RARE Chop House — Restaurant in Mount Vernon

This is a long review so heres bullet points

1. Expect long waits for food
2. Small portions of over priced food
3. If you find yourself having Joshua as your server, request a new server or expect an apathetic server. Heres the full review We attended Rare tonight 02/22/2020. We made reservations for 6:15pm for a party of about 12 adults. We were given drinks promptly after arriving. Joshua introduced himself as our server for the night. Once we placed our orders it was about 6:30pm as we had looked online at their menu ahead to have an idea of what to order. My wife and I ordered a pork belly appetizer and mahi mahi for myself, while my wife ordered the chicken florentine. It was about half hour before the table received any appetizers. My friend had ordered a salad but Joshua, had entered it wrong resulting in sending out the wrong salad. After the appetizers were finished, Joshua proceeded with refilling the drinks and clearing the table. At this point the table was well prepared for the entrees to come. Time passed. And more time passed. We waited. And waited. The table made jokes about ordering delivery from the closest pizza place and having it delivered to the restaurant so we could have something while we waited for the food to come. By this time, it was 8:30pm. Our patience grew thin as our appetites increased. The table began contemplating of requesting to pay for the beverages and apps and leaving. We were surprised at how long it was taking. We witnessed other tables of 4 and 5 and even 6 being served before us. Granted they were a fraction of our party size however they arrived long after we placed our order. We understand the length of time itll take for a large party but this was quickly becoming absurd. And to make matters worse, Joshua was less than an adequate hospitable server. He seemed apathetic to our wait. He didnt seem very attentive. He was not very welcoming and seemed as though we offended him somehow and he was simply trying to just get on with his day. It was 8:30pm, here comes Joshua, with the first plate of food. The table sat and watched him hoping this plate would meet one of ours. The moment came as Joshua continued walking closer and closer. And then he lays down the plate in front of one our party members. The table cheers and a hallelujah is shouted. And one by one Joshua proceeds to deliver one plate at a time. Pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the table. He lays it down in front of each one of us as if though he's silently saying "here you go eat up and get out". No sympathy or any apologetic remarks for our long wait time. We know it's not his fault the long wait time, but he acted as though it was our fault he had to work on a Saturday night. We eat our meal, my wife's chicken florentine was pretty delicious. My grilled peach mahi-mahi on a bed of white was overcooked as it was very dry. It was also not worth the price I paid. It was definitely not worth $21 I paid for. The portion was very small and after I finished my meal, I looked at the table and asked is anyone wanting to eat after this? It's one thing to serve a small dish, but overpriced, overcooked, and unsatisfying is how I would describe it. I would've been off better ordering a burger and fries. At the end of the meal, Joshua proceeds to give us our checks. Briefly looking over the bill it was obvious there was a mistake as my friend and I had a mix up as he was the one who ordered the pretzel appetizer and I ordered a sweet tea. When my friend notified joshua that he did not order the sweet tea, his response was "yeah, but he did" and proceeds to point at myself. We were baffled as though he acted as we were just supposed to go along with his error. At the end of all this Joshua proceeds to ask the table if anyone would care for dessert. The table came to a immediate silence. As though everyone was stating let's get out of here already. We walked out of the building at...

We have loved dining at RARE over the years...it has stood out as a favorite "special" night out on several occasions but, we have recently left disappointed by almost every element on our most recent visits, except the consistently attentive service, which was still wonderful overall... It was the drinks, food & presentation that failed to meet their former standard. For a few examples...the house wines by the glass were left open too long &/or tasted like they were watered down...it took trying 3 to finally just order a bottle to find something enjoyable...not to mention, they don't seem to carry the better vintages anymore. (Hint: it's common knowledge that Malbec, if not Chilean, must be from the Mendoza region of Argentina to be decent.) Also, my brother-in-law had the wrong ingredients served in his cocktail once or twice. My crawfish etouffee was fairly tasty, although overwrought with onions...however, the bigger problem was, the texture was as if it had been pulsed in the Cuisinart, plus the rice was mushy & sticky...not at all a good rendition of my favorite Cajun dish. An experienced diner would deduce that if a steak house was bold enough to offer a specialty Cajun dish that it must be special...unfortunately thar was not the case. Our friend's tenderloin with a side of fettucine alfredo was looking lost on a large plain plate without any garnish, while another dinner was served on a small plate it barely fit on...which was strangely how everyone's dinner was served the prior time my family dined at RARE as well. Presentation isn't everything, but it's still very important. Sadly, we've been underwhelmed the last couple visits to RARE, making the bill quite overwhelming for the lackluster experience. Hoping to hear they return to their former "polished, en pointe" food, drinks & presentation soon. Thanks for the opportunity to share our experience...

I chose to celebrate my high school graduation with Rare. This was a mistake. I have strict dietary restrictions due to my severe allergies to meat and dairy products. Rare was informed that I must follow a vegan diet when we made the reservation. When the waitress took our order, my only request was for a simple salad composed of lettuce, cucumber, strawberry, and blueberry. I informed her that I am allergic to meat and dairy products and apologized for any inconvenience. The waitress informed me that the chef does not usually do "special orders" but that she would ask him (because it was my graduation). She returned and told me that the chef was willing to accommodate my needs. When everyone else's meal was presented, the chef was "still working on my salad". The salad arrived at least ten minutes after everyone else's dinner, covered in cheese. I apologized to the waitress for being difficult, but reminded her that I am allergic to dairy products, and would be unable to eat the salad. She said that the chef would fix me a new one. I waited an additional fifteen minutes for the new salad to arrive. (By which time everyone in my party had finished eating.) The waitress assured me that this salad was free of all meat and dairy products. I thanked her and began to eat. A few bites in, I tasted bacon very distinctly. I immediately stopped eating and began searching the salad for any trace of bacon, only to discover a large piece of bacon at the bottom of the salad. As previously stated, I am severely allergic to all meat and dairy products. From the single bite alone, I became very ill for the following 72 hours. (Experiencing unrelenting nausea, abdominal cramps, headache, and fatigue.) My entire graduation weekend was ruined because of Rare. A time meant for celebration became one of the worst...