Stonefire Grill — Restaurant in Pasadena

This review is for the service I received from Jack H.

Our last visit to this location (which was months ago) didn't go too well. It took about 30 minutes for my wife's hamburger to arrive. My food arrived about 15 minutes into our wait which is about an average wait time. As usual, the server asked if there was anything we were missing & I explained my wife's burger. The server said they'd check on it & that's when the trouble began. We saw the server walk to the pickup station, grab a meal & walk it to another patron. Wanting to give the server the benefit of the doubt, we stayed patient. But after watching the server deliver more meals instead of touching base with us, we became annoyed. So we asked the next server to walk by who apologized & said they'd check on the burger. And to our frustration, this server did the same exact thing as the 1st server. We asked a 3rd only to have the same thing happen. 30 minutes after sitting, a simple hamburger arrived with a complimentary brownie for our wait. It made us contemplate on whether we should bother coming back. But we enjoy the food so we figured we would.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, September 28, 2024. My wife ordered a salad. Again, a very simple meal. And again my food arrived without my wife's. And again the server claimed they'd check on it only to grab a meal & deliver it to another patron. After 10 minutes with no idea what was going on with her meal, my wife was ready to demand a refund when Jack H walked by. I explained the situation to him, he apologized, said he'd look into it & he actually did. Not only did our original server deliver our meal a few minutes later, Jack H touched base with us to ensure we got it & we had everything we needed. We were offered a brownie for our inconvenience & explained to Jack H we'd already bought one. He offered us a second, we declined. Jack H asked to see our receipt & walked away. Upon his return he explained that he refunded us for the brownie & my wife's salad. We we not expecting that at all.

Jack H went above & beyond. Not only did he actually check on our order, he touched base with us. Too often have we've been left in the dark at this establishment when all it takes is a quick acknowledgment so that frustration doesn't kick in. That simple & quick gesture made our visit that much more comfortable. But to refund us a meal was more than what we could ask. It definitely gives us the confidence to continue visiting this location in the future. Jack H made an impression & hopefully can be an example on how to handle customer service issues....

Disclaimer: On the day I was there, which was my first time trying out this restaurant, the oven went out. This malfunction during lunch time amidst the holiday season made for an unpleasant first time experience, which colors the opinion of this review. I will start by saying the food I did get was delicious. Rich in flavor and very satisfying because the portions were fairly large. However, the experience was not enjoyable at all. Having the oven out of service created a backlog of preorders and delayed the service for dine in customers. The order line was convoluted, there appeared to be an office party waiting to be seated, and I had no idea what line to go to or how to check in. I waited amongst a crowd of frustrated people just to inquire on checking in. I could hear the lady in front of me complaining to the manager while I was waiting there which made me wonder if I was in the correct line to order. At the end of my experience there, I think I felt most frustrated because we weren't advised at the beginning of the delay. We ordered as if everything was normal and functioning which meant we never got our meat order entrees. We were served our salad and pasta (which were delicious) but even the bread sticks were delivered after two inquiries to the kitchen! We finally decided to complain and ask for a refund on our meat entrees which prompted the manager to come to our table to explain the situation. He was cordial, polite, professional and seemed to genuinely feel bad for our negative experience that day. He didn't rush over, explain and rush away. He actually came over, explained the situation asked for our suggestions on how they could have better handled the situation and gave us a full refund on our meal, when all we requested was a refund on the food we didn't get. As a patron, he really redeemed himself for the lack of service by his professional and upstanding demeanor. He didn't make superficial excuses nor did he blame anyone or anything outside of the situation. He fully owned the situation took accountability and in turn earned my guaranteed return for a second chance at what I know will be a savory, delicious meal. So although I only gave it 3 stars, it was more so for the experience but not for distasteful food. I will definitely go back and would recommend other give it a...

3 stars because it wasn't great, but wasn't terrible. I went with my cousin & her daughter - we ordered a chicken tenders kids meal, a grilled tri tip meal peppered with gorgonzola butter & a meal with lemon garlic grilled 1/4 chicken & bbq tri tip. My cousin ordered her tri tip well done. It came out more to the medium side. We let the server know & he apologized & took it right back with no questions. A major plus...? They didn't slap the same meat on the grill & bring it back out - they prepared a whole new piece of meat. My tri tip was over done. More medium-well than medium, but I didn't send it back. It was still pretty good. I like that the bbq sauce is kind of tangy and not overly sweet. I ordered white meat chicken & I found it a little dry, but I think that could be fixed with maybe a little garlic lemon sauce to go with it. The skin had a nice char, but also was kind of fatty, so I didn't eat much of it. I think my main "issue" with this place is their lack of side dishes. Basically, they have garlic mashed potatoes. I think I saw some kind of baked beans & grilled vegetables, but I think there is some opportunity here. The place is kind of self serve...you order at the counter, then you get tour own drinks, plates, napkins, silverware. Someone brings the food to your table, but that's k8nd of where service ends. It would be nice if someone just checked in once or twice after you get your food. I will go back to give this place another shot - to try the bbq chicken & the tri tip with gorgonzola butter, but not sure it will ever make my list of favorite...