Steelhorse Smokehouse — Restaurant in Newberry

I have enjoyed the food here, other than that-- it's not a great time. The service itself leaves a lot to be desired and the seating arrangement is pretty subpar, to say the least. Some training for the wait staff would be great.

First off, the staff here seats all of the patrons in tables right next to each other and it is a very loud place to eat at times. I don't personally care if I'm eating alone but it is a tough restaurant to go to if you're dining with another person-- If you go here expect to ask "what did you say?" multiple times to the person you're dining with. Aside from that, I don't really care to be seated super close to people considering covid and all- I'm not a huge mask fan or anything like that but there's no reason I need to hear someone coughing behind me.

Most importantly, I've had some of the worst wait staff experience of my life here-- aside from the usual lag in service that can be expected at any restaurant during the current employment shortage.

I was dining with my family and ordered a water to drink and upon my request was told "I need to see your ID" by the waitress. This confused me quite a bit as I only ordered a water. Before I could even put words together to explain that I simply ordered a water, I was told that "You're going to need to show me ID to order a beer" in a rude tone that made me personally feel as if the waitress was my babysitter or that I personally was an idiot. I was then given some explanation that the waitress thought I said "Steelhands" which I'm assuming is a beer that they offer? I'm quite unsure on how one hears "beer" or "steelhands" from me saying "water".

After finally solving the simple and everyday issue of what my drink order was, the waitress gave me a half hearted apology for the way in which she spoke to me. My entire table was so confused and genuinely offended by the way I was spoken to and we decided to leave shortly after the incident.

I will personally not be back to this place and if you desire a dining experience that is any semblance of professional I would stay away-- at least until the waitstaff gets some proper training in where to seat people and how to...

The atmosphere is the best part of this restaurant! My partner and I had the most disappointing experience on Wednesday night. We are both in the hospitality industry and we were literally blown away by the horrendous service we received! Our server made a (very human) mistake and we were served the wrong food (both of us.) We were completely understanding and patiently waited for the food that we actually ordered, even though the inept server suggested that we keep the incorrect order! While we were waiting for her to fix her mistake, our server told every table around us that she was behind and scattered because of our order! She insinuated that we had ruined HER evening! We finally received the rest of our food after we had eaten what she’d left with us. By this time our appetites were gone- mostly because of her poor attitude and lack of professionalism! Since she was unable to pay any attention to us after we were served- I got up and went to the register to pay. As I paid, I asked for a to go box for the food that was delivered late. Wow! That threw her OFF! She huffed and grumbled and exclaimed that it would be 25 cents per box! I’ve never! I didn’t say anything about the fact that she messed up our food. And we had to pay for a box?!?! And the attitude she gave us? She was rude, unprofessional, and unprofessional to say the least! I don’t know how or why this person is waiting tables. She certainly did her best to ruin our Date Night! Lastly, the food was fine. Certainly, though, the poor service is what I remember about our experience...

Gave Steelhorse another try this past weekend, but not again. I had sworn off when I took my family there months ago. That time, the staff and manager refused to honor the special price posted on the board for shrimp and grits. Manager said she forgot to change it on the board. After months, decided to give it another try. The restaurant was busy, and they were only seating the back section. We waited about 10 minutes for the couple in line in front of us to be seated, then it was our turn. We were told it would be another 10-15 minutes, yet there was a six-top open. I asked about seating us there (only 3 of us, yet there were others already seated at tables having less than the full table). However, we were told they were holding it "just in case" a larger party came in. Evidently, this business values the "customer who MIGHT walk in later" over the one standing in front of them. We walked out, and won't be back for another try.

Edited to respond to the owner comments. I provided two factual experiences of what I felt was poor customer server. Just in case it is deleted later, the response, instead of any sort of reconciliation or apology, was an attempt to just insult me, stating, “I guess at some point you learned how to run a restaurant. Maybe you should try owning one yourself. Let me know how thst works out for you.” This type of response should be even further telling...