Flank Bar and Char — Restaurant in Hutchinson

First, I want to say the timeline is just as a reference and that I decided to keep my reservation even though the person on the phone stated there would be a wait.

Reservation 7 PM on a Saturday

Seated: 6:57 PM and ordered our drinks and appetizer shortly after being seated.

Drinks: 7:06 PM our diet cokes arrived, and we ordered our sides and main courses and desserts.

Appetizers: 7:50 PM our order of Philly cheesesteak egg rolls arrived. These were good and I would recommend them, but they didn’t taste anything like a Philly cheese steak sandwich, but we all thought they were great. You get two egg rolls. They had a little kick which I loved.

Side Salad: 8:09 PM our Caesar side salads arrived. We all thought they tasted plain, and they were skimpy on the dressing. I did request more dressing for each salad, and they brought it out after a few minutes and the salad was made exponentially better with the extra dressing. I did not like the chewy homemade (?) crotons but my significant other enjoyed them. My son thought they were too hard to chew. If you are a traditional Caesar salad lover, I would not recommend this as it doesn’t taste like a Caesar salad. I do recommend this if you are open to a new twist on Caesar salad.

Main Courses: 8:40 PM our main courses arrived. The orders were the walleye dinner, meatloaf dinner and meatloaf sandwich. Let’s start with the good. The walleye was great. My girlfriend did not like the carrots, but I loved them. Taste is subjective. The walleye fillet was a large one and we all had a taste and loved it. The baked potato was just that, a plain baked potato, and is in our fridge but looks properly cooked. My son liked the bread and fries of the meatloaf sandwich but not the meat. I tasted the meat, and it was a bit on the dry side. It wasn’t bad but it wasn't good either.

Meatloaf dinner. If you see the picture it looks like a charred steak but trust me that is meatloaf. Ok let’s come back to that. The asparagus was ok, nothing special. The mash potatoes looked brown but tasted like regular mash potatoes. Nothing special there. Ok back to what is supposed to be meatloaf. I have never in my life had a meatloaf so hard. You could almost break it like a chip. If my video uploads you will see me try to cut it with a fork and it barely did the job after a couple of attempts. I couldn’t eat this. It was just too hard. I did let the waitress know and she gave me 50% off the meatloaf dinner. I accepted this but in reality, I only took one bite. This was terrible. It almost looks like they are pre-sliced then grilled to warm it up. They were very thin as well.

Dessert: 8:49 pm the caramel cheesecake arrived. We ended up just taking this home and still haven’t eaten it. It was late and we were ready to head home. The caramel doesn’t really look like caramel so it’s still in the fridge. If we do end up eating it I will update this review.

It's very loud inside. And you have to walk through the main entrance of the hotel to access the restaurant. If you are looking for a quiet romantic evening...this is not the place to go. I personally didn't mind the loud atmosphere (sounded like being in the middle of a crowded bar) but it was hard to even hear the waitress when ordering.

As always…I will go again at a different time and on a different day to see if anything has changed. I may post the video on YouTube and put the link here if the food is the same on my next...

Update: This owner needs to learn to take criticism. As far as the wait staff, yes they are human, and no I don't expect them to go thirsty. But when I'm 50 minutes into my wait for food to come out, it doesn't make me feel any better to watch your staff hydrate themselves in front of me. Maybe, like nearly every other dining experience I've ever had, they could keep their refreshments in the kitchen, or at least in a place less visible. And it's always going to be a hard no from me to send food back that isn't great when I've already waited close to an hour for it. If it took that long to send out mediocre food, another 15 minutes isn't going to make it any better. Maybe try your own food and make sure it is as good as it can be BEFORE you send it out to customers, or even put it on the menu. I really wish you, as a small business owner, all the best of luck. But no amount of luck will save you if you can't listen to honest criticism and figure out how to do better. Original Review: Not super stoked on this place. Food was ok. Out of the two appetizers and two entrees we had, I wouldn't feel like I needed to go back and have them again. The southwest eggrolls had the best flavor out of what we tried, but they were heavy on grease and kind of soggy. The steak bites also had good flavor but were a little dry. Prime rib was ok, but could have used more flavor (came out without the creamy horseradish sauce it was supposed to come with, but by the time I was able to flag down the waitress, most of my meal was done. Service was a little on the slow side, took close to an hour to get our food. Also wasn't a fan of waitresses walking around sipping on their own drinks, just seemed kind of tacky. Even saw one with a giant pink Stanley cup walk through the entire dining area sipping on whatever was inside. Wasn't really a fan of the space itself either. Not really clear where to enter, and then once your inside, the hostess station is kind of in the middle of the floor. Just kind of awkward. The ceilings are higher than necessary and the overall plainness of the space made me feel like I was eating in a giant box, or maybe where the hotel pool was supposed to be. Not a horrible spot but wasn't what I was expecting for quality...

I am writing to express my deep disappointment regarding my experience at Flank restaurant on November 18, following a reservation for two that I had made.

Upon arriving, we were met with a less-than-friendly hostess who informed us that the restaurant was out of all the advertised food. She mentioned that her boss had allegedly tried to call us three times, but we received no such calls. Furthermore, she conveyed that our reservation was the last one made.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was not pleasant; a pervasive fish smell covered the entire place. I understand that unforeseen events can happen, and businesses might find themselves unprepared, but what disappointed me the most was the lack of cordiality and a proper business approach in handling the situation.

The hostess appeared tired and disinterested, offering no alternatives or apologies for the inconvenience caused. It's disheartening when one anticipates a certain experience, only to find that the business lacks empathy for its customers. I hope this feedback serves as an opportunity for improvement.

PS: Thank you for your response. I appreciate your perspective, and I understand that businesses, like individuals, can encounter unforeseen challenges. However, it's essential to share my genuine experience, as it reflects my expectations versus the actual encounter.

Regarding the phone calls, I genuinely did not receive them, and I would have appreciated the opportunity to discuss alternative arrangements if the restaurant was facing difficulties. I believe a proactive approach could have alleviated the disappointment.

As for the fish smell, I understand that certain themes or events might bring unique aromas. However, it contributed to an overall atmosphere that did not align with the expected dining experience.

I genuinely hope that my feedback is constructive and provides insights into customer...