Aspens Signature Steaks — Restaurant in Georgia

I am not a complainer nor do I post many comments anywhere, however, our recent Mothers Day meal at Aspens, a place that we have enjoyed on a regular basis for well over 20 years, was such a disgrace I can not help myself. We had a 7:15 reservation for 4 and due to the holiday we waited probably about a half hour for our table. We then waited another at least 15 minutes for someone to bring water and then another 15 minutes or so for a regular server to take our order. None of this overly pleasing but somewhat understandable. We placed our total order at one time from drinks to appetizers to entree. In ordering appetizer of calamari we were told they were out because they were so busy all day, so we asked what else they were out of and were told also shrimp cocktail and for that matter any shrimp containing meal, and meatloaf entree, and hand cut fries. Then we proceeded to ordering what they did have. When we got our drink order, after about another 15-20 minute wait, my son was told they were out of the wine he ordered, so he ordered a Coors which they don't have and he ended up with a coke. Then while we were awaiting our appetizers I asked someone who I assumed was the manager, who was bussing a table nearby if we could get their usual bread basket, and he told us they were out of bread because they were so busy today. After a few minutes he came back over and said they had some Brioche bread in the back that we could have and I said thanks that would be fine. Shortly after that we got one of the 2 appetizers we ordered and were told the other was coming. Somewhere just before or after that the server came back and told my son and I that the petit filet mignons that we had ordered were also not available any more. Just a note, for years they had always had two sizes of filet mignon 8 oz and 10 oz, recently they dropped the 10oz and replaced it with a 12oz bone in filet for about twice the price of what the regular 10oz filet used to be. At this point I was about to lose my mind internally (although my wife was starting to really get upset a little bit outwardly, at least to our table not the staff), anyway we begrudgingly ordered the Porterhouse to share as a replacement. While now waiting for our entrees I asked at least two more times about our still missing second appetizer and was told it was coming. Eventually it did come... along with our entrees. Now we get to order dessert and coffee. The coffee comes and we asked for milk or cream and were told they were all out of anything in that category even at the bar. At this point I am definitely losing my mind, but again, keep it inside. It should be noted for people who don't know where this restaurant is, that there is a Kroger right in the shopping center behind the restaurant. So now dessert comes and my sister-in-law who ordered their choc mousse cake receives a piece of carrot cake and we were told they were out of the choc mousse cake so they just brought the carrot cake. So ends our Mothers Day meal which lasted approx 3 hours. (Note that among many other holidays we have been there for many, many and never had anything like this happen) In fairness they didn't charge us for any desserts and they discounted all the entrees, which was nice, but none of this was about the money. We weren't even told by the manager or the server that they had discounted the bill as an apology, I just noticed it when paying it. While this is certainly not an overall opinion of this restaurant it still wipes out a lot of good will. I can not even express my disappointment in a place that we frequented so often and I do not even know if I can get my...

Food is ok and service was good. I went for a large party for my mom's birthday so we had a private room. We had an open bar for the guests, which was good until 6 of us were ordering the same drink so the bartender decided to make a pitcher of the drink and you couldn't taste the alcohol in any of them because they were batched. We went them back and showed that they be made separately like they should have been from the beginning because we were paying for each drink individually not in bulk. I guess the bartender did not like this and was giving the secret a hard time. I was coming back from the bathroom and noticed our server arguing with the bartender because we wanted to know every vodka he was using and the bartender said "why does it matter?" Our server told him that we wanted to know and then a couple that was sitting at the bar told our server that he better pr a 20% gratuity on our check because we might not tip correctly...

BIG MISTAKE. I have been in the restaurant industry for 20 years and know how to tip, especially for a large party that can be more demanding and challenging. When I heard these people say this I walked up to our server, who hadn't realized i was walking by while they talked about us, I told him that I am a bartender and would be taking care of him so whatever my mother or anyone in that room asked for that he needed to get it for them and that's it. He was surprised and said thank you. To me there are a few things wrong here... Don't talk about your guests in front of other guests, even if they're regulars(the couple at the bar) As a bartender, you're the top make drinks for guests according to recipe so it is not ok to make a pitcher of a certain drink unless you have a recipe to do so. The guest is paying for each drink and deserves to have the proper amount of alcohol in their drink every time. In the entire period we were there, we never saw a manager come by to check on us. If you have a large party spending a lot of money in your restaurant, you can set key stop by to say hi and make sure everything is going well.

My mom loves this place and goes there with my sister a few times a month. I can say I will not be encouraging her to book any more parties here because of the way things went...

Was part of a group recently and aside from the cocktail I ordered, everything else was extremely disappointing.

The table bread came with the weirdest tasting spread that almost smelled and tasted like mayo that was going bad. When asked we were told it was some sort of special creation that included spices and caviar. Instantly I understood why the spread smelled like old mayo, caviar and spices mixed in with butter. No thanks. When asked for regular butter spread, the server said sure! But never brought any.

The salad was limp Caesar with 3 croutons. Typically Caesar salads have crunch to the romaine, have a decent coating of dressing, a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese and ample croutons. The romaine was limp, soaked in dressing, nearly no parmesan to be seen and again, 3 croutons that were too big to eat WITH a fork full of salad.

The steak, full of fat, terrible cut of meat. Asked for medium rare, it came out VERY rare. The "encrusted" edges were extremely salty and peppery. The green beans were almost raw (extremely crunchy).

The desert was billed as a warm brownie with scoop of ice cream. Instead it was room temperature with a melted dab of whipped cream. When I confirmed that I had been told that a scoop of ice cream was supposed to come with it, they did bring one. Aside from that, it was a disaster.

Typically I take photos of the food I am being served but the company I was with would have considered my taking my phone out to take photos of the meal, impolite. So no photos. But honestly, it wasn't pretty, so consider it a favor.

Absolutely will never return to this place, I feel bad for the person who had to...