Buckley's Great Steaks — Restaurant in Merrimack

It started with the reservation, on-line at first. Needed to seat 6 and only allowed four on-line. Reached out to the restaurant the evening before and the gentleman who answered the phone at first thought there was nothing he could do. I accepted that and was about to hang up when he asked if we could adjusted reservation by 15mins and moved to a different part of the restaurant, no problem. I thanked him for his attention to detail and excellent customers skills. The night of the dinner. The went from 6:00 to 5:00 as one person was not feeling well and we had a fabulous waitress who was amazing. Very informative. Told us the specials. Explain things to us and four out of the five of us ended up getting some form of a prime rib. Delicious of course. And the fifth person got the small and believe they were petite fillets. The vegetables for the sides were amazing. So widespread varieties. Somebody had the beans with bacon. I had the asparagus. It was cooked perfectly to the people had carrots and I forgot what the fifth person had, but the mashed potatoes were delicious. Everybody was going on and on about these mashed potatoes because honestly we haven't really had mashed potatoes in a long time so we thoroughly enjoyed them. The night was fabulous. Our own cake was brought in and the server even presented those sliced pieces of cake like they were coming from your kitchen. The plates were decorated a lot of attention to detail. I guess I'm trying to say again, I apologize for not remembering the woman's name. I know she was originally from another country that now is calling United States her home but she was out standing. I can't stress that enough and very attentive to our needs as was the bus boy and just making sure we had water and our drinks were constantly refilled. I would seriously recommend Buckley's to anyone if you have a tight budget. This is a kind of place that you would save to be able to go and experience. It's not overly pricey for what you're getting, but it's not a one or two dollar sign restaurant. This is more like a three to five again. You're getting what you're paying for. Where else can you go and get a prime rib that seriously melts on your tongue as you're trying to chew it delicious. Fabulous. Cheers to the chef for the evening and the...

I've rated Buckley's as a 5-star on at least one occasion in the past, but on our most recent visit I was unfortunately disappointed with part of the meal. We were celebrating my grandmother's birthday, and took her out for what was supposed to be a socially distant dinner. To start - I was uncomfortable with how closely spaced people were inside the restaurant. Had it just been my wife and I, I would have asked for outside seating. However, another family member made the reservation and felt it best we were indoors due to my grandmother always being cold. People were clumped together in the area by the hostess, and the tables in the room against the wall behind the hostess stand seemed very close for social distancing.

Service too was much slower than in the past, though I'll chalk this up to the weirdness of covid and don't hold it against them. Our server, when they came around, was unfailingly polite and friendly and helpful.

The drinks menu is top-notch, and I had a pour of William LaRue Weller bourbon and a Michael Timothy cocktail. Both were exceptional. The appetizers also were great, with the baked oysters a true standout.

The reason I knocked off a star is because for the first time in all the times I've gone there the boneless ribeye was disappointing. The cut was less flavorful than I've ever had it, so much so that it almost tasted unseasoned. The sear on it was fine, but underneath it was more tough than its been in the past, and the marbling wasn't great. It was not a good representation of what a steakhouse ribeye should be. The loaded mashed potatoes and the broccolini were tasty, but with the steak as the star of the plate it felt less worth the money than it has in visits past. We finished with a few different desserts split amongst the table, with the cobbler being the strongest of a (very tasty) bunch.

I've been coming to Buckley's since 2012, and I hope that this trip was just a blip on the radar due to covid and not a sign of things to come. I don't think I'll be back until covid abates, because it felt like people weren't observing social distancing in the restaurant, and the restaurant itself had the space too...

I have been to Buckley's before, as well as Surf, and the Cowboy bar, which all fall under the same ownership. All previous experiences have been good up to this point. Two of us had dinner on Thursday, April 10th. I ordered the daily special which was a ribeye steak. It came topped with a compound butter with garlic and shrimp, which sounded good. The side was potato, pea pod and red pepper hash. The waitress asked me if I wanted a marbled or lean steak. I ordered the marbled steak. The steak arrived cold. It was cooked medium rare like I ordered, but room temperature cold. The butter would not even melt on top of the steak. The steak I got was super lean. Not much marbling and tough to eat. The compound butter had such a strong garlic taste that I scraped all of it off the steak. It tasted like eating a raw clove of garlic. I was still tasting garlic an hour after I got home. The hash side dish was awful. It was very overcooked. The potato chunks had no substance left. They were overcooked on the outside and dehydrated on the inside. It lacked any flavor. This side dish tasted like it was sitting on a hot grill for hours.

The manager did offer to get me another steak, but I am always very hesitant to send a dish back to the kitchen, regardless of where I am, for fear of what I may be getting back. This may be an unfounded fear at Buckley's, but I am still very cautious. The steak was edible, and I did eat about half of it. I didn't eat more than a couple of bites of the hash side, and none of the compound garlic butter after the first bite.

Overall very disappointing for a $70.00 meal at a steakhouse. I have been to steakhouses all over the country and had much better for equal money. The total bill was nearly $200.00

Wait staff was good, and the manager did offer to replace the meal. Wishing now that I took him up on it. My girlfriend had the petite fillets which were good, but not served very hot. The timing of the service was good with no big delays.

Next time I want a steak I will be considering Hanover St. Chophouse, O - in Concord, Copper Door, Gibbet Hill in Groton. Not in a big rush to go back to Buckley's...