Caminito Steakhouse — Restaurant in Northampton

Was passing through after traveling for three days for our anniversary. A friend said Northampton had interesting places to eat. We chose here because-steak. Figured we would treat ourselves. I walked in feeling a little underdressed (i was traveling and in sweatpants). We were asked if we had reservations and I thought I might be embarrassed. Nope. Lady with a genuine smile said to hang on a sec. A guy came out and seated us. They were somewhat busy, but our server was right there. He is either a great actor or he genuiny enjoyed his job. I love seeing this because I prefer establishments that help their employees feel this way. He was helpful, knowledgeable, quick. We still had a lot of driving so chose not to imbibe. We asked for sparkling water and were brought a nice big bottle to share. I was a tad worried about the price, but I'll get to that in a minute. My husband and I settled on the 18oz ribeye with veal demi glaze. Our server made certain we would get exactly what we wanted, offering suggestions. And man he was spot on! The price for this plate was less than I've had for smaller portions at lesser restaurants. Everything was fabulous!! The steak takes a bit longer due to cooking method, as it states on the menu. But it is worth the extra few minutes. My vegetables were lightly grilled and amazng dipped in the demi glaze. I meeded a box. There is no way I could finish. Plus I wanted to save room for dessert. We ordered half pot french press coffee and a slice of cheesecake. The coffee was more than enough for us to each have about 2 cups-perfext. The cheesecake was dense-which is good. Too often it is lighter. The berry and caramel sauces were perfect with it. I joked that I was going to ask for more of the sauces to bring home! Then our bill came. I had to double check that the prices were correct and that everything was listed. It was. And was still less than when my husband orders pizza. And I mean these steaks would have fed about as many people, too. Nothing was "expensive" for what it was. Everything was fairly priced and well worth it. I live 500 miles away and was seriously only passing through, but I do believe I will make it a point to go back should we make a similar drive. I cannot for the life of me remember our server's name. But our server, the hostess and the gentleman who checked on us treated us very well. This is rather importsnt to me. Earlier in the day, we walked into a place not nearly as nice and were ignored, so we left. We had been driving all day, and I was in sweatpants and a tee shirt and looked like Id been in the car all day. We had no intent to stop for a celebratory meal. We just wanted some decent food before the last leg of our trip home. But it turned into one. It felt like just us were there, and like we were our server's main focus even though they were somewhat busy and our server was tending a fair amount of tables. He seemed to make all of his tables...

I’ve finally decided to write a short review about my family dinner at this place. I have waited for one week in order to let steam out and be reasonable.

Well, if to describe the place in just one word using politically correct language - it is fake. With real life slang we use when really don’t like something - it s.u.c.k. Why ? Short answer: they simply can not cook food. What a new concept - to have good food in supposedly good restaurant, right ?

Here’s the longer explanation: This place is very pretentious: it tries to convince you that it is high end restaurant while it is not at all. To masquerade below average-ness they use supposedly cozy atmosphere (dark open room with no privacy), caring waiters (excessively polite to the level of being annoying) forgetting what was ordered, and price tag for the ruined “dry-aged steak” ($110) which makes you think it is something special.

Before going there we knew that it was overpriced, but a few people we know recommended the place, so we decided - why not ? Plus, we had a special occasion. We were one of the first 2-3 Customers, right after opening. Waiter asked us specifically about the water : we ordered sparkling. Flash forward : it never came to us. The steak we ordered was dry aged for two for $110. We asked to make medium-rare. When finally it arrived it was COLD (not warm - literally cold) and un-cooked inside but charred on outside. Clearly, it was taken from the fridge and thrown onto high flame immediately. Plate, mash potato were barely warm. It felt like yesterday’s supper microwaved. How it was even possible to mess up potato is still beyond me. We called the waiter and explained the situation. He very responsively took it away and after some bring back microwaved in the same plate. To the point of being ‘done’. The somebody really has to have “expertise” to ruin $110 dry-aged steak. In high end restaurants manager was supposed to be notified to rectify situation, the meat is supposed to be completely replaced or at least they should not charge for this,. Flash forward: none of this happened. We had to call manager, but the just had nice polite chat with us. We ordered another steak, normal one, not dry aged. It came overdone, barely edible. Waiter asked me if I need another beer. I said yes, please. Flash forward: never came.

In the end the restaurant “mitigated” this total disaster by offering us free cheese cakes ($8), which we simply did not want. Seriously, Caminito people ?

What can I say ? If you want to visit the place - think twice. If you decide to go - bring your steak and beer. Or even better, go to Texas Roadhouse or learn how to cook. But even good practical cook, like myself, wants to go out and just enjoy time and food. Sorry, Caminito, I’m not...

Caminito Steakhouse provided my spouse and I with a pleasant evening of friendly, energetic service, local atmosphere, and a varied menu. Our waiter, Ben, was welcoming, attentive, and responsive throughout the entire visit. We skipped appetizers, to maintain a sharp edge on our appetites, but had Ben pour the Cabernet and Malbec early to whet that hunger. I ordered Sirloin Gorgonzola, and my spouse chose Rib Eye. As our steaks experienced Caminito flames, we relaxed, sipped our excellent vintages, and watched the room gradually fill with other patrons and grow alive with the warm hum of gregarious conversation. (The Halloween skeleton did not participate, seated alone with an empty glass and a toothy grin. LOL)

Ben arrived with our plates (both steaks wood-fire grilled to medium) and fierce steak knives. My Sirloin, anointed with Gorgonzola sauce, was accompanied by Cast Iron Carrots and Garlic Confit Mashed Potatoes. My spouse's Rib Eye, baptised with Veal Demi Glace, was surrounded by Garlic Confit Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli florets. The visual appearance of the steaks fell short of what we had imagined as classic shapes of sirloin or rib eye. My sirloin had a gnarly, skinny look and the rib eye certainly did not shout "rib eye," but of course we had ordered each with its clearly stated topping.

The Rib Eye was of good taste, if not setting a new record. I found my Sirloin difficult to tackle, with more gristle than expected, followed by serious jaw exercise but only an adequate beefy taste. Of course, this is a known risk of ordering sirloin anywhere. The delicious mashed potatoes spread across an area, wider than a mound, more pooled in shape than peaked. My assertive carrots, of the "cast iron" signature treatment, were interesting and could hold their own with any fire grilled steak. The florets of broccoli were most welcome. My spouse had Ben pour another glass of Cabernet, of a fine vintage chosen by this restaurant!

For dessert, I selected the Lava Cake (a real treat) and my spouse the Tiramisu - quite good. We shared a half French Press Coffee Pot (superb coffee). There was never any rush; we chatted casually a bit with Ben. When we left, there were hearty farewells from staff. Only the lengthy, shadowy, steep descent - risky without continuous hand railing - slanting down the historic steps to Old South Street caused any discomfort. This adventure is the sole reason for dialing down the Atmosphere rating from 5 to 4. The subtracted point is perhaps more fairly applied to the City's standards for...