Drake's Hamburg — Restaurant in Lexington

I've dined at Drakes for years. It's good, nothing spectacular, but generally consistent. No "great" experiences and nothing bad, until my last visit that was unforgivable. I was traveling with my 17 year old blind beagle that is on his final months of life because of health issues. I called Drakes in advance and ask if my very well behaved dog is welcome there on the patio. The lady on the phone was very nice and said absolutely bring that baby! She sounded excited to hear he was coming. She said to have a seat on the outdoor patio under an umbrella and they will take care of us. She even said if I had any issues to call back on that number.

A few hours later we arrived. We got him unloaded (which isn't easy because of medical reasons), and we found our way to the umbrellas on the deck. No one approached us so I went in. I wasn't mad, I wasn't grouchy, I was as nice as I've ever been in my life. I found the bartender and she told me the patio is closed. (It's about 75 degrees out and the sun was bright). I told her I had called ahead to make arrangements. The bartender finds a manager to come talk to me. The manager says "sorry, patio is closed". I repeat myself about calling ahead. She didn't care. Three (3) servers volunteered right in front of me to take our table. I volunteered to make a carry out order and take it out myself with no service. The answer was no. At this point I ask if there was another manager on duty. She said yes and allegedly went to get her. The other manager did not come back and speak with me and the original manager said the other manager is "backing her up on this". I ask why it's such a problem. She gave me the excuse she was short staffed. But 3 servers were standing there offering to help and all of them said they only had a couple of tables. The bartender was looking at her phone with nothing to do. The place wasn't 25% full and it's around 3:45pm. Not busy at all and it's not going to be until after 5. Then she said health department will not allow it anyways. That was a lie. My dog was allowed in a coffee shop in the same area earlier that day. We went to Raffertys immediately afterwards and my dog and 3 other dogs where enjoying the same sort of set up at the patio.

I don't know why she was so hell bent on not serving us. But she won her battle. The manager is always right! Right?

To make this worse I called that number back and left a message for the regional manager. He never bothered to call me back. It's been weeks now. So here us my review that they could...

I visited Drakes on the recommendation of the front desk person at a local hotel. Overall it wasn't very good. I sat at the bar and the bartender wasn't at all friendly for the most part was not at the bar. The menu is strange they feature steaks, burgers and sushi, the side items are pretty limited as well. So I ordered a BBQ burger which was to have honey jalapeño BBQ sauce cheese bacon and fresh cut toppings. When it arrived it was so big I was a bit embarrassed to attempt to eat it, I felt like I was on Diners Drive Ins and dives trying to get a very tall burger in my mouth for a first bite. I would have cut it in half but had no silverware. I waited a bit to ask for some but of course the bartender wasn't here for about 5 mins, so i just dove in. Once I did get that first bite I realized that a lot of the actual patty was hanging off the back side of the burger with a lot of sticky BBQ sauce. I flipped it around and ate that side first. There was about 3 fingers of patty hanging off the bun. As I was eating the other side I realized the real problem...this thing was very salty. Even the sweet BBQ sauce wasn't enough to cover that up. It was just too big to enjoy at all and then the salt killed it. I switched over the fries I ordered as a side they too were super salty. Between the rude server, salty food and ridiculous presentation I won't be back. I didn't even mention that when I walked in the ceiling mounted hvac system was blowing cold air in me...ears and nose are cold now as I write this. When I left 75% of the food on the plate and pushed it our to edge of the bar thw bartender asked "you done" but no inquiry as to why I didn't eat most of the meal. Ps they earned the second star because my food came out fast after...

For anyone who has never visited this place I guess it would be helpful to explain that the menu is limited to appetizers, burgers, salads, sushi, steak medallions and other entrees such as salmon, fried fish, grilled chicken, fish/chicken tacos and a couple sides like sweet potatoe fries, regular fries and some other things but no baked potato just FYI. There is 2 sides to resteraunt, 1 being more of a bar with bar seating and high top tables and stools and the other more of a dining feel with booths and separated seats for individual groups and offering more privacy. I prefer bar area when there is a UK game on. Depends on company and what time it is. Drakes is open late and even though it's a limited menu, it's the best menu for late night dining. The medallions are very good and prolly the only steak you will find after 10pm on a weeknight other than Waffle House or some other place that is not offering the same quality of Drakes. It will cost you around $20-$25 per meal. Food will be cooked exactly as ordered and service will be up to par as it always has been in past. Medallions are the way to go but burgers are very good as well and are massive. Salmon is good, salads are great to share like an appetizer and sushi is of good quality as well. I recommend Drakes to anyone who doesn't want the regular late night food available or anyone who wants to go to a more classy Applebee's, Chilis or similar establishments. In the Hamburg area after 10pm it's either Drakes or Old Chicago...