairly slow. We started with a couple of oysters which were nice. Next was a beet and citrus salad with goat cheese. Also satisfying. Third was calamari, which was pretty good. Our drinks were finally delivered. Our bread plates were confiscated, but we were left with the bread, butter, and our butter knives.

Next was a deconstructed pork belly. A large slice on a plate with tomatoes, tomato jam, and a couple of swipes of avocado with slivers of bread was delivered. It was interesting. Not particularly my sort of thing.

We had what was arguably one of my least favorite dishes next. It was endive cooked in dry aged beef fat, pecans, figs, and goat cheese. Mine had an astringent and bitter aftertaste. Didn’t eat much of this. This was followed by butternut squash risotto. The butternut was nearly raw. I do not recommend this dish. I’m not sure I would even consider this risotto. It was missing the richness that risotto usually has.

Thankfully, we had an excellently cooked filet next. Well-seasoned, perfect medium rare. Came with a roasted pepper and rather homogenous mashed potatoes. This is, after all, a steakhouse, I suppose.

Dessert was next and was a cheesecake and some other sort of cake. Both were a little too sweet for me, but I’ve heard their creme brûlée is excellent.

Dinner took use just over three hours. I am not a slow eater. Our server seemed new and unused to service. He did truly try very hard. Perhaps an 8 course meal was a little too much for him. The gentleman refilling water glasses was very diligent. Seats were thankfully comfortable for a prolonged dining experience.

I’m not sure if I would go back. Certainly not for a tasting menu. Maybe for a couple of appetizers, steak, and creme brûlée it would be worth...

Our first time at PY. They were just a few little things away from a full 5 stars.

Our reservation was honored and we were seated right away. The waiter knew our last name and consistently referred to us as "Mr and Mrs ....." until we suggested he call us by our first names. This was a very considerate touch.

We ordered cocktails--her a cosmo and me a Manhattan. They were good, not great. My Manhattan was too sweet--more vermouth and less bourbon. The cherries (griottines?) were great--thanks for not settling for maraschinos! The bread was very nice--thin, cheesy breadsticks and soft, delicious rolls (with "PY" baked in). But....

They took forever. Seriously. It was strange. Although it was a Saturday night, they weren't that busy. Our entrees were slow to come out, too.

We shared an appetizer--the steak tartar. Delicious, with a hint of sour citrus. Very nice!

The soups weren't particularly interesting to us and they didn't have a traditional Caesar salad (for a steak place?), so we skipped it and went to the entree. She had the 6 oz filet (cooked to perfection). I had the cowboy ribeye. It seemed a little medium on the edges, but the steak was actually cooked perfectly in the center. Take a lesson from Ruth's Chris and bring those steaks out on fiery hot plates, please.

Our sides were truly on the side. We shared the mushrooms, prepared in a delicious sauce and on a bed of cooked onions. Really good. The other side was a potatoe au gratin dish. Baked, it was nice and cheesy on the surface, but lost that quality inside. It really should have been cheesy throughout.

We selected a merlot from the Carneros region and it was delicious (and reasonably priced). Oh, and perfectly served, too.

Our servers were professional, attentive, and spot-on (except for the weird delay at the beginning).

We passed on dessert and after-dinner drinks. In the conversation, we happened to mention that we both had served in the military. When our check arrived, our waiter let us know that he applied a military discount! We made sure that showed up in his...

The food isn't bad there. It's pretty basic. I feel like I could have gone to Texas Roadhouse and been just as satisfied. Lump crab cakes, well taste like tuna fish deep fried that's 20 dollars with a store bought Chipotle. It was ok, but it's like something I would make at the house. Also, the 28-35 day aged 26 oz cowboy ribeye. Tasted like it wasn't aged and came straight out of a package, cooked, then to table. Soft but not like cut with fork soft and really fatty. Nothing over the top and didn't have that im a 75 dollar steak, and I can't believe it's not 100 feel. Didn't finish it, just disappointed. The wife had a filet, and it was fair. Good piece of meat. It had a feeling of no love in it. There's nothing to make it stand out. Kinda had a burnt layer, but the inside had the normal everyday filet. There's nothing to make it say it's a 50 dollar piece of meat. The Mac n cheese came to the table with a top layer, which is super dry. Again, no love. Best honest, a 5 second mix before final prep to table would be like ok this is good, but you will need to mix to get any flavor cause that first bite will require a full glass of water. The restaurant itself looks great, the table is nice. The waiters and waitress are very nice. They don't come to the table very often, which is nice, but the need to time just to bring either fresh cool water or just bring a new fresh soft drink without asking. Should just be at this level. A small meeting of the minds to sit back and take a look would make this place a 4 star all day with small changes and paying attention to detail. Possible change in cooks, Service and food prep is what will make you another everyday steakhouse, or you got a line people begging to get in. I gave 2 star cause the food wasn't worth the money. Should be 4...