Wrangler's Steakhouse & Saddle Room Bar — Restaurant in Kauai

Yes, the occurrence is a bit old. I wrote this after giving the owners some time to respond. Unlike the general "ohana" or family approach to things one comes to expect here, this "mainland" way of doing things was a worse slap in the face to what this island spirit has come to represent. It was compounded several fold since we live near the same town and yet there was no response despite the effort to come to a resolution. There are fine restaurants 20 minutes further down the road where problems like this are not likely to present themselves. I deeply regret having to finally post this.

Mailed on 2/21/18 posted here 4/18/18 no response to date....

I have a problem with an “adjustment” that was made to a meal.

The evening meal was on 1/16. (Why so late to bring it up --- because it has bothered me so much in the insult it did to the evening I have been debating how to best deal with it.)

On the 15th my friend of over 25 years who flew in as a result of discovering I had a heart attack, and I had a $100 meal with you as he was staying at the cottages up the road.

Consequently, for his last night on the island, on the 16th we returned at which time we both ordered the garlic rib eye (which he had had the night before). Mine was fine. His was quite different:

After I had finished mine I noticed he was still extracting gristle from each cut and segregating the pieces to the side of his plate, which by this time covered an area about a third the size of the original serving. There was still about 25% untouched when he finally gave up and said he could not finish the fight as he was picking gristle out of his mouth with every bite.

I asked the waitress for the manager and was told she had gone home. I then had to ask for the supervisor. Finally, a person appeared and offered to immediately “adjust” the bill and would we then like a desert?

I was favorably impressed and ordered a small dessert which we shared, and a coffee. I got up to pay the bill at the register and found the supervisor had also then left but the “adjustment” for a $100 dinner was to be 20% of the $27 charge of the steak (or less than $6) and the desert was fully charged as well as the coffee.

When I expressed some surprise at the cheap “adjustment” on a $100 dinner, the cashier capped it off by asking what percent of the steak then did he eat !

My response was to graciously decline the menine “adjustment” and pay the full amount as it appears the $6 or so is more important to the staff you had on duty than the concept of a dining experience.

At the least, the meal should have been charged off and the desert, which was offered, provided as an apology.

The sad part of this is the damage it caused to the ambiance of our last night over a good meal and a nice glass of wine with an old friend from several thousand miles away.... only to be chipped away by a very bad piece of meat and a staff with poor direction on protecting your business reputation.

I now leave this in your hands.

Most Sincerely, Only sit down restaurant with...

Steaks were cooked to the correct doneness and had a nice smokiness to it from the Kiawe wood. 14oz steaks are huge! We ordered the calamari, crab cake, and garlic parmesan wings. The appetizers were all pretty good, my friend really liked the crab cake.

Service was prompt and they often checked in to see how we were doing but they forgot an appetizer and the soup/salad that came with the steak until we asked about it (or just had strange timing?).

The pulehu steak (garlic butter sauce) sounded really good but it wasn't an option for the ribeye so they said they can give the sauce on the side so I opted for the sauce on the side. They gave the sauce on the side to the wrong person, and was like "oops let me get another one for you" but they charged us for both sauces when I could have the moved the sauce from my friends plate to mine. The pulehu sauce on the side was way too salty, I could only eat it when I dipped a small corner of the steak. However, my friend who ordered the pulehu steak (filet mignon with the sauce poured on), said that his sauce was fine and not that salty. Also, my friend wanted a side of garlic parmesan sauce to dip the fries the steak came with, but we were charged for $5.50 or so for "Parmesan fries" when they only gave us the sauce. Also, another friend got the same steak as me (ribeye) but his steak had a sweet taste to it while mine was fine.

In general, food was good, and we enjoyed the meal, but I was a little annoyed at the minor things while my friends didn't...

Wranglers Steakhouse is a family favorite ours. Usually we stay on the northern end of the island and just stop in on our way back from Waimea Canyon, this time we were just staying down the road.

First, make sure you call ahead and make reservations. Many times not needed but especially on weekends can catch them being very busy.

Food always solid, I ordered the 10 oz appetizer ny sizzling steak rare, comes out on a super hot platter still cooking. Ended up, spot on medium rare. Had onions and mushrooms on top and was very tasty. My wife had the Wrangler Burger, she ordered it medium rare, came out closer to medium and was a little dry. Now it should be noted that the steaks at the restaurant are sourced from the mainland and the ground beef is from Kauai. This does affect the flavor profile. Local beef has a slightly different flavor which gives it character.

Now where this place shines is on atmosphere. There is no other place like it on the island. On weekends they have local artists that are top notch. Last night theme was western/Hawaiian. We had a great time, arrived at 7 pm with a reservation and departed a little after 9.

This is not a location overrun with tourists. It a place where locals enjoy a great meal, catch up with family and friends. Which if they did not come with, will run into while there. Tourists are the exception not the rule. It is as far from the north shore scene as you can get, literally and figuratively speaking.

Definitely, I would recommend eating...