The Summit Restaurant & Cocktails — Restaurant in Mount Pleasant

We visited on Valentine's Day this year.

When we got there, they asked us to wait in the bar. When we arrive on time for our reservation, we want to be seated immediately, but we've experienced this at other places before, so it's not a big deal. Our experience at the bar was fine, but we had to settle up at the bar before getting seated, when other places have just carried that over to the dinner bill which is better in my opinion. We both thought the drinks were decent. They were on the strong side, and maybe on the expensive side but not the worst I've seen.

The meal was really pretty bad, all things considered.

We started with bacon-wrapped water chestnuts. These were pretty tasty, but they were pushed onto these little skewers all the way to the top where you were supposed to grab them, and they were coated in this sticky glaze that was very drippy, so you couldn't help but get all sticky.

Second, we both ordered the French onion soup. This was a very large serving, which might be cool if it was good, but it was quite bad. It had a very bitter taste and was poorly seasoned, needing a lot of salt. It was absolutely loaded with an impenetrable, chewy mass of Swiss cheese. I'm talking seriously like a cup of Swiss cheese. It was, in my opinion, inedible. It also had a huge amount of rye bread in there, more bread than I've seen in any French onion soup by far. Neither of us could eat the whole thing, only about a third at most, and that was mostly out of obligation over the money we had spent on it.

For our entrees, I got a prime rib and my wife got the chateaubriand, which was a Valentine's Day special. My prime rib was a decent temperature but very flavorless. The menu boasted about "corn-fed beef" like that's something worth bragging about. To me, the meat seemed to be of quite poor quality. It came with an au jus that was also quite bland and empty-tasting, and mashed potatoes that were pretty good. My wife's steak had been sliced for her which I don't think is necessary, and then it had clearly been left to sit under a lamp or scorpion for a bit, so it became dry and looked unappetizing. It also needed salt. The bearnaise sauce it came with was "gross" according to my wife. We've had very delicious examples of bearnaise in the past, so this was particularly disappointing. Her "special" came with an uninspired selection of steamed vegetables (baby carrots out of a bag, broccoli, and cauliflower) and roasted potatoes (which were not very well-roasted). All of this also needed salt.

During the entree is when we noticed that a lot of the other patrons seemed to be having similarly poor experiences. There were a lot of unhappy faces. Another couple had some sort of extended dispute with staff about the cooks on their steaks. This led into the server insisting that the cook was correct, and then I'm guessing the manager coming by to explain that the cook was correct. By the time we were leaving, another higher manager or perhaps even the owner had come out to provide his opinion that the cook on the steak was, in fact, correct and that it was the customer who was wrong. Listen: nobody actually cares about the accuracy of the order. Once you understand what the customer wants, deliver that to them at no extra cost and get out of there. This is the only acceptable answer. Hovering over their table for half an hour or more is extremely irritating.

Overall, the service felt impersonal and rushed, despite the slow pace of the meal. We spent two hours there and just wanted to get out of there by the end. We didn't have any standout positive interactions with staff.

I suggested getting a dessert to cap the night off, but my wife didn't want to give the place any more money at that point. In short, the entire experience was far poorer than anything we've seen at a chain steakhouse, for a price 3 to 4 times higher. And it was Valentine's Day. We left feeling a bit insulted by the lack of respect for our time and money.

We've been there for Mother's Day brunch before and had a great time. This time,...

I went there with my cousin awhile ago, and there was only 1 other table with customers, however this didn't stop our waitress, an older woman from being basically rude to us and ignoring us all night we where there for a little longer than an hour, and only once where we asked if we needed anything or wanted more to drink, to which I said yes I would like some more water, 30 minutes later I still hadn't gotten any water and I was done with my meal. never got the water I wanted, the food was really very good, however the service was absolutely horrible some of THE WORST I have ever experienced as a person who has worked in the restaurant industry for years it was an absolutely disgusting experience. I expect and receive better service from mcdonalds. now my cousin and I are "young" in our late 20's I'm sure she figured we wouldn't tip her, but still, and btw we did still tip her, only because we've both worked in the industry and we are not horrible people. anyways that was my first impression of this place good food good selection I just received horrible service my first visit. hopefully Saturday I will have a better experience. shouldn't go back but its my girlfriends birthday and she's never been brought to a fine dining place and I want to bring her, ill post another review sunday. Hopefully we receive better service and I can leave a much better review P.S. to the owner, I'm a little perturbed by seeing you question peoples reviews here, it seems as though 90% of the negative reviews have to do with poor service, while being complementary too both your food and menu, yet you seem to deflect the blame by questioning whether the review was by a "competitor" as opposed to just a dissatisfied customer. seems you have a common problem that you have yet to address. you'll never get better at service if you never address the problem and simply attempt to side step your responsibility. maybe address your wait staff and tell them to step up their service and you'll stop getting negative reviews based just on the bad service people received at your establishment, and I get it people will look to get over on you, but from reading the reviews here I see a common theme, great food great selection great drinks bad service. so instead of calling your customers liars, deal with your wait staff, and correct the problem, its not hard to have great customer service, its hard tp please everyone but don't accuse your customers of lying and by the way before you accuse me of being a "competitor" realize I work at RAG right across the street and am probably the one who...

There is more to the Summit Restaurant than meets the eye. Yes, it is a classy steak and chop house, but it offers some great selections of seafood entrees, creative fusion dishes, poultry, pasta and tempting appetizers and desserts, as well. We were there for the Friday's fish fry. The restaurant claims to have the best fish fry in the area which might be true if one just evaluated the taste and options available for the fish itself. For lesser appetites, you could settle for two or three pieces of cod done one of three ways, or you could go all out for unlimited servings, all at different price points. If you come early enough, you could score the "happy hour" version of the fry at a still lower price. If that is not enough, during earlier evening hours (3:30 to 8:30 p.m.) you could go for drive through fry, packed up and ready to go. But let's go beyond. While the fish appeared flaky, fresh and well prepared to order, the accompanying potatos (fries or potato pancakes) were rather pedestrian and distracted from otherwise great fish. Both potato accompaniments were without personality and much flavor. I opted for chowder (New England style) for a side and it was quite good. My partner opted for the house salad which was rather ordinary. We noticed people enjoying a wonderful variety of main dishes prompting in us a desire to return. On Sundays, the restaurant offers what appears to be a wonderful collection of dishes for a brunch that is sure to complement any taste. White and black tablecloths and matching settings set the stage for a classy experience. The decorations and floral arrangements are creative and whimsical. The open "demo" style kitchen looks and feels wonderful. I commend any restaurant that is willing to open up and show off it's kitchen. The service is excellent. We understood that they were understaffed the evening we were there but the staff worked as a team to make up for any possible deficiency. The front of the house manager chipped in to help, as well. The kitchen seemed to be on top of the load, if not a bit ahead. Although we did not go to the bar area, we did notice a well stocked bar. The bar offers full service menu, as well. There is a wall of wine bottles in the main dining room, presenting an impressive backdrop. Two outdoor patios are available in season. The restaurant offers full service for special events and gatherings in additional areas and is available for parties up to 200 in size. It has a lot more to offer than what is apparent. Try it, experience the hospitality and service, you are...