Oscar Penns Restaurant — Restaurant in Inverness

Had gone to Oscar's for the first time with a young lady to dine at what they said was 6:45 p.m. on Friday. When I first approached very small and somewhat unmarked entrance area I advise the woman behind the counter who I was and that I had a 6:45 reservation. She then looked and became quite confused, then looked on the following day and said that she saw my name on Saturday. I then told her that at the first of the week I had made the reservation and explained to the young lady I wanted it for the coming up Friday which she then repeated to me how busy they were but they could get me in at 6:45 p.m. this Friday. After the woman that was attempting to help me again became so confused other people that were gathering at the very small entrance area or being seated and we were somewhat passed over for a period of time. It was after her confusing that I believe it must have been the owner came to the somewhat counter area looked through the book, and then said I was actually scheduled for my reservation a week from the Friday that I was at. I then told him that's not what the young lady on the phone said she knew it was this coming Friday. He then became almost argumentative telling me that they never do that they always repeat the exact time and calendar date of your reservation. Then was very questionable as to who I spoke to exactly, I told him I did not know I was going to be cross-examined and didn't feel I needed to gather her name address rank and serial number as he made me feel. It was rather embarrassing being out with young lady I had out for the first time and was looking forward to what I had heard in respect to the food of the restaurant, but I can tell you now this gentleman told me that in 4 years he boasted they had only gotten problems with one reservation.... After feeling like I had been cross-examined I remained calm and professional like and told him I said well you better make this number two because it has happened again. Due to his lack of customer finesse and the way he spoke to us I wouldn't return to that restaurant if they were giving the food away. I do understand that sometimes mistakes are made but he acted like it was an impossibility that it could have been one of his employees. I think he handled the situation quite poorly and again with someone embarrassing to myself and I don't know what the other people thought that were in the waiting area. I actually have other friends that were waiting for me to give them the honest review of how the evening went with the restaurant etc. The evening with my female friend went excellent but the experience with the restaurant and the restauranor...

I hope the owner of the restaurant would have a chance to read this. We walked out of this restaurant feeling being ripped off. It is over-priced in terms of food quality, atmosphere and customer service. We ordered two glasses of wine, one appetizer, two entrées and one dessert, totaled $145 before the tip. Let’s look at the atmosphere and wait service first since we are paying big bucks here. With $84 a person cost (after tip), we would find lots of steak restaurants in the area offering much higher return. We were seated outside with garden metal wire table and chair. It’s uncomfortable and buggy. The silverware is old and cheap feel. The waitress is nice and polite, but lack of professional manner (again, if you price your menu against above-average steak house, we expect more from your waiters). Next, is the food. We ordered a seafood risotto, that was delicious, and we accept the price point ($36) for that one. One funny fact though, I was given a fork to eat a soupy risotto dish. I had to ask for a spoon. We also ordered a 14 oz prime steak, $53. That was a huge disappointment! We asked for medium. It came out like medium well on the 1” outskirt, but medium rare in the middle area. It is not tender and very chewy. If the food is super delicious, we would ignore other elements. But if the food is only okay not great, and nothing else has redeeming factor, why am I paying that much money for? Food review can be subjective, but the hardware is not. Please fix these things to enhance customers’ feeling: 1) Invest some nice outdoor seating. Or, at least put a table cloth on it to make it feel “fancy”. 2) Invest in nicer silverware. My advise to people to want to give a try: Do not order high-price item from the menu. Stay low, and the whole experience will match your...

We ate here for my birthday. That was my last day of freedom before we began our household hunkering down. Preface: we called to cancel our reservation because the St. Patrick’s Day parade made parking impossible and we had handicapped parking necessities. They said, no no, come down and we will move the barricade for you. So someone walked down the street in the oppressive heat and let us through. They made it very well worth it. We started with the scallops, which slapped. For dinner I got the filet Oscar style and went to another planet, it was so good. The chef came and chatted with us, and proceeded to make it rain deserts for everyone to try. Then he comped them, which was wild. I am used to being content if our server is pleasant to us and my water doesn’t run out (because of my constant thirst). Those are my very low expectations. But not this trip. They made me feel valued and appreciated. I have a single tear running down my cheek as I reminisce, sitting here on my fourteenth day of staying home. I wonder when the next day I will talk to someone in person will be... The only thing I noticed was the acoustics need some dampening. Everyone was shouting over each other and I couldn’t hear well. But that’s my interior designer kicking in and has nothing to do with the service or the people. There are some incredible products out there for that :). So thank you for being a great close to my (temporary) public existence and a lovely birthday experience. I truly don’t remember our server’s name, but she was wonderfully patient with my indecisive mother, which is something many...