The Funky Door Bistro & Wine Room — Restaurant in Lubbock

My son picked this place for his graduation celebration from college. Although it is a bit pricy, we decided to go here because that is what he wanted and it was a special day. The place is very nicely decorated, and it is also 2 story. The staff was friendly but our waiter did not listen to our requests. He did not bring out certain things we asked for. He did not come to our table and ask how our meal was and did not come to our table very many times for refills. They were not crowded at all so there was no excuse for anything. The fondue was delicious, although it was cold and never got hot. The salmon was good, as well as the lobster mac- n- cheese . But the other meals were horrible. The chicken dish that was ordered came out super well done and so dry it could barely be swallowed and it was a little charred as well. We asked for balsamic on the side as well as asked for extra sauce, in which he brought out Tabasco sauce! The chicken breast had also been sliced in half so that it was made into 2 servings. One half on one meal and the other half for the other meal. Super tiny and thin. The other dish we ordered was fish, which we asked if we could split and he said it would cost extra to split it and that they couldn't split the fish, only the sides. Lol. SERIOUSLY?!?! The fish dish we ordered was so rubbery that if you picked it up and threw it, it would sill be in one piece . I could barely cut it with a knife! And it was so awful that I couldn't even eat it. I did not want to say anything a the table because it was a large group of people and I didn't want to embarrass my son in front of his girlfriend and best friend. And we had a 9 hour drive to get back home. So I went to the bathroom and then asked to speak with the manager and told her the situation. She was not compassionate nor sorrowful about the meal and only made excuses for the condition of the food. I told her that they should not even have sent out food in that condition in the first place ! When you pay such a high price for food, it should be served to perfection. Now I'm sure most of you know that a reputable business would have made it right but she did not offer ANYTHING for our horrible experience. Nothing was deducted from the bill and had to pay full price for horrible quality of food and service. I would think twice before choosing this...

UPDATE AND WARNING

This used to be a great place (see my original review below).

Food quality remains a challenge. I stopped dining here a year and a half ago and only returned because of a gift card I received. The coconut shrimp were fine. The lobster bisque was barely a broth — terrible. The filets mignon were dry and overdone, and served barely warm. The lobster tails were cold. The only high point remains the excellent truffle fries — but spending $200 on fries is ridiculous. What a shame for a place that was the highlight of West Texas dining three years ago.

—

MY REVIEW TWO YEARS AGO:

Excellent food, great ambiance, and very good service, at a price that’s reasonable for what you get.

Not to be critical of the dining scene in Lubbock, it just seems that, while there are many good eateries, there are only a handful of very good places and these are universally overpriced for what they offer in terms of food quality, sophistication, flavor, and presentation. The list of excellent restaurants is exceedingly small and — with rare exceptions — suffer from the same issues that plague their lesser brethren.

The Funky Door is one of those exceptions. I’ve eaten there three times now, and the food has been consistently very good to excellent. Out of dozens of attempts, this is the only place in Lubbock that I’ve found perfectly-prepared salmon — moist, flaky, and flavorful. Service has always been competent and friendly. The ambiance is attractive, the crowd lively without being overly boisterous, and the live music has been entertaining.

I don’t drink so I can’t vouch for the cocktails, but nobody around me seems to complain or send anything back.

It’s not cheap, but I’ve gotten my money’s worth every time.

Highly...

My family and I chose to go to The Funky Door based on the menu we saw online. When you search for The Funky Door on Google it says right under the name “fondue restaurant” and we were looking forward to some of their dishes and drinks. We got there and were welcomed by the host who promptly sat us. We looked over the menu and noticed it was missing many of the things we read about online. When we asked the server he explained they had gotten rid of most of the menu, including all of the appetizers and the fondue. This was very surprising considering they’d given us appetizer plates. We ordered our food and the biscuits and gravy came out cold. It was probably the first dish the kitchen plated while the rest of our dishes were being made. Carson, our waiter, never came by to do a quality check on the food so we waved down another server. While telling the other server about the biscuits and gravy he turned and walked away without saying a word. Carson and the manager, DJ, came over and very nicely took the plate away and promised to make it right. We ordered a different dish that came out pretty quickly. Carson never did a quality check on that food either. While paying the bill we were given a comment card so we could give some feedback. The comment card said we get a free fondue if we leave a review online. Sort of ironic considering they don’t have fondue anymore. We could tell the employees here care, and the food was great, but there definitely needs to be some training. And we very disappointed to find the menu had drastically changed and was not...