The Butcher Shop — Restaurant in Little Rock

My name is Sterlin Woodard and I had a horrible experience at the Butcher Shop on Saturday October 5, 2024. My family and I traveled from Florida and Texas to attend a special event for my daughter that Saturday. Our daughter planned the event for over 6 months and spent a considerable amount of time and resources to ensure that the event was a success. It was.

We had planned to celebrate the success of the event by making reservations for our immediate family members at the Butcher Shop Steakhouse here in Little Rock. The reservation was for a party of 14 at 7 pm. We arrived on time and were seated promptly and met by a waitress who was courteous and friendly. While it took about an hour to receive our entrees, we shared several appetizers, and didn’t mind the delay because we were enjoying the family conversation.

Eight (8) of our party ordered the 12 oz ribeye steak dinner, including my wife, daughter, and her boyfriend. The other family members ordered either the porterhouse steak dinner or a seafood dish. While my steak was properly cooked, it was ordinary and didn’t quite measure up to the $35 cost. My wife commented that her steak was simply ok. However, one family member who ordered the ribeye steak dinner immediately commented that something was wrong with her steak causing her to immediately become nauseous. So, she didnt finish the steak. The family member informed the waitress of the problem, but declined another steak.

We finished our meal and left the restaurant right after 9 pm as it closed. However, by the time we arrived back at my daughter’s apartment, she was extremely nauseous. She had a severe case of diahreah and spent the rest of the night vomiting. Her boyfriend called later that night and informed us that he had become extremely sick and nauseated. He said he had to pull over several times on his way home due to diahreah and vomiting. In addition, another family member who had ordered the ribeye steak dinner informed us that she had similar symptoms.

The Butcher Shop is closed on Sunday and didn’t re-open until the following Monday at 5 pm. So, I called the restaurant around 5:40 pm, and asked for a manager to complain about the service. I was directed to a manager named Maria who promised that she would look into the cause and call me back after informing the owners of the results of her investigation.

After not hearing from Maria the next day, I called the restaurant and asked for Maria. I waited on hold for almost 20 minutes and was told that Maria was extremely busy bartending, but I could speak with the manager for the night Terry Deese. I reiterated to Terry my concerned about some type of food e-coli contamination and Maria’s lack of follow-up and refusal to speak with me. Terry promised that he would speak with Maria and the store owners and call me back that evening. To this date, no one ever has.

My family of 14 spent over $800 at the Butcher Shop and were extremely disappointed with, not only the quality of the food, but the horrible customer service after informing management that there may be a serious health issue with their restaurant. Based upon my experience, it appears that no one at the restaurant really cares about its customers. I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone and suggest that you avoid them at all costs. My opinion is the Butcher Shop is an overrated, high priced, low...

This is the first time I have been here in years and sadly now I remember why. First of all the restaurant was not busy and we were herded like cattle into the busiest area; I guess the extra 20 steps for the waitress was to far to walk. When a waitress actually came to take our order, we quickly ordered our drinks and an appetizer to avoid any issue to make it easier for the waitress. A 3 drinks and a crab cake appetizer. The tea with melted ice and basically water at that point was delivered but no drink. We finally received that and then later after sitting there 20 minutes the appetizer. It looked like a dog had just thrown it up and it was smashed onto a plate. It reeked of old fish! Didn’t even smell like crab. I cautioned myself while taking a bite as the “ manager or owner “, who knows ? that was leering over me watching I guess to see if I would eat it basically yelled at me and said loudly “ what’s wrong!’; I said it’s slimy and smells unfit to eat. At that moment he yanks it off and angrily walks away with the foul smelling plate. Shocked by his behavior we quietly sat there. Finally the side Caesar salad arrived with nothing but yellowed hunks of the rib of the salad. Also inedible.:(.. We then hold out hope that the actual meal would make all this badness better. We received a ribeye not ordered with bone in but regardless you couldn’t cut through it with a pair of hedge clippers and the medium rare prime rib looked like it was out of a refrigerator from yesterday very well done and obviously microwaved to warm. Dry, no color, not even a drop of liquid not even any blood? Lol, I don’t eat prime rib but I know what a real one looks like! Anyway we decided it as well wasn’t fit to eat even if we could and obviously I realize we are being watched and a tall man, the chef, and I use that term loosely, came to our table and basically in a bullying tone says ; yelling by the way, YOU WANT SOMETHING ELSE!?”, at which time I decided I had to defend myself and told him if this is the best you have then we are done! We paid for our melted tea and drink an RAN out feeling like we had and were verbally assaulted !!! Needless to say we nor the 250+ friends and family we would tell to go there we now won’t!! Horribleness from every different direction. TERRIBLE NEVER WASTE YOUR EJOYABLE EVENING TO EAT THIS GARBAGE AND BE TREATED LIKE THE TRASH THEY SERVE! Never again and I have lived here long...

I have been wanting to try the Butcher Shop for years - I’ve always heard it was a LR dining icon. So when the nephew said he wanted a good steak for his graduation meal, I was excited to make a reservation.

Then I started reading reviews and got nervous. So many people complaining it had gone downhill, it wasn’t like it used to be…

It is worth remembering people are far more likely to leave a review when they have a negative experience. Because our group of five had an amazing evening.

The evening started when we walked in and there were no issues with the reservation I’d made months earlier online. Our table was ready and we were seated immediately at 7:30 on a Friday night.

We started with chips and cheese dip and salsa. Excellent flavor and a great shareable. Half the table had salad before and half had soup - both were very pleased. The rolls were fresh out of the oven and we had to remind ourselves the main course was still coming.

All five people ordered a different cut of steak and each was cooked - and rested - perfectly. Every bite was delicious. Exactly what you think of when you think of a great steak. Aged beautifully and my rib eye was fork tender. Melted in the mouth.

We finished it off by sharing three desserts - the death by chocolate cheesecake, the bread pudding, and the apple pie skillet. The 13 year old at the table inhaled the cheesecake in three bites, so I’m going to assume it was as awesome as the other two desserts.

We were there 90 minutes, talking and laughing and sharing stories. The lighting was great - we didn’t have to squint in the dark to see each other and there wasn’t any disruptive or distracting background noise. The restaurant was full, but I didn’t realize until we were leaving.

Our waiter Joe was absolutely on the ball and our glasses were kept discreetly filled with the correct five different drinks the whole time. He really made the night perfect with his cheerful demeanor. He knew everything on menu and always seemed to know what we needed before we asked.

All around it was the perfect celebration dinner and I would highly...