Cask & Cleaver Steakhouse — Restaurant in Mount Vernon

Super relaxing and cute atmosphere, and I appreciate there being a dedicated steakhouse in downtown Mt Vernon. We did have a reservation so we got seated right away. For those without a reservation, the host was being careful to not overload the dining room so as to not overload the kitchen, which I think everyone can understand. Out waitress Julia was super nice, friendly, and answered our questions about the menu. The menu was great for a Steakhouse, I didn't mind that it was on the smaller side. This way, I'm sure the kitchen can hone in and perfect the menu.

My wife got a strawberry lemonade and it was a cool touch that glitter was an option to add to the drink!

We loved the bread and butter. It was like a mini cheddar biscuit that were light and airy but still had a nice crisp/crunch. The butter was a bit too much garlic for my wife, but I loved how it was. We weren't asked, but perhaps having the option of garlic butter or normal butter (or both) would be awesome!

We ordered the twice baked potato appetizer, which was definitely good. Our critiques are that they seemed unsalted which we remidied by adding our own salt. We also loved the bacon flavor but thought it could have benefited from just a tad more bacon on each potato. Same goes for the cheese, it needed more cheese on there. Maybe these two elements (more bacon, more cheese) would add the extra saltiness we were looking for.

I got the 16 Oz ribeye, it was absolutely delicious. Cooked a perfect medium rare (see Pic) and it had an impressive edge to edge cook (no gray band). I loved how the steak was topped with a little extra salt (probably Maldon), and there was a good amount of fat on the ribeye which was rendered nicely and very flavorful. The steak was tender and juicy, it's probably on par/better than Rare Society in mill creek and $9 cheaper. Big win for cask and cleaver in my book.

My wife got the chimichurri chicken which was priced at a great value for the portion. I think the menu should specify it is "bone in" though, since my wife was not expecting that and it made the eating experience more difficult for her. She did love the moistness of the chicken, and the chimichurri has a perfect touch of heat to really elevate the dish.

The mac and cheese gave similar vibes to the potato skins (just needs a tweak or two) but was delicious as is. I felt the ratio of cheese bechemel to pasta was off; it was rather sauce heavy. Maybe less cream, more cheese, and more pasta would make for a better texture / consistency. But the flavor profile is there, it was great.

The sweet potatoes were also delicious with that glaze on them. My only issue were that about a third of the potatoes were still very hard (almost snappy) so I avoided those ones, but all the rest were melt in your mouth delicious.

The broccolini was very delicious, still had a nice but delicate crunch to them, had great char flavor (not too much char), and had some nice creamy tangy sauce/glaze drizzled on it. Definitely an elevated broccolini compared to other restaurants.

Overall, this restaurant delivered a nearly perfect first impression. I am confident that the kitchen will master all the dishes in due time, and I'm excited to come back and try some other things on the menu. The prices seem great...

First off this place is brand new so they are still getting going. Small recipe tweaks still to be made but i have to say they are off to a great start. I wish i got the name of our server because she was on point, attentive, asked for input on the food, fun to talk to and great at her job. Will be back for sure for the great service.

The food - It is a steakhouse, so that is the bulk of the menu. We went for dinner and theres a few other options that looked great but we came for steak. Both of our steaks were cooked perfectly just how we ordered them and rested and seasoned just how you would expect a nice steak at a nice restaurant. But the sides really shined that evening. We had the broccolini, carrots and sweet potatos. Broccolini was excellent in some sort of aioli sauce that was tangy and delicious. The sweet potatos were amazingly simple. Not swimming in sauce or overly seasoned. The chef let the vegetable do the talking and it did not disappoint. Keep it simple in this case was genius. The glazed carrots were our favorite and a must have side. Cooked to perfection and charred on the grill, sweet glaze balanced with fresh greens on top, providing a hint of spiciness.

A perfect score was in the bag, right up until dessert, creme brulee. Unfortunately they had a bad batch of the dish and all the creme had separated. Such a bummer. Taste was ok but not appetizing after you cracked the shell. But hey, growing pains right? Im sure they will get it right next time. They were nice enough to take the creme brulee off our bill. Im going for the bananas foster next time. They put on quite a show for that.

We give it a 4.9, just because of the dessert. Had that been good they would have earned a perfect 5.0. All in all great food, great service. Is a premium place and carries a premium price, so come for special occasions or if you are just feeling ritzy. When we return we hope the creme brulee is figured out. But the chefs in the back sure seem to know what they are doing. Great work...

Edit: 4 stars. If you bothered to read my review, then you should read Bill's reply. 100% going to return. I did NOT see that on your menu description, and fully apologize here on the world's stage for all to see. Her husband wants to try your seafood offerings, and she is allergic. You will see us again, Sir. If just to give you a second try after my fire bomb.

We were excited to try out this new venue, and went with another couple to give it a go.

We made reservations for 1600 (that's 4:00 PM for you civilians), and were seated promptly. I failed to notice, but our friend's observed a table that had been seated after us being helped before we were. Not a big deal to me, but it rankled them a tad.

Now, that said, our service was exceptional throughout the entire meal. Let me get that upfront. The drink, (I had an old fashioned) were well made, and the glassware a cut above. We started with the Happy Hour meatballs, and they were a win. You get 5 in a serving, so each of us got at least one. So good that our friends decided to get a box to-go.

For dinner three out of the four of us ordered the NY Steak medium rare, while one of our friends ordered the aged sirloin well done. Yes. I know. It's a sin, but here comes the real sin. Her steak came out pre-cut, like for a child, and not fully cooked. There was obvious pink. When she sent it back, they reheated the same steak, which, remember dear reader, had been precut, and turned it into jerky. If you want to make a name for your restaurant, recooking a piece of meat you screwed up isn't how you want to go about it. Completely unsatisfactory. While the NY steaks were all perfect, and tasted great, the sides, while snazzy to look at, were a tad under seasoned, and fell a little flat for us all. I personally had the glazed carrots and the sweet potato as my two selections.

So, on the whole, my wife and I have determined that if we decide to ever return it will be for Happy Hour, the meatballs, and a cocktail, and...