Malone's Palomar — Restaurant in Lexington

Poor Management Has Ruined a Once-Great Restaurant Malone’s used to be the crown jewel of Lexington dining. What was once a symbol of Lexington’s upscale food scene has now been ruined by poor management. My wife and I were loyal weekly guests—it was our go-to for date night, celebrations, and everything in between. But over the last six months, the experience has drastically declined.

Service Breakdown The waiters still try their best, but they’re unsupported. The assistant staff? Sitting in booths on their phones or lined up against the wall on their phones, completely disengaged. Meanwhile, you're stuck with an empty drink and the loaf of bread long gone, waiting far too long for refills or attention—until the waiter returns. Managers used to check in personally. That presence made a difference. Now? I haven’t seen a manager on the floor in months. That leadership vacuum is obvious and affects everything.

Cleanliness Concerns The final straw was a recent visit to the restroom. Toilet paper on the floor, no soap in one sink, and no paper towels. I didn’t take pictures out of respect for those inside, but the condition was unacceptable. As my dad used to say: “If they don’t care about what you can see, imagine what you can’t.”

Declining Food Quality Even the food has taken a hit. My wife’s pasta has come out clumped and stuck together multiple times. And yes, we arrived about 30 minutes before closing—but that’s no excuse for a high-end steakhouse to compromise on quality.

Unwelcoming Atmosphere The hosts barely make eye contact, let alone greet you with a smile. It used to feel like a special night out. Now it feels like we’re just another number they’re trying to rush out.

Ignored Feedback I’ve left feedback on my receipts several times. I even took a photo of my drink sitting empty on the table, though I refrained from photographing the restroom. I’ve noticed Malone’s replies to other reviews, asking guests to leave their contact info for a follow-up. Let me be absolutely clear: I’m not interested in a phone call. I’m not looking for a refund. I don’t want any type of reimbursement. I just want the restaurant fixed.

A Sad Decline Offering a $25 gift card when you spend $100 isn’t a bonus—it’s a red flag. Malone’s never had to bait customers with discounts before. That was because the experience spoke for itself. Sadly, that’s no longer the case.

If Malone’s ever returns to the level of excellence it once had, I will happily update or remove this review. But for now, our weekly dinners are at J. Alexander’s—where the food is consistent, the service is strong, and management...

In a decade plus of eating and celebrating at Malones have I ever experienced such a horrible experience such at this afternoon.

I realize our world is in a staffing crunch but the restaurant was absolutely filthy. It looked like a good fight had taken place during the lunch rush. We came in for the late lunch, early dinner seating so not during a mad rush.

We sat anywhere as those were the instructions from the host upfront. We chose a table in front by the bar. There were others coming in, actually 5 tables were greeted and brought drinks along with bread ahead of us before anyone even came over. By the time the two female servers basically sat there at the computer next to the bar and might I had a close enough proximity for us to observe and hear their discussion. One drew the short straw and finally a server came over.

Incredibly apparent she didn’t want to be there or actually have to take care of our table. I can’t tell you her name as she never said anything in a hello, I’m xxx and will be taking care care of you today. It was what do you want to drink, do you know your order? Short bleached blonde hair with terrible body language, my family actually felt like we were bothering her. My 12 old daughter said, she must be having a bad day.

Our drinks arrived, and all 3 glasses were chipped or had chunks missing out of the edge…super thankful for straws !!

We ordered a variety items, sushi, hamburger, shrimp and salads. It was just meh. The shrimp looked something from Captain D or Long john silvers, not very crispy as in previous meals. The potatoes croquettes were amazing !! Everyone else said the food was just MEH !! When we leave Malones it’s never that feeling. I have to say with the terrible server experience our $85 lunch was incredibly disappointing !! Not sure if management took the weekend off or but this was a very dissatisfied meal...

My husband and I eat here every chance we get. Usually a few times a year with Birthday's and our Anniversary. We ate here last night and the experience all around was terrible. Upon sitting down the silverware on the table was dirty (NO EXCUSE for this right now) and it took about 20 minutes before anyone even brought water to the table. 15 minutes later the server who was extremely nice finally came and took ONLY our drink order. Took another 15 minutes or so before we got them. We ordered everything when she finally came back to our table. Calamari, the ribeye with salad and broccoli, I ordered the Strip and SPECIFICALLY said mashed potatoes instead of salad and Mac n cheese. My order came out right.The guy that brought us our food didn't even speak to us or ask who ordered what just started handing plates. He handed my husband my food and handed me my husband's food and walked away. Our server came to our table about 10 minutes after we got our food and we were able to ASK for knives to actually cut and eat it with but never mind the fact it took another 10 minutes or so to get them. The Ribeye was more med-well instead of med-rare so it was sent back when the server made her way back. The manager brought the new steak back flopped it on the table said cut that open. My husband did he asked how does that look my husband was ready to just eat at that point because I was FINISHED! He said ughhh well that looks better. The new steak was flash cooked, charred on the outside and RARE on the inside. They got lucky it was his food and not mine, I would not have PAID 60$ for that and he STILL DID!!! My drink cup was constantly empty and the server nor assistant was anywhere insight to fill it the entire night. I asked for a drink to go and never got it. 160$ tab and I get better food and service...