Arroyo Chop House — Restaurant in Pasadena

Came here for DineLA with my friends awhile ago. Overall had a really good meal!

The oysters for the appetizers were really really good. They weren't the biggest oysters, but they were really delicious, especially paired along with the lime, lemon and cocktail sauce they provided. I can still taste those oysters! They were that good. The filet mignon was absolutely scrumptious! I think it was the most tender piece of meat I have ever eaten. It was so soft that it melted in my mouth. The sauces that Arroyo provided were also quite tasty, but the meat could shine by itself, too without all those sauces. I ordered two sides - garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The mashed potatoes were good - nothing special. I have to say that I wish I got steamed broccoli because that creamed spinach tasted really bad. I think I'm just not a fan of it, so it was horrible ... I wanted to eat it to get my money's worth but ... it was too blergh and I ended up just not eating it.

And the dessert! So the DineLA comes with a dessert of either: Grand Marnier souffle, chocolate souffle, cheesecake and a brownie with ice cream. Since there was four of us, we each got one to share. The waitress was totally understanding us wanting to try all four and gave us extra plates and spoons so we could dig in. I was a little sad when she immediately broke the souffle to pour the vanilla bean in and show us how to eat it because that ruined my perfect dessert photo op, but it's all good! That chocolate souffle was so incredibly rich that it was too much for me. I'm not a fan of chocolate - so it was too overwhelming for my mouth. I liked the Grand Marnier more. There was a hint of orange in that souffle, with some wine taste. It was really fluffy and soft. The cheesecake and brownie were good, but since we were all full we didn't eat much. Instead, I took them home and ate them the next day. They were AMAZING. The brownie had hardened, but was chewy and decadent. The cheesecake was also scrumptious. The smell of the graham cracker crust was heavenly and the cheesecake was light and fluffy and delicious! If I had to choose a favorite, I would probably choose the cheesecake, but recommend taking it to go since you won't be able to enjoy it as much when you have a stomach full of yummy filet mignon!

There were a few complaints though ... when asked about our complimentary bread, the waitress said something along the lines of "we have sourdough and garlic bread, which is on the menu. You can get either one or half and half." She said it so smoothly that we thought ... uh yea, why don't we get half and half? Apparently that garlic bread was an extra $5. It was good, but not that great! The waitress was attentive, but not as much as I would have liked. There was a wall around her, and I felt she wasn't as friendly either, but overall, she did make our meal very comfortable. We sat there for awhile, so it was kinda scary seeing the blinds open and eyes peek out from inside to see if we were still sitting there.

They have really nice towels in the bathroom, too! And Andes mint chocolates after you're done with your meal and walking out the door! Overall, it wasn't as cheap as we thought it would be. We each paid more than $60 on a set $45 menu, but with tax and tip and all the things we ordered (souffle cost extra $7 each), it was understandable. Definitely a great way to take advantage of DineLA! Not sure if I will come back without that set menu, but it was definitely a meal to remember.

tl;dr: Take advantage of DineLA here! GREAT desserts, super soft filet mignon and...

$256.74 dollars down the drain. Worst steakhouse ever! Not millennial friendly, if you're under 50 and don't fit their status quo, then you're sure to be highly disappointed.

Fiance and I made reservations to celebrate our 6 year anniversary, after reading their great reviews. To began, our server Jose failed to go over any specials for the evening or even discuss any of their menu items. Every other steakhouse I've ever eaten at, prides themselves on sharing their menu specials...especially when partaking in Dine LA. The worst part was that he made sure to discuss specials and extensively explain menu items to the table right next to us. That was very difficult to not take personally. Not sure if they seemed more financially stable or because they were (I hate to admit this) because they are white. My fiance happens to be Hispanic and we are both in our twenties, apparently both were not in our favor that evening. I am appalled that in 2017, people still get this type of treatment, especially at a steakhouse establishment.

Once I managed to hold back tears from the poor treatment, we decided to still give the food a chance.

I ordered off their [Dine LA menu $49 per person]:

STARTER: Clam Chowder - small portion but very flavorful. ENTREE: 6 Ounce lobster tail with fingerling potatoes and broccoli. The sides tasted that of a lackluster diner, lacking seasoning or any excitement. At least the lobster was decent. DESSERT: Chocolate Souffle-just a sad rendition, no savory chocolate taste.

Fiance ordered (regular menu items):

STARTER: Barbeque shrimp-overcooked and the dipping sauce was nothing spectatucular. ENTREE: $95 Wagyu Ribeye with garlic mashed potatoes and lobster Mac n cheese. Our jaws almost dropped when they delivered the Wagyu, I thought they had mistakenly gave us a flat iron steak with the thinness of the cut. $95 and you get an immaciated slice of ribeye without any sauce for additional flavor, we definitely felt robbed. The potatoes were decent, although Flemings restaurant has a much better rendition. Don't bother with the Lobster Mac and cheese, our noodles were overcooked and I couldn't taste any hint of lobster.

DRINKS: The bartender was on point!

Straw & Berry cocktail-vodka, strawberries & blueberries, and simple syrup. Very well crafted.

La Poire-grey goose vodka, lemonjuice, peach puree

*Arroyo Chop House: Please train your staff to provide same level of top service to all of your patrons without consideration of their race or financial background. Please advise your managers to check on all patrons of restaurant. We had the same manager (gentleman in suit) avoid our table several times without any consideration to check on our dining experience, yet made sure to check on the other tables. It's very disappointing that our anniversary dinner failed to deliver due to your restaurant's negligence and...

Arroyo became one of our favorite steak houses from the first time we visited this spot. We had the sourdough bread, porterhouse, Kansas City New York, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts, Broccolini, Sautéed Mountain Mushrooms, Butterscotch pudding, and New York cheesecake. Everything was perfect!

One of my favorite items were the Kansas City New York which is a bone in New York strip steak, you don’t see it on every menu but when you do, know that you must try it because it’s usually one of the best cuts, and Arroyo knows how to do it really well. I like bone-in steaks to be cooked to a medium temperature and that move has not let me down thus far. You can’t really go wrong with a porterhouse either since you are effectively getting a bone-in New York and filet all in one. All the sides were great, my favorites were the broccolini and garlic mashed potatoes, i believe the waitress said that the broccolini was a special for the day so hopefully they have it when you go, but definitely try the garlic mashed too. I don’t think you’d be disappointed with any of the sides so feel free to explore, there are so many. The desserts were also quite amazing, my favorite was the Butterscotch Pudding. My friend had the idea of ordering it with a side of vanilla ice cream and wow was that a great idea, it only made it better. All in all, I think you’re going to be very happy with anything you order, everything was perfect.

The service is amazing, no complaints whatsoever, it’s exactly what you can expect at a high quality restaurant. To add to the amazing quality, every time we’ve been here, the manager has come to our table and asked about our satisfaction, what a good idea, this is something I think every restaurant should do if they care about their clientele. I can imagine this has a lot to do with their pristine quality on everything.

The ambiance is also so good, dimly lit, subtle sound of background conversations, comfortable seating, nice crowd, great staff, it all ties in together to make a masterpiece, I can’t stop singing this places praises. Side note, it feels like a great place for business related M&E situations.

As for parking, it’s pretty much only valet and it’s not expensive, I don’t think you’d be able to park in the lot otherwise. There is street parking available as well, however, i have not used that but a couple friends have and they seem to find a spot pretty easily from what i understand.

Overall, i love this spot, will absolutely be coming back whenever the...