Sandbar & Grill — Restaurant in Newport

May 25 2019: We have been going to Sandbar and Grill for probably 15 years. We love the view of the ocean from upstairs. I love the Steamer Clams! I have recommended the Sandbar to so many people.

Which is why our visit yesterday was so disappointing. Some other customers the day before recommended the prime rib. (Yes, we ate there 2 nights in a row.) So, my wife and I both decided to get prime rib. We were there plenty early to get rare or mid rare. We both ordered mid-rare.

Our food eventually came out… It was the worst prime rib we have ever had. It was both over cooked and cold at the same time. It was cold, gristly, poorly seasoned and grey. We both tried to eat some. It was so bad, neither of us really wanted more than a couple bites. Hold on. It gets worse…

We told the very nice server that the prime rib was bad and neither of us wanted to eat it. This poor employee was afraid to tell the owner or the cook. They offered to pay for one of our meals with their own money. That's a no-go. We were not going to let this poor server lose an hour or more of their wages. We told them in no uncertain terms that we would pay for all of the food and they did not need to tell anyone about it. (Remember this employee looked visibly afraid to tell anyone working there that there was a problem with the food. 😬) It gets worse…

The employee, (who we felt very sorry for already) took our prime rib plates downstairs to dispose of them and bring us an order of steamer Clams. At this point we (upstairs) can hear a female voice grilling the server (downstairs) about the plates with whole steaks on them. After that the owner came slowly up the stairs and walked over to our table. She was clearly drunk. She asked what was wrong with the food? (Not very politely.) We explained the problems with the temperature (cold) of all of the food on the plates and that neither stake was close to mid-rare (overcooked). She just flat out said we were wrong. She said the food was cooked well. She said, "I don't know anything else that the cook could have done to make those steaks better." She did not offer to do anything to help make it better.

I'm sorry, this is unacceptable. We don't like to complain and because of how distraught the server got when we told him the food was bad, we had already told him we will pay for everything and he didn't need to tell anyone. Unfortunately, the owner saw the plates and decided to make a big deal about it. She also decided to come upstairs just to tell us we were wrong. We paid $30 for the worst prime rib ever and a side of abuse from the owner.

I'm upset that we may have lost one of our favorite places to eat. I can't imagine anything that the restaurant could do to...

Went to this place because it was the first we saw that had a nice view. It does have that. I ordered a Patty Melt and asked for the onions to extra grilled maybe even crispy. In a cute and sarcastic tone, the waitress told me that they couldn't but let me believe that she would be helpful with the request. My girlfriend ordered the Neptune basket. After our food was delivered a half hour later (not sure why as it was almost empty there), we were left with the food for at least another 15-20 min before seeing the waitress again. She came back to ask if we needed another drink. Still no ask about our food. The Neptune basket was very good and worth ordering again per my girlfriend's remarks and empty basket. However, my patty melt was far from what I had come to think one would be. The onions were not even cooked but sliced and set on top of 2 layers of barely heated cheese (not melted like the name implies) and a greasy patty that somewhat resembled a beef patty. I would have to say one of the worst sandwiches I have had in years. Hungry enough and left with the sad excuse for a standard bar sandwich, I did eat this concoction. Even after expressing the problems with the meal, I received a weird look and a story about this being the first complaint. Nothing in the ballpark of an apology or attempt to make the visit any better. I have read reviews that there are others that were pleased with this place. I understand that sometimes things happen and some meals don't come out the way they should be. But between the lack of concern for our dining pleasure and the awful sandwich I was served, I would never suggest this place to anyone or step foot in...

WOW!!! What a horrible experience! What a mistake it was for us to go to this dump for our 6th year wedding anniversary! Honestly we could right a book about how unbelievably bad this experience was. Worst clam chowder (we called it clumpy chowder made with cream of potato soup) we have ever had and our medium rare stakes came to us almost raw and uncooked and when we made a complaint they treated us like crap! They took the meat off of our plates to cook them longer only to get them back cut and half the size, we were in disbelief and to top it off the waitress pushed my wife into a chair and now she has a good sized bruse inside her arm. So we talked to management only to be told because of our situation they would give us a 50% off our next meal, NOT A REFUND! We then contacted the Chowder Bowl restaurant (THE BEST CLAM CHOWDER WE HAVE EVER HAD) that is right next to this crap sports bar to have them invite to take off $20 because of what happened to us but in the end they covered the entire tab :) So for your sake avoid the Sandbar & Grill and take your money to the nobel and AAA+++ Chowder Bowl, you wont regret it! BTW: The Chowder Bowl was featured on the Today Show there service was unbelievably fast, Service 10, Food quality 10, overall 10 and price is only about 25% more then the Sandbar & Grill but you get what you pay for. Now we are...